SMP Racing and Speed Motorsport Management Kick Off ELMS Season in Style

With only a week to go until the 2016 European Le Mans Season opener at Silverstone, SMP Racing paused yesterday to celebrate the beginning of a new race year.

The team confirmed their full-season entry, officially announcing its new multi-national driver line up – Andreas Wirth of Germany, Julian Leal of Columbia and Stefano Coletti of Monaco. Despite having no previous LMP2 experience, this multi-national trio forms a strong driver line-up, each climbing behind the wheel with their own history of success.

The #32 BR01 Nissan-powered LMP2 entry was presented in its 2016 livery, showcasing their new partners in the presence of the team, sponsors, supporters and the local media.

SMP and its new drivers took this special opportunity at the Monaco Automobile Club to enjoy the historic motorsport atmosphere, connect and welcome their valued sponsors and supporters as they look forward to what they hope will be a very successful year.

After the event Andreas Wirth commented, “I want to personally thank a couple of my long-time sponsors – KBE and Pilot Pen – KBE was with me way back in 2004 when I won the Formula BMW Championship in North America, so it’s great to have them with me. Pilot has been with me for quite a few years in the ADAC GT Masters Series, and I’m very happy that they’ve decided to continue with me on this new journey. I also have to say a big welcome to digiBET – I’m very happy that they see and appreciate the new opportunities ahead for us both in the ELMS and the 24 Hours of Le Mans – and from what it sounds like, we’re going to have a lot of fun together this year – so stay tuned!  For now though, it’s hard to believe that our first race is just a week away. We’ve seen some solid results in testing over the last couple of months and we’re eager to go racing! I’m very excited for this new challenge, and we’ll for sure be giving it all we’ve got this year – we want to produce the very best results possible for the team, our sponsors and all of our fans that believe in us – so keep cheering for us and as I always say … ‘fingers crossed!’

Speed Motorsport Management founder, Christian Kuhn remarked, “I’m excited to be working with Andreas in the European Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year. Andreas is an extremely talented driver, and he deserves this step-up to the Prototypes. I’m very happy to see him race once again in an arena that matches more closely the caliber of his talent, and I’m happy I could be a part of bringing this all together.”

About Speed Motorsport Management:
Founded by owner Christian Kuhn more than fifteen years ago, Speed Motorsport Management was established in an effort to create partnerships between German race car drivers and local industry, with the goal of penetrating the U.S. motorsport market. Over the years, Speed has built an impressive network of contacts, partners, associates and relationships in the International motorsports world. Leveraging his connections and reputation in the industry Kuhn continues to connect German drivers and sponsors with premier International motorsport teams to the benefit of clients, sponsors and teams alike.

About Andreas Wirth:
From an early age racing has been Andreas Wirth’s passion. At his first taste of Formula cars he was completely hooked. After capturing second place in his rookie year in Formula Ford he quickly moved to Formula BMW in Germany where he dominated the field. After capturing the inaugural Championship in Formula BMW North America he moved up through the ranks in the Champ Car Atlantic Series, quickly impressing some of the strongest teams in the field. After a brief taste of the Champ Car World Series, Wirth made a move to sports car racing, getting his feet wet in the ALMS before testing in the DTM and making a permanent return home to Germany. Since that time Andreas has been competing primarily in the GT Masters Series with occasional appearances in the VLN, FIA GT3 European Championship, 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, 24 Hours of Dubai, the Blancpain Sprint Series Baku World Challenge. In 2016 Andreas moves up the ranks to the European Le Mans Series and is poised to compete in the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Header Photo Credit: Daniel Schnichels