Le Mans – Race to 24 Competition

As I’m perusing racing news, I happened upon a Facebook posting by Jonathon Summerton announcing his participation in Race to 24. This is something that I’d not heard of, so I started investigating as I listen to the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour race on Radio LeMans.

Twenty-four drivers start a competition to earn a seat in a Team Sard-Morand LMP2. Sard-Morand is a merger of Sard Racing from Japan and Benoit Morand’s team that ran in ELMS. Benoit Morand will be selecting the driver to join the team behind the wheel at Circuit de la Sarthe this July along with Christian Klien from Austria and Koki Saga from Japan.

Here’s a complete rundown of the drivers competing for this coveted seat:

  • Advait Deodhar, India
  • Esteban Guerrieri, Argentina
  • Laura Kraihamer, Austria
  • Mitchell Gilbert, Australia
  • Armando Parente, Portugal
  • Fabien Thuner, Switzerland
  • Lukas Moraes, Brasil
  • Raed Raffii, Bahrain
  • Brandon Newey, USA
  • Gustavo Lima, Brasil
  • Martin Cao, China
  • Sam Brabham, United Kingdom
  • Christopher Haase, Germany
  • Ines Taittinger, France
  • Marvin Dienst, Germany
  • Shinya Michimi, Japan
  • Conor Daly, USA
  • Jonathan Summerton, USA
  • Max Snegirev, Russia
  • Stefan Rzadzinski, Canada
  • Dino Zamparelli, United Kingdom
  • Jules Gounon, France
  • Melville McKee, United Kingdom
  • Vicky Piria, Italia

There are few details about the challenges, only that the competition will last twelve weeks starting March 26. I think it’s safe to assume that some, if not all the challenges will involve racing of some sort. Why wouldn’t it, right?

I can’t help but wonder how this may impact the other plans of some of the participants. It’s no secret that Conor Daly had a successful test with Schmidt-Peterson Motorsport recently, and is working his ass off for a seat in a DW12 for the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series. If he were to land a ride, I can see this competition, as well as the 24 Hours of LeMans conflicting with that schedule.

I’m certain many of the other competitors in Race to 24 have other schedules to contend with, as well.  By the start on March 26, racing season will be in full swing, too.

So as a fan…
Would I rather see Conor Daly land an IndyCar seat for the season or a seat at LeMans?
What would he rather land?

I think I’ll tweet him and ask, not that I expect an answer.  Good luck to him and all the rest.  Go forth and haul ass, ladies and gentlemen!

 

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