Sausset's SRT41 team of disabled drivers withdraws 2020 Le Mans entry
The Garage 56 entry comprised entirely of disabled drivers has been withdrawn from this year's Le Mans 24 Hours and intends to defer until next year
Quadruple amputee Frederic Sausset's SRT41 outfit was due to enter a specially-modified Oreca 07 LMP2 car for ex-500cc grand prix motorcycling star Takuma Aoki, Nigel Bailly and Snoussi Ben Moussa, the first invitational entry into the French endurance classic since Sausset's own race appearance with a Morgan-Nissan in 2016.
However, Sausset, who used the Silverstone European Le Mans Series round as a warmup to his Le Mans debut, has decided to withdraw his team from the rescheduled race in September, citing the effects of the global coronavirus pandemic which he said "would not have allowed us to present ourselves in this demanding race in optimal conditions."
The SRT41 team will now aim to be present on the Le Mans grid in 2021.
Sausset said: "After discussing at length with my drivers Takuma Aoki, Nigel Bailly and Snoussi Ben Moussa, together with our partners, members of the SRT41 team, the bosses of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest and the European Le Mans Series, the Presidents of the FIA and the FFSA and all the people contributing to the success of this extraordinary programme to allow the first-ever driver line-up composed exclusively of disabled drivers to race in the Le Mans 24 Hours, I took this very difficult decision, because of the terrible global COVID-19 pandemic, to withdraw our entry from this mythical race.
"Effectively, the sudden stop of the program following confinement persuaded me to take this decision because I believe that our preparation, which has been degraded, would not have allowed us to present ourselves in this demanding race in optimal conditions.
"I immediately applied to the ACO for an entry into the 2021 Le Mans 24 Hours."
The withdrawal of SRT41 means the top entry on the 10-strong reserve list, Spirit of Race's Ferrari #55 488 GTE, is promoted to the entry list proper.
European Le Mans series regulars Duncan Cameron, Aaron Scott and Matt Griffin are set to share the car in the GTE-Am class, which is boosted to 21 cars as a result.
One more withdrawal would elevate LMP1 stalwart ByKolles into the race, having only been given the second reserve spot when the 62-car grid was announced in February.
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