Inception’s Rejected Entry Led to Project 1 Partnership

Photo: Inception Racing

Inception Racing’s partnership with Team Project 1 in the FIA World Endurance Championship only came about after its own GTE-Am entry request was rejected by the selection committee due to lack of space.

The UK-based squad will field Project 1’s GTE-Am class No. 56 Porsche 911 RSR-19 for the six-round championship, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, featuring its usual driver lineup of Brendan Iribe, Ollie Millroy and Ben Barnicoat.

Team manager Bas Leinders revealed that the Optimum Motorsport-run organization had put its own full-season WEC entry in for this season, in what’s understood to have been with a Ferrari 488 GTE Evo, the same car that undertook a two-race WEC program last year including Le Mans.

However, that entry was declined, leading Inception to partner with Project 1, which had both of its Porsche entries confirmed in the class.

“We wanted to do the WEC,” Leinders told Endurance-Info. “Inception Racing submitted an application which was not accepted for lack of space.

“We couldn’t get in through the door, so we are going in through the window (laughs). Brendan wants to win Le Mans one day, so he needs a maximum [experience].”

Leinders said he will be present as team manager for the WEC program, which comes in addition to Inception’s full-season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship program with a McLaren 720S GT3 for Millroy and Iribe. 

The team will also take on the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup with Iribe as well, in addition to separate customer programs in International GT Open and Michelin Le Mans Cup.

Additionally, Irbe, Millroy and Barnicoat are present in the United Arab Emirates for the Asian LeMans Series season, which kicks off this weekend at the Dubai Autodrome.

Its fourth place finish in the GT championship last season awarded an auto-invite to Le Mans, although only a single invite for the class champion is up for grabs this year as part of an adjustment in the series’ sporting regulations.

“We are not thinking about the invitation,” Leinders said. “If we were to have it, then we will think about it. We are going from four invitations to just one with 23 GT3s at the start.”

Laurent Mercier contributed to this report

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