DragonSpeed Expands Into Driver Management

Elton Julian

On the eve of this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, where it will compete in the LMP1 and LMP2 prototype categories, international sportscar and IndyCar team DragonSpeed has announced plans to launch a driver management venture. DragonSpeed Management will focus on Europe and the USA, and has already started building its client list in preparation for next season.

DragonSpeed team principal Elton Julian said, “Our experience and success as a team over the last few years have led us to think of offering a different approach to driver management. We’re not looking to reinvent the wheel, but we do see a lot of scope for improving the way driver management is currently done."

“Through our participation in the ELMS, WEC, IMSA, and now IndyCar, we can provide our own platform for taking drivers from the development stages to a paid professional career, without the risks and extra costs of ride shopping and some of the practices that can get in the way of a driver’s best interests."

“People understand that we know talent – we’ve consistently picked the right drivers when we wanted experience and discovered our share of fast young drivers for the ELMS and WEC. I can go to teams in any of our paddocks and my opinion of drivers is respected, and those contacts can be translated into drives for our clients."

“It’s also worth noting that sportscars are now a credible feeder of young driving talent to leading series – it’s not just the single-seater ladder anymore," said Julian. “We’ve seen it ourselves with multiple drivers who have come through our team over the few years and drivers who are interested in racing with us. Of course, sportscar racing remains a well-paid career in its own right as well as a lucrative complement for established open-wheel drivers."

DragonSpeed’s racing record in the decade since its foundation includes championship titles in the European Le Mans Series (2017) and Pirelli World Challenge (2015), and a unique triple play of LMP2 class victories in the world’s top sportscar series during the first half of 2019: the Rolex 24 at Daytona (IMSA), Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours (WEC), and Le Castellet 4 Hours (ELMS).