OAK Racing to enter second Morgan 2012 LMP2 at 6 Hours of Donington
The #35 Morgan-Nissan 2012 LMP2, which adopts the team’s traditional pink and black livery, will be making its ELMS debut at Donington Park
OAK Racing will up the tempo in its fight for this year’s European Le Mans Series crown by entering a second car at round two of the 2012 campaign – the 6 Hours of Donington – this weekend (13-15 July).
As at both Spa and Le Mans’ FIA World Endurance Championship rounds a pair of Onroak Automotive designed and built Morgan 2012 LMP2 prototypes will be in the hunt for victory around the historic 12-turn, 4.020km-long British circuit.
The #35 Morgan-Nissan 2012 LMP2, which adopts the team’s traditional pink and black livery, will be making its ELMS debut at Donington Park with a new line-up that brings together existing OAK Racing drivers Olivier Pla and Bertrand Baguette, and fresh face Dimitri Enjalbert.
While Baguette and Pla have respectively represented the outfit in this season’s WEC LMP1 and LMP2 classes, it will be Enjalbert’s first taste of racing a top-line sports-prototype. The 27-year-old Frenchman is no novice however having racked up experience in Formula Le Mans, the FIA GT1 World and GT3 European championships, as well as finishing runner-up in the 2007 Megane Trophy Eurocup standings.
Meanwhile, Matthieu Lahaye joins regular WEC team-mate Jacques Nicolet aboard the #24 Morgan-Judd 2012 LMP2 that will appear in the iconic blue and orange racing livery of Gulf Oil International.
Sébastien Philippe, Team Principal: “Unlike the opening ELMS race at Le Castellet, we are entering a pair of Morgan 2012 LMP2s for the 6 Hours of Donington. I am also delighted to welcome Dimitri Enjalbert to the team as our silver driver. I am sure of his capacity to adapt quickly despite his lack of prototype experience. This will also be Bertrand’s first race aboard the LMP2 car. The trio of Pla, Baguette and Enjalbert offers us a quick and harmonious line-up. As for #24, we will run the same duo of Matthieu Lahaye and Jacques Nicolet who are already paired together in the WEC-entered #24 Morgan 2012 LMP2. The ELMS is obviously very competitive this season but we have all the right elements in place to fight. The target has remained the same since the start of the season: to win!”
Jacques Nicolet, #24 Morgan-Judd 2012 LMP2: “I am delighted to be paired with Matthieu in the European Le Mans Series once again. We are reforming the 2010 winning team. At the time we scored a podium at Budapest and finished third in the Le Mans Series. It is a good omen for this race. The Donington track has a reputation of being very selective because of the site’s undulation. It will be a journey of discovery for me!”
Dimitri Enjalbert, #35 Morgan-Nissan 2012 LMP2: “This is a great opportunity and very gratifying to compete for an outfit like OAK Racing. I know the team as I regularly pass by the factory on my way to instructing at the Le Mans circuit. But I never imagined going through the barrier one day! This will be my first appearance in the European Le Mans Series and my first race with an LMP2 car. Donington looks promising. I like new challenges but will have to find my rhythm quickly. As a silver driver I am well aware of the mission Sébastien Philippe has set me, and will do everything possible to take all the chances presented to me in order to compete at that level. I am very proud to be racing alongside such talented drivers as Olivier Pla and Bertrand Baguette.”
Source: Oak Racing
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