Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus has announced a 7-driver line up for their 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign. The American team announced their maiden line-up on Friday, with only six seats available in their two non-hybrid Hypercars. This is down to IMSA clashes later in the year.
Last week Ryan Briscoe and Gustavo Menezes were confirmed with the publication of the WEC entry list. They will be joined by two-time Le Mans winner and former Porsche and Audi LMP1 driver Romain Dumas. With Dumas as one of the most experienced drivers on the grid, Glickenhaus is confident they will be able to challenge for race wins.
Team owner Jim Glickenhaus said, “We are an international David versus Goliath, and our history shows we punch well above our weight class.”
Joining Dumas, Briscoe and Menezes will be Pipo Derani, Olivier Pla, Richard Westbrook and Frank Mailleux. The Glickenhaus’ squad boasts a wealth of experience, which includes overall wins at major events such as Daytona and Sebring.
Three-time Sebring winner Derani returned to the topflight of the WEC last season with Rebellion Racing’s LMP1 squad at Silverstone, although his last full time drive in the championship came in 2016 with Extreme Speed Motorsport.
Former Ford GT Pro driver Olivier Pla finished last season runner up in the LMP2 standings. In 2015 he had his only experience of the LMP1 category with the ill-fated Nissan GT-R LM Nismo project. Prior to his one-year absence, he drove for the factory Ford team during their three-year spell in the WEC.
“It is very encouraging to see Glickenhaus Racing making steady progress with its new Hypercar,” said Frédéric Lequien, CEO of le Mans Endurance Management.
“The team’s driver line-up is impressive and their combined endurance racing experience will bring a great wealth of knowledge to the operation,” continued Lequien. “We look forward to welcoming Glickenhaus Racing to the grid in 2021.”
Brit Richard Westbrook gains his first full-time drive in the WEC after joining Aston Martin Racing for the last two rounds of the 2019-20 season at Le Mans and Bahrain. Joining Westbrook with a full-time debut is Australian Ryan Briscoe. Former Toyota F1 test driver, Briscoe has had a strong career in the GTLM class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. He made the transition to the Cadillac DPi in 2020 where he won the Rolex 24 at Daytona and finished second in the overall standings.
Gustavo Menezes joins Glickenhaus on the back of third place in the drivers’ standings with Rebellion. Mailleux has been involved with Glickenhaus’ Nürburgring efforts since 2017, recording a hat-trick of class wins in the past three seasons. Westbrook joined the Frenchman for the first race outing of the new SCG 004C GT.
Managing Director of Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, Jesse Glickenhaus, is looking forward to the new season.
“We set an audacious goal to build a car and team to win first overall at Le Mans and the WEC,” said Glickenhaus. “We are proud that all these drivers will join our team. Each Can all race our race pace – in the rain, all day and all night. Also, each driver is both humble about the challenge of winning – and they also envision us winning. With these drivers we have built a car and team to compete at the absolute top level of endurance racing.”
The Glickenhaus 007 LMH is powered by a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V8, with its first test scheduled for March in Vallelunga, Italy. It was announced earlier this month that the team would be gaining the support of multiple Le Mans winners, Joest Racing. Since 1984, Joest have a total of 15 wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the likes of Audi and Porsche. Glickenhaus will be hoping to add to this tally.
