Mexican racer Jose Gutiérrez is set to take on his first Le Mans 24 Hours this year with G-Drive Racing by DragonSpeed, piloting its number 22 ORECA 07 Gibson with ELMS full-season drivers Memo Rojas and Ryo Hirakawa.
The 20-year-old has plenty of experience driving sportscars in recent seasons, competing mainly in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. In 2017 he has been racing in the Prototype class driving a new-for-2017 LMP2 chassis, so far competing in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, Sebring 12 Hours and the Advance Auto Parts Showdown at Circuit of the Americas.
“It feels awesome to be racing at the 24 hours of Le mans with G-Drive Racing by DragonSpeed!” Said Gutiérrez. “It’s a dream come true to race in this historic track with a lot of history. I want to thank everyone that helped me make this happen.
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It’s going to be awesome, I have no word to describe the feeling I have right now. We have a great car, DragonSpeed is a top team, and my teammates Memo Rojas and Ryo Hirakawa have a lot of experience. We will do our best to show everyone our potential and achieve a good result.”
The G-Drive Racing by DragonSpeed ORECA 07 forms part of 10star DragonSpeed’s two-car, maiden Le Mans effort. The European Le Mans Series regular – which currently leads the series’ points standings following its 1-2 finish at Monza last weekend – is aiming to come away from Le Mans with a positive result. The team’s ORECA 07 Gibsons will race as part of the record 25-car LMP2 entry for the world-famous French endurance classic this year.
“It’s great to have Jose on board for our first trip to Le Mans as a team,” added 10star DragonSpeed team principal Elton Julian. “He has shown over the past few years that he is capable of competing with some of the best drivers in sportscars racing in IMSA, winning classes and finishing on the podium. I feel he will be right at home with Memo and Ryo, and give us a real chance to win the class.”
The team’s second car – which for the race will sport number 21 – will feature the lineup of ELMS regulars Henrik Hedman and Ben Hanley and team debutant Felix Rosenqvist.
The 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours – the 85th running of the annual race on the world-famous Circuit de la Sarthe – is set to take place on the 17-18 June, with the official Test Day two weeks prior on Sunday 4 June.
