Juan Pablo Montoya to race at Le Mans

Juan Pablo Montoya, who is now competing alongside the Penske Acura team in the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, will race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans round of the FIA World Endurance Championship superseason for the United Autosports LMP2-class Ligier JS P217.

Aged 42, Montoya will make his debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Alongside the Colombian, the #32 car will be also driven by Hugo de Sadeleer and Will Owen, who are competing alongside Wayne Boyd in the 2018 European Le Mans Series for the same outfit.

After the announcement was made earlier today, Montoya told Autosport: “I’m very excited about the opportunity to experience Le Mans and I’m looking forward to joining United Autosports after they had such a strong finish last year." "I’ve always watched the race, so I’m very happy to finally be part of it. Hopefully we can have a shot at a win." he added

Richard Dean and Zak Brown, the co-owner of United Autosports and chairman told Autosport: "I watched Juan Pablo race against us at Daytona this year and was so impressed by him through the traffic; he definitely hasn’t lost any of his speed or determination," Dean said. "Juan Pablo has been around racing for a long time now and he knows what it takes to win. I’m sure he will bring experience and speed to the team, which is exactly what we need for such a demanding race as Le Mans.” Brown added.

If Juan Pablo Montoya manages to win the Le Mans race, he will be the second racer in the history of motorsport to have won the unofficial triple crown of motorsport. In the past, only Graham Hill managed to do so. Alongside Montoya, Fernando Alonso, who raced for United Autosports at Daytona will also make his debut at Le Mans. The Spanish two-time F1 world champion will compete alongside Toyota to race in the 2018-2019 WEC superseason.

Paul Athes