G-Drive Signs De Vries for ELMS Campaign

G-Drive Racing has signed Mercedes Formula E star Nyck de Vries to its European Le Mans Series LMP2 driver lineup.

The Dutchman will share G-Drive’s Oreca-based Aurus 01 Gibson with Asian Le Mans Series champion Roman Rusinov and reigning ELMS LMP3 champion Mikkel Jensen.

De Vries will then be absent from the 24 Hours of Le Mans lineup, owing to his commitments with FIA World Endurance Championship squad Racing Team Nederland.

This will enable double Formula E champion Vergne, who helped G-Drive to secure the 2018 ELMS title, to make his fourth consecutive appearance in the French enduro.

G-Drive locked in its Le Mans lineup of Vergne, Rusinov and Jensen back in March, but the make-up of its ELMS crew hadn’t been determined.

The team announced on Tuesday that reigning FIA Formula 2 champion de Vries will partner Rusinov and Silver-rated driver Jensen in the championship this year.

The 25-year-old made his LMP2 debut in the WEC with Racing Team Nederland two years ago and has continued in the category despite his move to Formula E for 2019-20.

Both G-Drive and Racing Team Nederland’s LMP2 programs are run by TDS Racing.

While G-Drive’s lineup is set for the 4 Hours of Le Castellet season-opener next month, the team faces a potential squad shuffle for round two at Spa which clashes with Formula E’s set of races in Berlin, implicating de Vries and his potential backup Vergne.

Since de Vries is contracted to Mercedes in the electric series and Vergne drives for DS Techeetah, it looks likely that G-Drive will need to find another driver to sign for that race, although nothing has been confirmed by the team.

Last year, Rusinov shared the G-Drive LMP2 car on a full-time basis with Job van Uitert, while the third seat rotated between Vergne and Norman Nato.

Van Uitert has since moved to United Autosports following his graduation in driver status from Silver to Gold, which resulted in G-Drive signing BMW GT3 driver Jensen as the new mandatory Silver to partner Rusinov, who is Gold-rated, and the Platinum-rated de Vries.

This season will mark the first for both Jensen and de Vries in the ELMS top category, while Rusinov is set for his third full-length campaign there as a driver.