Simpson Replaces Stoneman; Two Ginettas Confirmed

Photo: Ginetta

Michael Simpson has replaced Dean Stoneman at CEFC TRSM Racing for next month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, with both Ginetta G60-LT-P1 Mecachromes on the final entry list.

The Ginetta factory driver is set to pilot the No. 5 car in the French endurance classic alongside Leo Roussel and Charlie Robertson.

The No. 6 Ginetta has an unchanged lineup of Alex Brundle, Oliver Turvey and Oliver Rowland, meanwhile.

The change was revealed on the finalized entry list for the race, released on Thursday.

Both Simpson and Robertson recently took part in the ACO’s mandated simulator session in Paris, a requirement for all Le Mans rookies, with Simpson having made appearances in a variety of Ginetta machinery in recent years, most notably with his own team’s Ginetta G57s in the 24H Proto Series.

“I’m absolutely delighted to be making my first Le Mans 24 hours appearance, I have been working and training hard with Ginetta for 10 years now for this opportunity and with the added celebration of the company’s 60th anniversary it will be a very special moment indeed for the business and I,” said Simpson.

“I am especially excited to be in LMP1 challenging for overall honours, piloting the only British car on the grid. The notorious large British crowd at Le Mans each year will definitely inspire us to push hard.”

There is still uncertainty concerning the future of the Ginetta LMP1 program after both cars were withdrawn from the FIA World Endurance Championship season-opening Six Hours of Spa earlier this month due to funding issues.

The British constructor confirmed that the financial issues are expected to be resolved prior to the race, stating that “the main funds are in place for payment before Le Mans.”

All Three BR1s Listed for Le Mans

All three of the BR Engineering BR1 cars are listed despite questions still surrounding two separate accidents at Spa.

The Russian constructor has investigated the cause of the crashes for both Pietro Fittipaldi and Matevos Isaakyan that left the Brazilian with broken legs from the impact.

SMP’s pair of AER-powered cars are set to compete at Le Mans with unchanged lineups of Mikhail Aleshin, Jenson Button and Vitaly Petrov, and Isaakyan, Egor Orduzhev and Stephane Sarrazin.

Henrik Hedman, Ben Hanley and Renger van der Zande will pilot the Gibson-powered DragonSpeed car, meanwhile.

Fittipaldi was only set to race at Spa and Fuji as a replacement for van der Zande, whose IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship priorities denied him from running the full season.

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.