Norma Automotive will become the second manufacturer to field cars in the LMP3 Cup Championship as Mectech Motorsport will enter one of its M30 machines in the 2018 season. Piloting the car will be Bradley Smith and Duncan Williams, who both have experience racing Radical and CN cars.
Smith was part of the first ever race of the LMP3 Cup at Snetterton in October 2016, where he finished in second place with Christian England. After enjoying his experience with the Championship, Smith has been a big supporter of the series and has been keen to return.
“We’ve tried the Ligier and the Norma and they’re both fantastic cars,” said Smith. “Norma has had strong results in Europe and the factory is keen to work with us and offer its support. We’re not just entering this for a bit of fun, we’re going for the championship, so we’re looking for every advantage we can find. We are working very closely with Norma and hopefully we can be fast and up the front for the first race.”
Williams took part in Autumn testing at Snetterton last year in a Ligier JS P3 but felt the opportunities with the Norma M30 suited his driving style better. “I like the engineering side,” he said. “I’ve driven at a fair level in quick cars and I think the responsiveness of the Norma will suit me.”
“Duncan and I both have a passion for prototype racing,” said Smith. “We met at a race weekend at Snetterton and got chatting, and I think both of our plans seemed to work. We’ve got a really strong programme in terms of the back-up from Norma, the support from Mectech, and the sponsorship from Excool, so it all fits in quite well and hopefully going to be a successful package.”
Norma’s M30 raced to success in the Michelin Le Mans Cup in 2017, winning the championship with DKR Engineering, and the manufacturer is keen to replicate success in the LMP3 Cup. “The UK is the home of motorsport, so we had to be present in the Championship,” said Thibault Mourgues, Norma Automotive. “We will work hand in hand with Mectech to help the team to the front of the grid.”
“The important thing is it’s driven by Bradley, run by Mectech, and supported by Excool which is a fully developed and purpose designed data centre cooling product,” said Williams.
“Having Excool sponsoring the car is great,” added Smith. “I visited its factory to see the data centre cooling systems being built. It is an amazing facility and the level of engineering, attention to detail, and quality that goes into its product is very impressive. The passion for efficiency, precision, and most importantly delivering results are values that are shared at Mectech.”
