For 2013, Sébastien Loeb Racing has entered two McLaren MP4-12C cars in the new FIA GT Series.
Loeb, the nine-time World Rally Championship titleholder, and Portugese Alvaro Parente will handle driving duties for the team in the new series. The FIA GT Series is comprised of six events, each with two races of one hour. This will be the team's first effort in an international GT series.
“The FIA GT Series fits all of our criteria, with 100 percent professional driving squads and sprint-type races,” said SLR team manager Dominique Heintz. “On one hand, we wanted to take the next step in GT. On the other, Sébastien wanted to make a solid reconversion to circuit racing. It's the perfect program for the driver Sébastien Loebdriver Sébastien Loeb and the team Sébastien Loeb Racing.”
Loeb plans to run all six races in the 2013 series. Previously, he had only made a few one-off appearances on circuits in the past few seasons while committing full-time to the WRC.
“I want to prepare to drive in the WTCC [World Touring Car Championship] project with Citroën, and that's going to happen with a circuit-focused schedule in 2013,” Loeb said. “I like sprint races, and I appreciate GTs, which are cars that are very nice to drive. I don't yet know all the ins and outs of circuit racing, and I really wanted to drive with another pro to learn and progress. Sharing the wheel with one of the best GT drivers is the ideal solution.”
Parente, 28, won the British F3 champion in 2005 and the Formula Renault 3.5 winner in 2007. He has two wins in GP2 and has been an official McLaren driver since 2011. Parente raced in the GT1 World Championship last year.
2013 FIA GT Series schedule
April 1: Nogaro, France
April 21: Zolder, Belgium
July 14: Zandvoort, Netherlands
August 18: Slovakia Ring, Slovakia
October 13: Navarra, Spain
November 16 or 23: Middle East (date and location TBD)
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