Ex FBS Champions Pezzarinho17 Announce Le Mans 24H Assault
At a surprise unveiling ceremony at Audi Sport’s HQ in Neuburg-Heinrichsheim, former Formula B Spec champions Pezzarinho17 announced that they will be racing 2 Audi R10 TDI’s on behalf of Audi Sport. Participation in the historic event is currently a one off occurrence, with no plans to enter into the WEC.
The teams had a further shock in store when Marvel’s ‘Captain America: Civil War’ was announced as title sponsor for the team's’ cars. Audi has sponsored a number of Marvel movies to date but this is the first time that they have featured Marvel on a race livery for Audi Sport. The liveries that will be used by the team were unveiled by Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jnr. and will feature designs representing each of the superhero characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Captain America” and “Iron Man” respectively.
“We are very excited about this venture together with Pezzarinho17.” said Reinhold Joest at the event, “with their fantastic record in Formula B Spec, it will be difficult not to start as favourites. Endurance racing is a different field for them though, and the Le Mans 24 hours is not an easy race to begin that journey with. It will be exciting to watch though!”
Perry Brown, Pezzarinho17 team leader, added, “When you get a call from Audi about a possible entry into the Le Mans 24 hours, the heart rules the decision and the head quickly gets in line. There was never any doubt that we would take on this challenge from then on and the project has already seen this team pull together and get these magnificent machines race ready.
“One of the most exciting things from our perspective is the tie up with Marvel and promotion for ‘Captain America: Civil War’. Our design team has enjoyed the challenge and really come up with the goods here, the cars look fantastic. Our drivers have already said they will be gutted if any damage happens to these cars during the event!”
Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jnr. were greeted to huge cheers when they took to the stage, both making the appearance fresh from filming scenes from the movie. Chris Evans explained the ‘full-on lifestyle’ of a superhero.
“We didn’t get much of a break between promoting Age of Ultron across the world before filming for the next movie begins. It is one of the expectations when you work on a project as large as the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), it never stops. Today marks yet another first for Marvel, no one else can keep up, and we hope that is the story from Le Mans this year.”
“This is all very ‘me’, though I would have liked my face on the car some more, make it more Tony!” joked Robert Downey Jnr. “It’s great, we’ll be at the race in June with the team and I can’t wait. I was at the Monaco Grand Prix as part of the filming for ‘Iron Man 2’, but you’re working so you don’t get the experience of it all. We already have the bet on which of the 2 cars will win the race importantly.”
Both Pezzarinho17 and McLaren had remained quiet on expectations ahead of the new Formula B Spec season, though it is not yet known whether the partnership will continue after the Le Mans assault. Pezzarinho17 came runners up in season 2, with Stoffel Vandoorne recording 2 wins and 3 pole positions in his debut year. With Stoffel concentrating his efforts on a GP2 challenge, Nyck De Vries was expected to lead the FBS charge in the new season. No announcement was made on the drivers for the Le Mans challengers, but number 17 will carry the ‘Iron Man’ livery whilst ‘Captain America’s’ design will race with the number 23.