Alex Brundle: “It’s Great to Be Back in the World Championship”

Alex Brundle will have a considerably busier second half of his season, now with front-running teams in both LMP2 and LMP3 across both the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series.

In addition to his championship-leading United Autosports entry in LMP3 of the ELMS, the 25-year-old Englishman has joined G-Drive Racing for the remainder of the WEC season.

The news came last week, filling a gap in the Jota Sport-run squad’s Oreca 05 Nissan following the departure of Nathanael Berthon prior to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“Obviously there was a little bit of shuffling driver-wise, and that created an opportunity for a place with the team,” Brundle told Sportscar365.

“I’ve been talking to Jota for a very long time about what can be done in terms of the seat, and it’s a team that I’ve always kept tabs on for obvious reasons.

“They’ve had a great performance in the European Le Mans Series and pretty much everywhere else they’ve competed. I knew the caliber of the team.

“They just got in touch and asked whether I’d like to drive the car for the rest of the year. It was as simple as that really.

“It’s great to be back in the world championship, alongside my commitment with United Autosports which will remain and obviously we’re fighting for the championship there in ELMS.

“The full focus is still on that while I’m there, but it’s great to be back on the world stage and with all of the benefits professionally that that brings.”

This double program, in two different prototype classes with two different manufacturers, could raise problems for some drivers, but Brundle argues otherwise that he sees himself at an advantage now.

“I’m going to be in a prototype car almost every weekend from when the ELMS kicks off again at the Red Bull Ring all the way through to the end of the WEC season,” he said.

“There are no clashes in testing or racing between the two calendars, so it’s going to be great and it will give me the opportunity to be out every weekend working technically and on my driving as always, to give the best possible performance for both teams.”

Although it has yet to win this season, the G-Drive No. 26 lineup is one of the strongest in the LMP2 class, and the Jota crew is amongst the most experienced as well.

Brundle praises both his co-driver; Roman Rusinov and Audi factory driver Rene Rast.

“Rene needs no introduction; he’s a very accomplished factory driver and has been I think it’s fair to say the quickest of the drivers through the first part of this season,” said Brundle.

“Obviously he’s a fantastic benchmark for me and as a works driver hopefully I can learn from him and benchmark myself against him in terms of performance.

“Roman, in terms of Silver drivers, is probably the best there is available. He has very impressive pace and consistency in the car.

“I’m sure it is a race-winning lineup, so all the more reason to be excited about getting going.”

Over in ELMS, Brundle has teamed up with Christian England and Mike Guasch to secure both victories so far this year, at Silverstone and Imola.

“I’m delighted with how it’s going with United Autosport,” he said. “They’re putting a great race car on the track, as demonstrated by the fact the cars are one-two in the series.

“We’ve taken both wins so far with the No. 2 car and been really quick in the races with two wins and a fastest lap at Silverstone by a considerable margin, and absolutely on the pace as well in Imola.

“I’m even more excited that I’m working with two of the best British sports car teams in the world, rather than only one of them.”

The ELMS season restarts next weekend with the Four Hours of Red Bull Ring, while the next WEC round is the Six Hours of Nürburgring, one week later.

“We’re certainly going to have a very busy end to the year!” he said. “I’m really excited and can’t wait to get going because I’m going to have to get up to speed really quickly.

“The first time I’m going to be in the Oreca all year is at the Nürburgring, barring five laps at the Le Mans test day, where I was just getting the hang of the thing.

“It’s going to be a reasonably steep learning curve with the car but my other LMP2 experience should play into my hands there.”