Le Mans:Pescarolo Sport signs Harold Primat

[Plex]

PESCAROLO SPORT SIGNS HAROLD PRIMAT FOR 2007 SEASON

Pescarolo Sport, the team which, for the second year in a row, won both the Le Mans Series drivers' and teams' championships last season, have signed Swiss driver Harold Primat for their assault on the 2007 championship as well as the 2007 Le Mans 24 Hours. Four times Le Mans winner and Pescarolo Sport team boss Henri Pescarolo also confirmed today that he will enter two Pescarolo-Judd cars for the 2007 Le Mans Series.

Primat will form part of the driver line-up as Pescarolo Sports' two-car squad look to win a third consecutive Le Mans Series title and challenge works outfits Audi and Peugeot for victory at the legendary endurance race in June.

Pescarolo said: "I'm delighted to welcome Harold on board. He is a driver who has made impressive progress since joining the sportscar world in 2005 and after taking a close look at his performances last season I didn't have to hesitate for long before asking him to join Pescarolo Sport. I very much look forward to working with him this year and I believe the team and engineers will be able to help him develop even further as a driver. I am also pleased to confirm that Pescarolo Sport will be running a two-car team, not only at the Le Mans 24 Hours, but also during the 2007 Le Mans Series. Alongside Jean-Christophe Boullion and Emmanuel Collard, who will race one of our Pescarolo-Judd cars, I can confirm that Harold will form part of a strong driver line-up for the second car and that he will integrate perfectly with the overall spirit of this team. Pescarolo Sport will enter two cars for each of the six rounds planned by the Le Mans Series and I believe Harold will be able to play a full part in our 2007 objective: to keep our titles in the Le Mans Series by taking the challenge to the new Peugeot works team."

Primat meanwhile was thrilled with today's announcement as he looked forward to a new Le Mans Series campaign as part of the champion team.

Primat said: "Henri Pescarolo's career in motorsport has, for me, always been an example to follow. To be able to join him in his team at this stage of my career is a very special moment for me. Ever since I began racing sportscars I have dreamt of racing for Henri Pescarolo, so this news really is like a dream come true. My big aim is to win the Le Mans 24 Hours and I feel certain that joining a team as successful as Pescarolo Sport is a massive step towards that ultimate goal. I can only benefit from the huge experience that Henri and my team-mates Emmanuel Collard and Jean-Christophe Boullion have gained over the years. I have been training very hard all winter to ensure that I am in top form for when the season starts and I cannot wait to begin testing the 2006 car next month and the new car at the Le Mans Series official test at the Paul Ricard Circuit at the end of March. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Henri and his team for giving me this fantastic opportunity to show my potential at this level and I will do my best to achieve our shared goals of winning races in the Le Mans Series and challenging Audi and Peugeot at the Le Mans 24 Hours."

The announcement comes as fantastic news for Primat who only switched from single-seater racing to sportscars in 2005 but who has made impressive progress up the sportscar ladder ever since. After an encouraging debut season with Kruse Motorsport in LMP2 and Rollcentre Racing in LMP1 Primat, along with friend and team boss Serge Saulnier, founded the Swiss Spirit concept last season racing a Courage LC70-Judd. Fifth place overall in the drivers' championship and podiums at Spa-Francorchamps and Jarama did not go unnoticed by Pescarolo, who has moved to add the 31-year old's pace and reliability to his squad.

Despite the news, Primat revealed that this wasn't the end of the Swiss Spirit project he helped to launch last year.

"I enjoyed a fantastic adventure creating Swiss Spirit with Serge Saulnier and Gerard Vallat. We had great success together in our first season and whilst neither Serge nor I will be involved with the project in 2007 I hope to re-launch it at some stage in the future."

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