Sébastien Loeb Racing Press Release
For its third season in existence, the Sébastien Loeb Racing team will remain in GT racing. As details of the program are being finalised, the team co-founded by Sébastien Loeb and Dominique Heintz has already chosen its weapon. In 2014, the team will race with the Audi R8 LMS ultra.
Runners up in the French GT championship and second in the FIA GT Series, Sébastien Loeb Racing had several successes in GT in 2013. The Alsacian team will be looking to continue to fight for wins this year and has decided to rely on a new package. After running the McLaren MP4-12C GT3, and following serious reflection with the technical team during the off season, Sébastien Loeb and Dominique Heintz have opted for the Audi R8 LMS ultra.
With 210 victories for the R8 LMS since its debut in 2009, including major endurance races, Audi has shown all the qualities of its GT3. The Audi R8 LMS ultra – it new name since 2012 – claimed no less than 53 wins around the globe in 2013 ! Sébastien Loeb Racing hopes to add to the already impressive track record for the GT developped by the German marque with a multi-faceted program which will be unveiled in the coming weeks.
« The choice to enter the Audi R8 LMS ultra is the result of a long thought process, » explains Dominique Heintz, team manager. « First of all, we’d like to thank McLaren for their close collaboration which gave us the chance to claim several victories in 2013. Our discussions with Audi were very positive and we were convinced by the Audi R8 LMS ultra’s qualities. The car has good performance but also great reliability, as shown by its successes in some of the biggest endurance races such as the 24 Hours of Spa and Nürburgring. We were also attracted to the philosophy behind the car, which can suite both a professional and gentleman driver. In addition, Audi Sport runs a reknown customer racing program in all series in which it takes part, not forgetting that they are based closests to our own workshops. That’s a detail that could prove to facilitate our team’s work. We look forward now to the start of this new exciting challenge alongside Audi Sport. »
Triple champions in the French Porsche Carrera Cup in 2012, and Gentlemen Drivers champions in 2013, Sébastien Loeb Racing will again take part in this season’s cup. Alongside a GT program that could include several different series, the team is currently evaluating the possibility of racing an LM P2.
Photo credit: Audi Communications - Motorsport
