Ex-Audi LMP1 driver Oliver Jarvis lands Jackie Chan LMP2 deal
Former Audi driver Oliver Jarvis will return to the World Endurance Championship this year with Hollywood action legend Jackie Chan's LMP2 squad
The 33-year-old will dovetail his WEC campaign driving for the Jota-run Jackie Chan DC Racing squad with an assault on the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup with the factory Bentley M-Sport team.
He will share the lead DC Racing ORECA-Gibson 07 with sometime Renault Formula 1 test driver Ho-Pin Tung and former world karting champion Thomas Laurent, who was a race winner with the team in this winter's Asian Le Mans Series.
Jarvis, who left Audi after nine seasons following its withdrawal from the WEC last year, told Autosport: "This is the perfect combination for the year ahead because I am racing with a manufacturer and continuing in the WEC in a prototype.
"I love the WEC and have made many friends there, and I also love driving prototypes."
Jarvis will get his first taste of the new ORECA P2 coupe at a Dunlop tyre test at the Aragon circuit in Spain this week.
"I'm looking forward to driving the car and hopeful of a successful season if we can hit the ground running," he said.
"It looks like there are going to be a lot of strong line-ups in P2 this year, but Jota's results last year [as G-Drive Racing] speak for themselves."
Jarvis also thanked Bentley for allowing him to take up the offer of an additional programme, having made his race debut with the marque in the Bathurst 12 Hours earlier this year (pictured below).
He will share one of the two M-Sport Bentley Continental GT3s with former Le Mans 24 Hours winner Guy Smith and Steven Kane in the BGTS enduros, including the Spa 24 Hours.
Alex Brundle and Tristan Gommendy look set to share DC Racing's second car with team co-owner David Cheng, who is not confirmed to contest all the races.
Previous article
Toyota's third Le Mans 24 Hours car for 2017 a major financial risk
Next article
Porsche tightlipped on aero package for WEC opener at Silverstone
6 Hours of Monza Full Race Highlights
6 Hours of Monza: Qualifying Highlights
Peugeot Hypercar 9X8 Unveiling
WEC: Portugal - Race highlights
WEC: Portugal - Alpine on pole
The understated Le Mans legend who has earned a testimonial
OPINION: After 24 Le Mans 24 Hours participations, 50-year-old Emmanuel Collard will be absent from the grid this year, stuck at the mercy of his gold driver grading. But, while he's not motivated by breaking start records, the French veteran is determined to return to the field next year
How glitches left Toyota 'worried' about losing unbeaten WEC streak
The World Endurance Championship's long-awaited return to Monza posed the sternest test yet for Toyota's new hypercar. Although the Japanese marque's GR010 HYBRID remains unbeaten, the victory for Mike Conway, Jose Maria Lopez and Kamui Kobayashi was far from plain sailing
How the next step in the IMSA and WEC convergence can reunite multiple fronts
OPINION: Following the latest convergence connection permitting Le Mans Hypercars from the World Endurance Championship to compete against LMDh entries in the IMSA SportsCar Championship from 2023, it could open up enticing options not only to manufacturers but also for the calendar and race formats
How overlooked Mazda produced one of Le Mans' greatest shocks
The screaming rotary-engined Mazda 787 is regarded as one of the most popular Le Mans 24 Hours-winning cars, but until its surprise success on this day 30 years ago it was never regarded as a likely victor. But that reckoned without a new technical partner, some canny political manoeuvring and a rival's bizarre self-inflicted weakness
How Alpine's stunted Portimao charge helped Toyota to keep clear
Despite going stride for stride for pace at Portimao, Alpine’s grandfathered LMP1 couldn’t convert pole position into a sustained victory fight against Toyota. And due to rules and car limitations that are set in stone, the French manufacturer will be searching for solutions in its own battle of endurance
Toyota hits the ton — charting 100 world championship sportscar starts
The Japanese manufacturer is celebrating its 100th world championship prototype start in this weekend's Portimao 8 Hours round of the World Endurance Championship. Here are the major milestones on the road to three figures since the earliest low-key days of its entry into the Group C arena nearly 40 years ago
The philosophical problems the WEC's new Hypercar class is already facing
OPINION: Most of the column inches after the World Endurance Championship's opener were centred around the relative pace of the Hypercar class and the LMP2s, but there's another question that needs addressing in order for the new division to have a successful future
How stumbling Toyota drew first blood in the WEC's new era
Amid concerns that the new Hypercar class would be upstaged on debut by the spec LMP2 machines at Spa, Toyota delivered the pole and victory that the vast majority of observers expected. But neither car had a clean run, which gave the grandfathered Alpine LMP1 an unexpected shot at glory
