Monteiro to compete in Le Mans

Tiago Monteiro

Tiago Monteiro will be running in this year's Le Mans 24 race, after signing up with the ORECA team. The former Jordan, Midland and Spyker F1 driver will be sharing the cockpit with Stephane Ortelli and Bruno Senna, in the car which claimed pole position and second place in Barcelona's opening round of the Le Mans Series at the beginning of April. “I am delighted to return to Le Mans," said Portugal's Monteiro, who has competed in the legendary race before and now drives for SEAT in the World Touring Car Championship. "It is a special race in my heart and it is an honor to be invited; I'm going to make my first appearance in the top category with a superb car and a dream team.

"I have already had the opportunity to test the Prototype twice this winter and I've been impressed; its acceleration and general behavior is similar to the ones of a excellent single-seater. When I drove the ORECA 01, I re-experienced very strong sensations, very similar to those of an F1 car; there'll be a tremendous battle in 2009, as we'll be up against the major manufacturers, but we've got a lot of hopes pinned on the new car."

In the team's second car will be another former F1 star in Olivier Panis, who will be taking part alongside Nicolas Lapierre and another new signing, Soheil Ayari. The famous event gets underway on Saturday 13 June at 1pm local time (GMT +1).