Two Defending Champions in TF Sport LMP2 Lineup

TF Sport has announced its LMP2 driver lineup for the upcoming Asian Le Mans Series campaign featuring defending champions Charlie Eastwood and Salih Yoluc.

After winning the 2023 title with DKR Engineering, Eastwood and Yoluc have switched to TF Sport which operates their Racing Team Turkey entry in the European Le Mans Series.

They will share the wheel with Michael Dinan, who teamed up with Eastwood in ORT by TF Sport’s FIA World Endurance Championship GTE-Am program with Aston Martin.

The single Oreca 07 Gibson marks the British team’s first LMP2 entry under its own name, having competed under the Racing Team Turkey banner in ELMS.

Yoluc and Eastwood drove for Racing Team Turkey this year and finished third in the LMP2 Pro-Am standings alongside Louis Deletraz.

“It’s great to return to [the] Asian Le Mans Series as reigning champions,” said Eastwood.

“I love the format of the series, with so much driving during the winter to both keep sharp and have another crack at the championship.

“A lot more familiar faces this year running with TF Sport, and sharing the car with both Salih and Michael – who I know well – should hopefully put us in a great position to start a great campaign.”

Dinan is set for his debut in LMP2 machinery having mainly focused on GT racing.

“I am excited to move up to LMP2 and to race in the Asian Le Mans Series for the first time,” said the American driver.

“Having raced GTs for the last five seasons, this will be my first outing in a prototype. It is an exciting change and a new challenge.

“TF Sport is an amazing team and it is always a privilege to race for them. I am looking forward to sharing the car with Charlie and Salih and taking the battle to Asia.”

Racing Team Turkey Set to Continue in ELMS

The Asian LMS program is set to prepare Yoluc for next year’s ELMS campaign in which Racing Team Turkey is expected to graduate from LMP2 Pro-Am to the top class.

The planned category change in Europe is a consequence of Yoluc’s upgrade from FIA Bronze to Silver status for 2024.

The Turkish racer is able to contest the Asian LMS season as TF Sport’s designated Bronze-ranked driver because the series is using the 2023 driver categorizations.

“He was one of the few Bronzes who would not be upset about being upgraded to Silver,” TF Sport team principal Tom Ferrier told Sportscar365.

“It’s always been his aim and he wants to be as good a driver as he can be, so part of his progression was to go that way. I think he accepts the decision and we hope to do the Pro lineup with him in ELMS as a Silver.”

Remaining in LMP2 Pro-Am would have required Yoluc and TF Sport to find a new Bronze driver, but moving up to the top class means they can retain a similar driver lineup to this year with two higher-graded professionals.

“He wouldn’t stay in Pro-Am,” Ferrier added. “I think, sometimes, he found it frustrating this year that we’ve always had to start the race eighth at best but he wanted to be racing against the Pro cars.”