Jaguar XKR GT2 at The 24h Le Mans
Jaguar will takе a part in Le Mans on June 12 with XKR GT2 sports car. The company celebrates its 75th anniversary and they will return to the legendary 24H race at the circuit where it earned seven race wins between 1951 and 1990.
"Motorsport has always been important to Jaguar. Our domination of Le Mans in the 1950s was a foundation stone in our history and our success in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s reinforced our reputation as one of the great sports car manufacturers.", said Mike O'Driscoll, Managing Director of Jaguar Cars.
"As we look to the future with our new range of high performance ‘R'-branded cars - the XKR and XFR - we aim to make the Jaguar brand synonymous with motorsports once again. It's good to be back", he added.
Jaguar XKR GT2 shares many of the components and technologies with the street legal model. The racing car is codeveloped by Jaguar's engineering and design groups and the RSR team. It features aluminium body structure and a tuned version of its 5.0-litre supercharged AJ133 V8 engine delivering slightly a bit over 500 hp.
The pilots will be Marc Goossens, Ryan Dalziel and Paul Gentilozzi, who have gained initial experience with XKR GT2 during the American Le Mans Series events earlier during 2010.
"As a sportscar driver, the Le Mans 24 Hour race provides the greatest challenge, so competing in the American Le Mans Series events has provided valuable training," commented the Belgian driver - Marc Goossens.
"It is a great honour to be selected as one of the drivers for Jaguar's return to Le Mans.", he added.
His teammate Scottish teammate Ryan Dalziel said: "It has always been my dream to compete at Le Mans, and, as a British driver, to be at the wheel of a Jaguar makes it even more special. It will be without doubt the highlight of my racing career."
The team is completed by the American Paul Gentilozzi, who commented: "It is great to return to Le Mans after 15 years, and I look forward to the chance to drive there again. The track is like no other in the world. It is a challenge to every driver, but I know I have exceptionally talented team-mates, and we will do the best we can out there in the XKR GT2 with race number 81!"
Jaguar has huge experience in the 24H Le Man races, so we expect them to perform well and bring good satisfaction of the million fans.
