GP2 star Mitch Evans makes his WEC and Le Mans debut when he joins JOTA Sport in the British team’s two-race WEC assault.
The 20-year-old New Zealander, the star student of 9-time grand prix winner and Porsche “factory” driver Mark Webber, has signed on to contest the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (2 May) and the Le Mans 24 Hours (13-14 June).
In addition to running the Jota Sport Gibson-Nissan 015S at Le Mans in June and the Spa World Endurance Championship round in May, Evans will have a busy season; having re-signed with the Russian Time squad for his third season of GP2
Evans had his first taste of the Gibson in a test last month (24 Feb) at the Aragón circuit. Yelloly and Albuquerque were also present in Spain. Mitch, who will also contest a full season of GP2 again this year, joins former single-seater race winners Harry Tincknell, Oliver Turvey and Yelloly in switching to the sportscar category with JOTA Sport.
"I've followed sports car racing for many years and Le Mans has always been on my bucket list” said Evans.
"I visited Le Mans for the first time last year and honestly didn't realise the size of the event - you cannot appreciate the magnitude of the event until you actually visit the place.
Despite spending most of his career in single seaters, Evens believes adjusting to prototypes will be a formality.
"I've never raced a sports car and only drove one for the first time last month but I don't see this an issue”, he said. “I'll use my single-seater experience to get to grips with the LMP2 prototype as fast as possible."