Merhi Rejoins Manor for Nürburgring

Photo: Manor

Roberto Merhi will make his return to Manor in next month’s Six Hours of Nürburgring, filling in for the Formula E-bound Jean-Eric Vergne.

The British squad confirmed Wednesday that the ex-Formula One driver will team up with Jonathan Hirschi and Tor Graves in the No. 24 CEFC Manor TRS Racing Oreca 07 Gibson for the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Mehri had completed the majority of the WEC season last year between the team’s two Oreca 05 Nissans.

Vergne, Hirschi and Graves currently sit seventh in the LMP2 championship, following their fourth place class finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Manor’s lineup change is one of a number of driver shakeups for the Nürburgring round, which clashes with the Formula E double-header in New York City.

Fellow LMP2 drivers Nico Prost, Nelson Piquet and Alex Lynn will miss the German race, as will AF Corse’s Sam Bird, who will be replaced by Toni Vilander in the No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE.

While Pipo Derani and Filipe Albuquerque have been tipped to replace the Vaillante Rebellion pair, Lynn’s replacement in the No. 26 G-Drive Racing Oreca has yet to be announced, with Laurens Vanthoor having turned down the drive.

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