Duqueine Confirmed for Le Mans as Spirit of Race Withdraws

Photo: Eric Fabre/Duqueine

Duqueine Engineering has received a confirmed entry for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans following the withdrawal of Spirit of Race’s European Le Mans Series car from the event.

Announced by the ACO on Thursday, the French squad, which was first entrant on the reserve list, takes the place of the No. 55 Ferrari 488 GTE that was due to be driven by Duncan Cameron and Aaron Scott.

Duqueine has confirmed the all-French lineup of Romain Dumas, Pierre Ragues and Nico Jamin in its Oreca 07 Gibson, in what will mark Porsche factory driver Dumas’ 19th outing in the famed endurance classic.

“We are neighbors in Alès and knowing Yann [Belhomme, team manager] well, I really liked the idea of joining the team,” Dumas said.

“I know Pierre, I have not yet had the chance to meet Nicolas but I heard a lot about him. We have a good package and now we have four months to work.

“I won in LMP1, in GT but not yet in LMP2.”

Belhomme added: “Participating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans is my dream since I started my professional career 20 years ago.

“I could not hope better with Pierre, Nicolas and Romain who joined us. I am very happy, he is a person that I appreciate a lot and he will bring all his experience to the team.”

The change sees the LMP2 grid increased to 18 entries.

A total of eight cars still remain on the reserve list, now led by the No. 20 High Class Racing Oreca and No. 32 United Autosports Ligier JS P217 Gibson in second.

Of note, Meyer Shank Racing’s effort, which was to feature an all-female driver lineup, has been pulled from the reserve list.

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