Craft-Bamboo Racing has their sights firmly set on victory this weekend for the opening round of the FRD LMP3 Series in Zhejiang, China. The team will field two Ligier JS P3s, backed up by strong driver lineups that Craft-Bamboo hopes will allow them to challenge for the win in both races. The #95 Ligier will be driven by Swiss driver Mathias Beche and James Winslow from Great Britain, while the #20 will be steered by Canadian Alex Tagliani and his Australian teammate Greg Taylor. Both cars will be wearing sharp new liveries inspired by the lead characters from the ‘Cars’ franchise, with the #95 representing Lighting McQueen and the #20 mimicking newest series protagonist, Jackson Storm.
Indy Car and NASCAR expert Alex Tagliani joins Craft-Bamboo Racing for the first time and will get his first taste of LMP3 competition this weekend. The Canadian has plenty of experience across numerous racing disciplines and will step into the Ligier JS P3 for the first time in his career. With the 3.20km circuit and the brand new car to wrap his head around, Tagliani will have his work cut out for him, but thanks to his experience at the highest levels of racing and a strong technical background, Tagliani should have no trouble finding the limits of the #20 Ligier. Tagliani will also have a guiding hand from teammate, Greg Taylor, who has plenty of experience in the LMP3 racer. Taylor has tasted victory in the Ligier before and has most recently returned from a successful Road to Le Mans challenge against the top prototype teams and drivers in the world. With the car still fresh in his mind, Taylor is eager to get back into the Ligier and make history by taking victory in the inaugural FRD LMP3 Series race on Saturday.
Mathias Beche and James Winslow both have a great deal of experience in Le Mans Prototypes and have each driven the Ligier JS P3 to success before. This gives the pair an edge over the rest of the field that they will be utilizing to ensure the #95 is at front of the grid in both races. The Zhejiang International Circuit is new to both drivers though, so early sessions will be spent learning the layout and fine tuning the car. It will mark the first competitive outing for the team’s Ligiers since receiving the cars from the factory earlier this year and the entire crew will be working to ensure the car is running at peak performance by the first qualifying session on Saturday.
ZHEJIANG, CHINA SCHEDULE GMT +8
FREE PRACTICE 1
Friday 30th June
05:00 – 06:00 Montreal time // 17:00 -18:00 – China time
FREE PRACTICE 2
Friday 30th June: 22:40 – 23:40 (Montreal) // Saturday, 1 July: 10:40 – 11:40 (China)
QUALIFYING
Saturday 1st July: 02:05 – 02:35 (Montreal) // 14:05 – 14:35 (China)
RACE ONE
Saturday 1st July: 05:10 – 06:00 (Montreal) // 17:10 – 18:00 (China)
RACE TWO
Sunday 2nd July: 01:15 – 02:15 (Montreal) // 13:15 – 14:15 (China)