Jacques Villeneuve will indeed participate in the prestigious World Endurance Championship in 2023, which will kick off on March 17 at the Sebring circuit in Florida.
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The 51-year-old driver was recruited by the new Austrian team Vanwall to compete in all seven stops on a calendar that includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Last month, Villeneuve said there “remained a few details to finalize before confirming his presence”. However, in an interview Log Monday, he said the deal had been ratified.
“I will be at Sebring for the first race of the season and for all the other events in 2023. I have long hoped to land a steering wheel in this very competitive series,” he said.
Major manufacturers involved
More than ever, the World Endurance Championship (WEC) attracts the greatest manufacturers on the planet. The list will include in 2023 the names of Ferrari, Porsche, Peugeot, Toyota, Aston Martin and Cadillac in particular.
Villeneuve will reconnect with the most famous of endurance events, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which will take place on June 10 and 11 in France. This will be his third participation in this annual meeting. In 2008, he reached the second step of the podium with his teammates Nicolas Minassian and Marc Gené aboard a Peugeot.
Photo provided by Ecurie Vanwall
A calendar of seven races awaits Jacques Villeneuve at the World Endurance Championship.
“Since December I have been on a rigorous training schedule as these cars are very physically demanding. I want to put all the chances on my side, ”he added.
For the first time since 2005
Villeneuve has not raced full-time in an international series since 2005 when he was engaged in Formula 1. As a reminder, he was dismissed from his services by the BMW-Sauber team after the German Grand Prix l ‘Next year.
He will share the wheel of his Vanwall Vandervell 360 car, entered in the premier Hypercar category, with Frenchman Tom Dillmann and Argentinian Esteban Guerrieri.
“There remains only one formality to be settled, that of the homologation of the car and the team with the International Automobile Federation, to underline the F1 world champion in 1997. But a good number of teams are also waiting for this certificate.”
The owner appeals
The only downside is that the owner of the Vanwall team, Colin Kolles, lost the lawsuit he had filed with the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) against the company Sanderson International Marketing, which owns the Vanwall trademark rights in England.
The sporting regulations of the World Endurance Championship stipulate that, in order to enter a car, the team must hold the rights to the said mark or an agreement with the owners concerned. Which is currently not the case.
Kolles, who led ex-F1 team Caterham, has confirmed his intentions to appeal the decision. However, this imbroglio does not seem to worry Villeneuve six weeks before the curtain raiser for the season.
2023 World Endurance Championship schedule
- March 17: Sebring, Florida (1,600 km)
- April 16: Portimão, Portugal (6 hours)
- April 29: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium (6 hours)
- June 10 and 11: Le Mans, France (24 hours)
- July 9: Monza, Italy (6 hours)
- September 10: Fuji, Japan (6 hours)
- November 4: Sakhir, Bahrain (8 hours)