AUTOSPORT

FRENCH TALENT

A trio of young French drivers has been entrusted behind the wheel this year. Aurélien Panis and Thomas Neubauer will take part in the Sprint Championship, with Timothé Buret completing the Endurance line-up. Despite an average age of 23, the team has worked with the drivers closely in the past in different categories.

By confirming Aurélien Panis as Official Driver, Lexus is paving the way for young people to represent the brand in GT. Aurélien is a talented and steady driver who has very good experience in single-seater racing and has shown great talent in recent various championships.

Timothé Buret has acquired solid experience by participating in the ELMS and the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the team. Last year he reinforced the amateur line-up for the Total 24 Hours of Spa in GT3 with Lexus.

Thomas Neubauer is a driver full of energy and enthusiasm, with a great thirst to win. He is the only one of the trio to have taken part in a full season in GT3. His experience will be very useful for his team-mates.

READY TO RACE

"I am very happy and proud to join Lexus in the GT World Challenge Europe with the status of official driver,” says Aurélien Panis - GT3 GTWCE Endurance Cup & Sprint Cup Driver. It's also a real pleasure to be back with the Tech1 Racing team with whom I made my Formula Renault 3.5 debut and had the chance to take part in a few races last year in Blancpain Sprint with the Lexus.

“We are very happy to be working with Lexus again,” says Sarah Abadie, Team-Manager Tech1.
“We would like to thank Lexus very much for trusting us to continue our collaboration with the RC F GT3. We are also very grateful beyond the technical and sporting side: Lexus has supported our idea of creating a programme with young drivers to contribute to boost this great brand in GT.

All is in our hands to take up the challenge of winning the Silver Cups in GT World Challenge Europe and put Lexus in the spotlight.”

“Lexus Europe is looking forward to the new season with Tech1 Racing and Olivier Panis in the World Challenge Europe Championship,” says Olivier Naus - Manager Brand, Events & Motorsport Lexus Europe. "We can't wait to see the car on track!

“The 2020 line-up with Aurélien, Thomas and Timothé puts us in a strong position. We are convinced these drivers are the future of motor racing, and we are looking forward to seeing them at the wheel of the RC F GT3.”

FOLLOW THE ACTION

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the initial calendar could not be respected, but now the GT World Challenge Powered by AWS has relaunched its global effort and revised the calendar for Europe.

We will be reporting on every race that takes place and the fortunes of our team. Go here for the official GT World Challenge Europe website.