WeatherTech Teams Up with JMW for 24H Le Mans

Photo: John Dagys

WeatherTech Racing will team up with JMW Motorsport for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Cooper MacNeil and Jeff Segal joining Liam Griffin at the wheel of the team’s Ferrari 488 GTE for the French endurance classic.

It comes after MacNeil and Segal’s planned entry with Scuderia Corsa was placed on the reserve list.

Instead, a deal has been done with the British squad, which heads in as defending GTE-Am class winners and is also fresh off victory in last weekend’s European Le Mans Series season-opening round at Paul Ricard.

MacNeil is set for his fifth Le Mans start, following a podium run last year with Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell.

“We definitely have some unfinished business over in France,” he said. “We came close [to winning] last year with a third place finish.

“I’m thrilled to be going back to Le Mans with the team that won the race last year.

“The JMW crew know how to win the race, they’re proven, and I think it’s going to be a good partnership.

“What helped them win last year was the fact they had an absolutely perfect race. They had no car issues, no penalties, no crew member issues, no issues in pit lane, and nobody put a wheel wrong on the race track.

“If they did it once, they could do it again.”

Segal, who drove with MacNeil, Alessandro Balzan and Gunnar Jeannette in January’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, meanwhile is set for his third Le Mans appearance.

The Gold-rated driver claimed GTE-Am class honors in 2016 race, also driving with Scuderia Corsa.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back to Le Mans,” Segal said. “I have some really good memories from there. I got a podium in the first try and a win in the second [try].

“It was great to be a part of the WeatherTech Racing effort last year and to help get the team on the podium.”

Griffin, the team’s designated Bronze-rated driver, added: “We were able to take the win last weekend at Paul Ricard, so a combined effort of JMW and WeatherTech makes for a strong package for June. I am looking forward to the effort.”

Second WeatherTech-Sponsored Ferrari Set for Race

A second Ferrari carrying WeatherTech backing will be on the grid at Le Mans, with Keating Motorsports’ entry set to be supported by the automotive company for the second consecutive year.

Risi Competizione, which will operate Keating’s entry this year, released a teaser photo of the car on its social media channels, in what will be a red-colored variant of the popular WeatherTech livery.

Keating will be joined by Jeroen Bleekemolen and Luca Stolz in the GTE-Am entry.

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