RLR MSport can confirm that Matthieu Vaxivière will complete its LMP2 line-up for its home race – the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) 4 Hours of Silverstone (30-31 August).
Vaxivière, aged 24, began car racing in 2011 with a title-winning season in the French Formula 4 Championship, and he spent the next two years in Formula Renault 2.0 before capping off his single-seater career as the 2015 Formula Renault 3.5 Series runner-up.
The young Frenchman is now recognised as a formidable force in endurance sportscar racing, having since achieved race wins and podium finishes in a wide array of categories, such as the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), Asian Le Mans Series and VdeV Endurance Series.
A busy trans-Atlantic 2019 schedule has included outings in the IMSA United SportsCar Championship, Blancpain Endurance Series and Nurburgring 24 Hours, although he also notched up a podium result in the Bathurst 12 Hour at Australia’s Mount Panorama circuit.
However, the Twelve Hours of Sebring runner-up has joined RLR MSport’s ranks as a stand-in for Bruno Senna, who is focusing on his WEC commitments this weekend, for what will be his first ELMS appearance since the 2018 4 Hours of the Red Bull Ring over 12 months ago.
Vaxivière, who will share the #43 ORECA 07 Gibson LMP2 with RLR MSport regulars Arjun Maini and John Farano, said: “I’m feeling great about being here at Silverstone with RLR MSport. My first impressions of the team are very good, I love driving an LMP2 car on this circuit and I also enjoy working with Bronze drivers, so I expect to enjoy this weekend. With Arjun (Maini) and John (Farano), who is already one of the best Bronze drivers out there, we have a lot of potential. However, I will just do my job and see where we end up in the race.”
RLR MSport Director of Motorsport Operations, Nick Reynolds, said: “It’s a pleasure to welcome another very talented young driver for our home race – the European Le Mans Series 4 Hours of Silverstone. Matthieu (Vaxivière) has a great record in sportscar racing and he will be an asset while Bruno (Senna) concentrates on his FIA World Endurance Championship commitments. We’ve made progress with our LMP2 programme since the start of the year and we just have to focus on continuing that this weekend.”
