Rueda to Sub for Millroy in Inception Ferrari at Petit Le Mans

Photo: Fran Rueda Facebook

Fran Rueda will sub for the injured Ollie Millroy in Inception Racing’s Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo in next month’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans.

Rueda, a FIA Silver-rated driver, will join Frederik Schandorff and the Bob Akin Award-contending driver Brendan Iribe at the wheel of the British squad’s GTD entry for the ten-hour season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

It comes after Millroy continues his recovery following the highly publicized China GT Championship accident at Shanghai International Circuit two weeks ago, which saw fellow competitor Loek Hartog heroically pull the Englishman from his burning Ferrari.

“I’ve known Ollie and Inception for some years now,” Rueda told Sportscar365. “I’ve raced with him with the McLaren before in the 24 Hours of Spa.

“I would have liked it to be under different circumstances but I’m also happy to be able to help the team while Ollie is recovering.”

It will mark Rueda’s third WeatherTech Championship start after making his series debut at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen in Conquest Racing’s Ferrari and followed it up with a second appearance with the Eric Bachelart-led team at Road America.

“We know Fran really well,” Inception team manager Bas Leinders told Sportscar365. “For me, he was No. 1 on our list, also because Fran and Ollie are friends.”

Rueda added: “We lived in Dubai for some time together. I’ve had a friendly relationship.

“Actually when I saw the crash on Twitter, I immediately [texted] him, ‘Hey mate are you OK? I’ve just seen the incident.’

“I didn’t know the magnitude of what happened. I didn’t see it initially. I texted him and he didn’t reply and I was, ‘Oh this is weird.’

“Then you start to find out everything and you’re like, ‘OK, this is a bit more serious.’ Now it’s gone global and pretty much everyone is aware of what happened.”

Rueda, who has previously driven for both Inception and parent team Optimum Motorsport in Europe, is on-site at this weekend’s Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway filling Millroy’s typical role as Iribe’s driver coach.

The Spaniard will get behind the wheel of the team’s Ferrari in a test at Road Atlanta next week.

Millroy, who remains in a Shanghai hospital following multiple injuries including six broken ribs, a broken collarbone and a punctured lung, has continued to make progress, while remaining in contact with his IMSA team according to Leinders.

“Almost everyday there’s communication by voice messages or text,” he said. “He’s made good progress in the last few days, so now he’s starting his recovery plan to get back into the car.

“He won’t be able to drive in the next two months. But then after that, we would like to try and get him into a car.

“In the meantime, he’ll be able to train but we can see if he’s ready, and get him ready for Daytona next year. That’s the plan.”

Inception Placing Focus on Akin Award, Ticket to Le Mans Return

Leinders said the team is firmly placing its focus on winning IMSA’s Bob Akin Award with its Bronze-rated driver Iribe, which would lock in a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time since 2024.

Iribe won the award in 2023, which saw him claim the first-ever LMGT3 pole in the French endurance classic the following June.

“It has been for the last three years but the last two years we didn’t manage to clinch that one,” said Leinders. “It was a little bit our own fault in the past with some mistakes and some accidents.

“Also this year, Ollie’s accident at Watkins was unfortunate, which happened together with the 13 Autosport car. Sebring also wasn’t very good, the two endurance races where you can lose more points, we did.

“But at the moment we’re leading. Hopefully we’ll do our best to try and go to Le Mans next year.”

Iribe enters this weekend’s penultimate round of the season with a 20-point lead over 13 Autosport’s Orey Fidani, who won the award the last two years.

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