JMW Motorsport will run its tenth Le Mans with support from WeatherTech and drivers Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.), Jeff Segal (Miami, Fla.) and Liam Griffin (Britain). The trio will drive the No. 84 JMW Ferrari 488 at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France, June 16-17.
JMW Motorsport comes into the race as the Le Mans GT AM champions and are combining with the brand that took third at last year’s race. Jim McWhirter heads JMW Motorsport and brings ten years of Le Mans experience. For the drivers, it will be MacNeil’s fifth Le Mans race. Segal won the GT AM race in 2016 and it will be his third Le Mans start. Griffin brings his European Le Mans and Le Mans experience, making for a strong line-up of both team and drivers.
“I’m excited about heading back to Le Mans, especially after being on the podium there last year,” MacNeil said. “We definitely have some unfinished business over in France. We came close [to winning] last year with a third place finish. But, the JMW Ferrari was too quick for us to catch, as was the second place car. So, we settled for third, which was a great result for us.
“I’m thrilled to be going back to Le Mans with the team that won the race last year. The JMW crew know how to win the race, they’re proven, and I think it’s going to be a good partnership. What helped them win last year was the fact they had an absolutely perfect race. They had no car issues, no penalties, no crew member issues, no issues in pit lane, and nobody put a wheel wrong on the race track. If they did it once, they could do it again. I’m looking forward to hopefully finishing two positions higher than we did last year.”
“I’m really looking forward to getting back to Le Mans,” Segal said. “I have some really good memories from there. I got a podium in the first try and a win in the second [try]. It was great to be a part of the WeatherTech Racing effort last year and to help get the team on the podium. We’re looking for good things. I’m excited to be with last year’s race-winning team JMW and back in a Ferrari. I’m excited to see what it brings this year.”
“Jeff and Cooper have a lot of Le Mans experience,” Griffin said. “They have a lot of laps around the Circuit de la Sarthe and have both been on the podium at the 24. In addition, they race the Ferrari 488 in the states and they just finished second at Sebring in March. We were able to take the win last weekend at Paul Ricard, so a combined effort of JMW and WeatherTech makes for a strong package for June. I am looking forward to the effort.”
The 24 Hours of Le Mans will run June 16-17 at the Circuit de la Sarthe with the pre-test running June 3.
