Former
Formula 1 star Olivier Panis will return to the race track in 2008, after signing up to compete for the Oreca-Matmut Team in the Le Mans Series and Le Mans 24 Hours.
Aside from his participation in the winter ice-racing Trophée Andros, the Frenchman has been absent from active competition since his retirement from the top flight at the end of 2006. With his batteries now fully recharged, though, the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix winner is clearly revved up for his new challenge and raring to get going again.
“After
F1, I wished to involve myself in a project of a high technical level,” Panis asserted, “with a very motivated team but one that still had a human dimension, and one that was capable of taking on a real challenge.
“The Oreca project perfectly fits that goal, even more so due to the fact that it is based on a mythical race – every driver is sensitive to the magnetic attraction of the Le Mans 24 Hours. I have been totally seduced by the enthusiasm of Hugues [de Chaunac] and his team.”
The 41-year-old A1 Team France Sporting Director will make his debut in the round-the-clock endurance classic behind the wheel of one of Oreca's two new LMP1 Courage sport-prototypes, currently under development. He will race at Barcelona, Monza and Spa-Francorchamps before testing his mettle around the legendary La Sarthe circuit for the first time in June.
“To sign such a high-profile driver as Olivier is a major asset to reach the ambitious goals that we have set,” team owner de Chaunac enthused. “Above the talents of the driver and of the man, the technical experience inherited from his many F1 years will be an ideal interface to optimise the work from our engineers.
“We are impatient to start testing and shall soon announce the other drivers who will be part of our commando.”
Amongst the drivers linked to the squad – which campaigned a GT2 Saleen S7-R in this year's running of the 24 Hours – are GP2 ace and recipient of the 2007
Jean Rondeau Award for most promising rookie Nicolas Lapierre, fellow 2007 Oreca stars Soheil Ayari and sportscar veteran Stéphane Ortelli, ex-grand prix pilot Jean-Marc Gounon, Courage regular Jonathan Cochet and former Renault F1 test-driver Franck Montagny.
