Dumas Confident RD Limited “Can Be Strong” in LMP2

Romain Dumas is confident that his RD Limited team can be competitive from the off as it makes its foray into endurance racing with a program in the LMP2 class of the Asian Le Mans Series.

RD was one of two new outfits, alongside Pure Rxcing, to be named as part of a 11-car entry for the top class of the 2024/25 campaign that begins at Sepang in December.

First established in 2007 under the RD Rallye Team banner, Ales-based RD Limited is best known for its exploits in rallying, the Pikes Peak hill climb, an event Dumas himself has won five times, and the Dakar Rally.

But with the help of veteran engineer Brice Gaillardon, Dumas believes that RD can hit the ground running with its solo Oreca 07 Gibson, describing the Asian Le Mans Series as a “good place to start” his team’s endurance racing adventure.

“For sure, it’s a very different challenge,” Dumas told Sportscar365. “We are known for rallying, but people started to ask why we are not doing circuit racing.

“On the technical side, I have Brice Gaillardon, who has always been involved in endurance racing.

“Right now he is working with TF Sport in LMP2, and before that he was with Peugeot, Rebellion Racing, many teams. Some weeks ago were talking at the factory, and I was telling him we should try and do it ourselves!

“We started like that; it was quite sudden in terms of the decision. But I think Asia is a good place to start. The car is well known to everybody and it’s reliable. It’s a good platform and the competition is high. It’s very interesting.

“I think we can be strong on the technical side, and after that it’s about creating a good group of people, which will be a mix of our guys, who are experienced in off-road, and people who already know endurance racing. 

“We are looking right now to recruit six or seven people from outside. We need people who know LMP2 very well. Brice knows what we need to take care of, but we need good mechanics and more people who can do pit stops.”

Asked why he chose LMP2 over any other category to make the transition from off-road competition to endurance racing, Dumas cited costs as well as he and Gaillardon’s wealth of knowledge of the Oreca 07.

“For sure you could think about GT3 with Porsche or Ford,” said Dumas. “But what I like about LMP2 is that the car is quite fast and is reasonable in terms of cost. ORECA’s factory [based in Signes] is also quite close to us.

“I know the car well, Brice does as well, which is important. So when we start, we should already be close to the right level.”

Dumas revealed that two drivers are already signed up for the Asian Le Mans program, and all but ruled out being involved in the driver lineup himself.

The 46-year-old’s most recent outing in top-level sports car racing came in this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, where he drove a Proton Competition Porsche 963.

“I don’t want to stop driving, but this program is not done for me,” he said. “I am happy to drive at Pikes Peak or Dakar, but this program is for our customers.”

Dumas made it clear that he is eyeing up a graduation to the European Le Mans Series, and hopes eventually his team can earn a coveted spot on the grid of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, of which he is a two-time overall winner.

“We are not investing this much money just to do Asian Le Mans,” he said. “We will go step-by-step, but for sure we are candidates to go to ELMS. We know it’s a tough field but we have bought two new cars, so we are going all in.”

On a possible future entry at Le Mans, Dumas added: “I think this is another step [beyond ELMS]. First we need to see how we do, if we are good enough.

“But if you have a team, Le Mans is a dream, especially when you are a French – not only as a driver, but also as a team owner, like Henri Pescarolo! For sure it’s in my mind.”