When the European Le Mans Series finishes on the last weekend of October, the season is far from over for Panis-Barthez Competition.
The French team goes to Asia, where they will participate in the Asian Le Mans Series 2018/19.
It won’t be in their current Ligier JSP217 Gibson, but instead in the older JS P2 model with a Judd V8 engine. The new cars are currently not allowed in the Asian LMS until the 2019/20 season, while only the old LMP2 cars up to 2016 with closed cockpits are allowed.
The team will consist of Matthieu Lahaye, his brother Jean-Baptiste and Francois Heriau, who is the gentleman part of the line-up.
The three drivers already knows each other from the ELMS, where they currently race for the Ultimate LMP3 team. They are sitting 7th in the LMP3 standings, with two rounds to go.
The Panis part of the team name is the former Formula 1 driver Olivier Panis, while the former French National Goalkeaper and World Champion Fabien Barthez also is part of the team. He has raced in both Le Mans and European Le Mans Series himself, but has chosen to race in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup this season.
The Asian Le Mans Series 2018/19 starts on 23 -25 November at the circuit in Shanghai.