Jota Sport Adds Lucas Luhr For Le Mans

Lucas Luhr joins regulars Simon Dolan and Oliver Turvey

Jota Sport have signaled their intent to contend for class victory in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans (June 22-23) by adding highly-successful endurance racer Lucas Luhr to their driver line-up for the prestigious event.

The German racer joins Jota Sport regulars Simon Dolan and Oliver Turvey aboard the team’s LMP2 class Zytek-Nissan as they chase victory at the La Sarthe circuit, forming a crew that will rank among the strongest in the ultra-competitive category. The trio began preparations for the twice-around-the-clock contest this week with three days of testing at Spanish venue Motorland Aragon.

33-year-old Luhr enjoys a glittering racing CV that includes success across a wide range of series in both prototype and GT machinery. Notably, he is a two-time GT class winner at the Le Mans 24 Hours having triumphed for Porsche in 2002 and ‘03, and enjoyed a three-year spell competing for overall wins at La Sarthe as part of the factory Audi LMP1 squad.

He has also achieved significant success Stateside, claiming a brace of American Le Mans Series titles in the premier LMP1 class (2008 and ‘12), two GT category crowns (2002 and ‘03) and an LMP2 triumph (2006), as well as the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship alongside fellow countryman Michael Krumm.

Luhr is among the most respected competitors in endurance racing, with five GT class wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring and a pair of Nurburgring 24 Hours triumphs to his name. This phenomenal record of success makes him the perfect final addition to Jota’s 2013 Le Mans line-up.

“I am very pleased to be joining Jota Sport for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours," Luhr said. “They have a proven record in LMP2 and are a very professional team, so I am really looking forward to working alongside Simon and Oliver. My initial impression from testing is that we have an excellent package.

“We will all be pushing very hard to achieve a strong result for the team at Le Mans. I have already won the GT class there and would definitely like to add an LMP2 victory as well. The category is extremely competitive so it won’t be easy, but we will give it our all."

“Lucas completes what is undoubtedly our strongest Le Mans 24 Hours line-up to date," said Sam Hignett, Jota Sport Team Principal. “The partnership he will form with Oliver and Simon should be formidable and, though the LMP2 field will be extremely competitive, we are definitely targeting victory. Lucas’ GT class wins at La Sarthe, coupled with his vast experience of prototype competition, made him the ideal man for the job. We are thrilled to have him on-board."