BR01 Completes Test with New Drivers, Yves Courage in Attendance

A trio of drivers sampled the BR Engineering BR01 Nissan for the first time this week at Paul Ricard, with a prospective new team owner also on hand for the test in France. (En Français)

Stefano Coletti, Andreas Wirth and Benjamin Lariche all turned laps in the LMP2 contender, operated by SMP Racing, with an eye towards potential European Le Mans and FIA World Endurance Championship programs with the Russian prototype.

Additionally, Yves Courage was on hand to oversee the test, with the Frenchman in the process of finalizing his own team for the ELMS season, as revealed by Sportscar365 earlier this month.

There’s one remaining seat in the SMP Racing WEC effort this year, alongside team stalwarts Nic Minassian and Maurizo Mediani, with an all-Russian lineup, led by ex-F1 driver Vitaly Petrov, set to pilot the second BR01 in the championship.

The car will make its U.S. debut in next weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, with Minassian, Mediani, Mikhail Aleshin and Kirill Ladygin.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John