Inter Europol Competition are really close to having the programmes for the 2024 season ready.
The Polish team has been a long time member of the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series paddocks, while they have been a bit in and out of the Asian Le Mans Series, Michelin Le Mans Cup, Ligier European Series, and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
With the new rules in FIA WEC in 2024, with LMP2 no longer being a part of the series, the team has to move in other directions.
In an interview with Racing24-7.net, team boss Sascha Fassbender has revealed a bit of what is going to happen in 2024.
“There is a slight chance, that we continue in WEC – but I don’t think that it will happen in 2024.”
Would that be in GT?
“Why should a GT manufacturer choose us to run a GT car…? AMG choose an AMG team, Porsche choose a Porsche team…”
Other sources close to the team have confirmed to Racing24-7.net, that there have been talks to some Hypercar manufacturers, but they haven’t got a programme signed as of now, nor have the team been able to acquire a car to run as a privat team, and that is what Sascha Fassbender is referring to.
Photo: JJ Media
So what are the programmes that we are certain of?
“We are setting up a programme for Asian Le Mans, which we were doing in the past as well, ELMS, and at least the four long distance races in IMSA. Maybe a full IMSA programme. I’m talking at the moment with the Bronze drivers – the base. We don’t have a Bronze signed up yet, but I’m talking to different Bronzes. I started after Le Mans – the full focus was on Le Mans, and now I start preparing next year. From a team side, the direction is IMSA. So we will do Daytona with Kuba (Smiechowski, editor), because it’s missing for him now, after winning Le Mans. We will do the ELMS as well with him as a Silver.”
“We are building a programme around ideally two LMP2’s, and I would love to have two LMP3’s, but I don’t think I will get back the second LMP3 entry, that I lost this year.”
Daytona and Asian Le Mans Series could be quite tight in the calendar. How are you going to organize those entries? Maybe get some local help at Daytona?
“It depends on the whole programme, about what we are doing. But our structure is ready to be there and there. We do it here as well – we have the containers already loaded. Nothing from here goes to Fuji – the structure is there. I can send a container to the US, and one to Sepang (for the Asian Le Mans Series, editor).
There is however a small matter of actually getting an entry for the Daytona 24 hours, which are very limited. Several teams were turned down this year, with the series putting priority on the cars doing a full IMSA season, then the ones doing full Michelin Endurance Cup, and then everybody else. Since Inter Europol Competition are aiming at full MEC, they should be safe – but that all depends on what the full season numbers in GTP, LMP2, GTD Pro and GTD will be. We know that LMP3 will disappear from IMSA in 2024, and that will open up about 10 slots, that could be filled by other teams.
Inter Europol Competition #34 starts the FIA WEC race today in P5, sitting second in the LMP2 championship standings.
