inception racing to make FIA WEC debut at Monza
Having earned entry into the 24 Hours of Le Mans through strong results in the Asian Le Mans Series, inception racing will compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship at Monza this coming weekend (16 – 18 July) to help prepare both the team and drivers for the demands of GTE equipment.
With McLaren unable to compete with its 720S GT3 at Le Mans, the Optimum Motorsport run team, in collaboration with Kessel Racing, will field the #71 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo for Brendan Iribe, Ollie Millroy and Ben Barnicoat, the same trio that competed together so successfully in the Asian Le Mans Series in February.
Both Brendan and Ollie have plenty of experience at Monza, having competed over the last 18 months in both GT Open as well as GT World Challenge Europe at the Italian circuit. Indeed, as a pairing, they recently claimed the GT3 Pro-Am pole in the latter.
The 6 Hours of Monza, the third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, takes place on Sunday 18 July.
Ollie Millroy
“We’re all really looking forward to the challenge of racing in the GTE class in the FIA World Endurance Championship. We have tested the Ferrari and the most obvious difference for the driver is the lack of ABS and the confidential tyres so there is a lot for us to learn ahead of Le Mans.
“Ben and I have a background in single seaters, so we will share as much knowledge and experience as we can with Brendan to enable him to maximise the braking performance. We have a great team behind us, so we will aim to learn as much as possible in the Monza race, and take our learnings forward to Le Mans.”
Bas Leinders, inception racing Team Manager
“At the start of the Asian Le Mans Series, our aim was to gather experience and prepare for the rest of a busy season, it all became busier when we secured a slot in the 24 Hours of Le Mans! With the big race in August, it was obvious that the Monza WEC round would be a perfect preparation platform for Le Mans.
“We have completed a few days of testing with the Ferrari from Kessel Racing, the collaboration has gone very well until now and our staff are looking forward to continue to work together as one. Our drivers do not have a lot of experience in the Ferrari GTE, so it is important to clock up as many miles as possible.”