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Lammers: No Plans to Retire Amid Final LMP2 Start

Jan Lammers hopeful of future race outings despite handing over WEC seat post-Le Mans…

Photo: MPS Agency

Jan Lammers says he has no plans to retire from sports car racing following next month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The 1988 Le Mans winner is gearing up for his 24th appearance at the event, sharing the Racing Team Nederland Dallara P217 Gibson with Giedo van der Garde and Frits van Eerd.

Lammers, 61, will then hand his seat over to McLaren junior and Formula 2 racer Nyck de Vries for the remainder of the FIA World Endurance Championship ‘Super Season’, which culminates at next year’s edition of the 24-hour centerpiece.

When asked by Sportscar365 if this year’s Le Mans would be his last, Lammers ruled out the possibility, saying “that is not an aim.”

“It’s my 24th, and it’s my last race with this [LMP2] team because we just want to make it as young and fresh as possible with Giedo and Nyck,” Lammers said.

“They are two excellent drivers, so that’s logical. We have one Bronze driver in Frits, so we can’t afford to have more Bronze drivers.

“For my age, I’d be relatively quick. But in ultimate terms, for the team, there are just more drivers on the market who are quicker.

“If I would stay on for longer, the chances are that I would become a liability rather than an addition, and that’s something I don’t want to create.”

Lammers, who is marking the 30th anniversary of his overall Le Mans triumph this year, became a Bronze-rated driver in 2017 ahead of the team’s debut LMP2 campaign.

The current FIA categorization process deems that “any driver over 60 will be categorized Bronze.”

Consequently, Lammers is still eligible to race Le Mans prototypes, with Racing Team Nederland’s adjacent LMP3 program offering a potential outlet for future endeavors.

“Maybe I could do some LMP3 races, whether that’s with this team or another team,” he said.

“LMP3 is something that I quite like. Obviously, after Le Mans, I’ll be nicely in the rhythm, so I’d love to take that flow into another category. LMP3 would be fantastic. It would suit me great.

“I haven’t had any contact at all [with teams] so maybe I’ll have to do that. I don’t like to call up people and see if there’s a drive available, but I’d certainly be interested.”

Lammers added that there has been no confirmation of a garage-based role with Racing Team Nederland beyond Le Mans, saying he will adhere to the wants and needs of the Dutch operation.

“From that point of view, I think they call the shots,” he said.

“They have a view for after Le Mans, so I just follow what they do and they rely on me, with my experience, to just blend in.

“I have no idea on plans after Le Mans. I’m not sure if I would have a function in the garage. But it all depends on what the team thinks.”

Daniel Lloyd is a UK-based reporter for Sportscar365, covering the FIA World Endurance Championship, Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, among other series.

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