24h Le Mans
In 2017, the IDEC Sport Racing team will take part in a new season of the European Le Mans Series, but with one significant difference: the Ligier JS P217 of the outfit helmed by Patrice Lafargue, who shares the wheel with his son Paul, will also compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, along with David Zollinger.
In its very first season of endurance racing and the ELMS, IDEC Sport Racing finished 10th in the LM P2 class with its Ligier JS P2 powered by Judd, but the outfit based in Seine-et-Marne (France) is aiming higher in 2017 which is why it has brought on Olivier Pla for the European championship.
However, the French driver, who claimed the second step on the LM P2 podium in 2013, must honor his contract as an official Ford driver with the American marque for all the World Endurance Championship (WEC) rounds. Consequently, he will not be available at Silverstone (the ELMS 4 Hours of Silverstone and the WEC 6 Hours of Silverstone take place the same weekend) and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. So Olivier Pla will be replaced by David Zollinger for those two races.
Zollinger, who also trains drivers, has the necessary endurance racing experience as he has participated for many years in the VdeV Endurance Championshp in a prototype. He also competed in the 2010 Le Mans Series season (former moniker of the ELMS) in a Formula Le Mans, in which he won at Le Castellet, before taking the start at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Pegasus Racing's Norma (retirement).
David Zollinger: "I trained Paul (Lafargue, Ed.) many times during my coaching activities and for the last two years, Patrice has been running my training center. I have a reduced program but it's an opportunity to have Olivier with us. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the focal point this season. We are going to prepare as well as we can. The new Ligier is magnificent and more powerful than the previous version, I think we are going to enjoy it a great deal. We'll have to see what it does in the races."
The IDEC Sport Racing team recently conducted a testing session at the Spanish circuit Motorland Aragon so as to take possession of the Ligier JS P217 for the Silverstone round on April 15th, after the Monza official tests on March 29th.
Photo (Copyright - Michel Jamin/ACO): David Zollinger (center, with Frédéric Da Rocha and Julien Schell) at the Drivers' Parade of the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans.
