Photo: Formula Motorsport Limited
Italian junior single-seater star Lorenzo Colombo will be one of the drivers helming Prema’s move into prototype sportscar racing.
Prema has bought an Oreca 05 LMP2 car to enter into the World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series this year, and will run it in conjunction with sister company Iron Lynx.
Colombo will be partnered with the reigning ELMS champions Louis Deletraz and Robert Kubica, the latter returning to the team that ran him in the 2003 Formula 3 Euro Series.
“I’m glad to join in the highest level of racing in terms of endurance championships with Prema Team,” said Colombo.
“Lots of new stuff to learn regarding my side, but I do feel very confident about the team and team-mates I’ll be sharing the car with. I’m sure they will help me to extract everything I’ve got and become more professional as a racing driver. I simply can’t wait to get it started and deliver my best to get important results for everyone!”
Despite interest from Ferrari during his time in single-seaters, Colombo has struggled with budget as he’s moved up the ladder.
Last year he won a race in FIA Formula 3 with the resurgent Campos Racing, and before that had a three-year spell in the Formula Renault Eurocup which resulted in six wins and two seasons in Italian Formula 4 which culminated in two wins and third in the points in 2017.
“Starting such an outstanding new endeavor with so much potential available does not happen often, and I have to say that the prospect of racing in the World Endurance Championship and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is incredibly exciting,” Prema’s team principal Rene Rosin said.
“I am proud of the amount of work the team got done in the time available, and I am extremely confident that our driver line-up will rise to the occasion.
“It is amazing to have Robert joining Prema Team, and with Louis, we have probably one of the strongest pairings available. In addition, we look forward to working with Lorenzo. We know him from single-seaters as one of the most interesting prospects around, and I am sure that he will climb his rookie learning curve very, very quickly.”
In addition to their ELMS success, Kubica is a grand prix-winning Formula 1 driver and has a World Rally Championship 2 title to his name, while Deletraz was Formula V8 3.5 runner-up in 2016.