G-Drive Racing’s twin Ligier JS P2 machines took their FIA World Endurance Championship challenge to Austin, Texas, for the Six Hours of Circuit of the Americas - and brought home a victory for Sam Bird and his colleagues in the #26 car.

Bird, Roman Rusinov and Julien Canal took LMP2 pole position and victory around the 3.427-mile track while their team-mates in the #28 machine earned third place.

A race-long battle with the KCMG ORECA was resolved in G-Drive’s favour thanks to some scintillating laps by Bird at the beginning and end of the race. Rusinov and Canal also drove flawless stints to reduce the gap further to KCMG and gathered further useful points for their title quest.

The result demonstrated the competitiveness of the Onroak Automotive chassis and Dunlop tyres, and left the two cars second and third in the LMP2 class championship with three races remaining.

Paying tribute to Guy Ligier, who died in August, G-Drive team principal Philippe Dumas said: "It was a good weekend for us, and I am extremely happy to be able to give this win to Ligier, and especially Guy. The whole team did an amazing job and the engineers had a great strategy. It was important for us and for the season and I am happy to be able to give this win to the team."

Rusinov said: "It was great for us to win - in my opinion, it was the most beautiful win we have ever had. It was really good to do this in America and the team did a great job. The engineers and drivers were perfect. It was an important race and win for us and team. It showed we are back in the game for the championship."

The next event in the FIA World Endurance Championship is the Six Hours of Fuji on October 11th.

CoTA Six Hours - LMP2 Top five classification:

1. #26 - G-Drive Racing - Ligier JS P2-Nissan-Dunlop - Roman RUSINOV, Julien CANAL, Sam BIRD
2. #47 - KCMG - Oreca 05-Nissan-Dunlop - Matthew HOWSON, Richard BRADLEY, Nicolas LAPIERRE
3. #28 - G-Drive Racing - Ligier JS P2-Nissan-Dunlop - Gustavo YACAMAN, Luis Felipe DERANI, Ricardo GONZALEZ
4. #30 - Extreme Speed Motorsport - Ligier JS P2-HPD-Dunlop - Scott SHARP, Ryan DALZIEL, David HEINEMEIER HANSSON
5. #43 - Team Sard Morand - Morgan LMP2 EVO-Sard-Dunlop - Pierre RAGUES, Oliver WEBB, Archie HAMILTON

FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Teams - classifications after the 6 hours of CoTA - Top-3 :

1. #47 - KCMG : 122 pts
2. #26 - G-Drive Racing : 108 pts
3. #28 - G-Drive Racing : 104 pts

Sam Bird and his G-Drive Racing team-mates Roman Rusinov and Julien Canal are the WEC LMP2 world champions after earning their fourth win of the year in the season-ending Six Hours of Bahrain.

A hard-fought battle with their main championship rivals, the #47 KCMG Oreca, saw the trio bring home their #26 Onroak Automotive-built Ligier JS P2-Nissan more than 26 seconds clear to secure both the LMP2 team and drivers’ titles.

Sam, who drove both the opening and closing stints of the race, said afterwards: "What a year - and what a race. It’s been an amazing year. I’ve made some great friends and we’ve had some great times and for us to come away with the world championship is very special."

Both G-Drive cars had qualified well for Bahrain but, when the race got underway, it was the KCMG that made the early running with Sam holding second. In the first pitstop the crew of the #26 car worked quickly, sending Rusinov out in the lead. After a few laps the #47 was back ahead, but first Rusinov and then Canal kept in contention.

After the next set of pit stops, under a full course yellow, Canal’s second stint was spent in second place, about 30 seconds adrift, until in the fifth hour Sam returned to the car and reclaimed the lead. This lasted until the final pitstop, where the advantage swung back to the KCMG in the hands of Nick Tandy.

But the decisive final stint saw Sam eat away at Tandy’s advantage with every lap, seizing the lead in the last 15 minutes of the race and securing both the race win and the LMP2 championship title.

He said: "The KCMG was really strong today. Their strength is in a straight line and this is a stop-go kind of circuit with a lot of straights so they were going to be difficult to beat. My two team-mates played their part really, really well - they put in really good shifts so that, when I got back in the car, I could do my job and bring it home in the best position possible."

The result means that Sam and the #26 car placed first or second in all but one of the season’s races - the sole exception being Spa, where they qualified on pole and led their class but were felled by an engine failure. The season-long consistency, which also included four class pole positions, paid off with a 23-point margin in the championship, following on from near misses in each of the previous two years.

Canal, speaking in the post-race press conference, said: "We could have won last year, but this year I met Sam - an amazing man, a big heart - and he taught Roman and me a lot. I’m glad to be world champion and very proud of all the team."

But the end of the race was not the end of driving duties for Sam.

Following the completion of the race weekend, the World Endurance Championship remained in Bahrain for post-season testing - where Sam had been selected to take part by the WEC promoters in recognition of his performance through the season. Placed with the Toyota LMP1 team, he completed more than the allocated 30 laps and was impressed by the step up in machinery.

He said: "I very much enjoyed working with the Toyota team - it is a very professional environment. My first impressions of the car are very good: I am enjoying having some power again and it is a very technical car to drive.

"There are lots of things to think about, especially as this is the first time I have ever experienced the fuel flow restrictions. Getting my head around this aspect is critical to my improvement and adjustment with these cars. So far I am enjoying it very much."

With the endurance racing season over Sam will next be in action at Punta del Este in Uruguay on December 18, competing for DS Virgin Racing in the FIA Formula E Championship.

Sam Bird secured a dramatic first podium of the season for DS Virgin Racing at a chaotic Putrajaya E-Prix, storming through the field to seize second place.

Bird’s first win last season came at the Malaysian circuit and he was again fast in free practice as FIA Formula E made its 2015 return.

However, a challenging qualifying session left the two DS Virgin Racing cars sharing the seventh row of the grid with the odds seemingly stacked against a good result.

Instead, Bird found the right combination of attack and caution to seize a great second place in what commentator Dario Franchitti described as "one of the maddest races I’ve ever watched".

Heading into the halfway point of the race Bird was able to pit among the second group of drivers, putting him a strong position when re-joining in ninth place.

After the changeover his gutsy driving, combined with efficient battery management, saw him climb the field as he once again demonstrated the impressive form that secured his previous victory at the circuit.

With a little over three laps to go Bird took advantage of a coming-together between Loïc Duval and Robin Frijns, taking a perfect racing line to pass his rivals into podium contention.

A suspension failure for Duval’s team-mate Jerome D?Ambrosio on the final lap gave Bird second place, moving him on to 24 points for the season after two successive point finishes and into third place in the overall Drivers’ Championship.

The result was even more extraordinary because one of the charging systems to Sam’s car had blown with less than an hour to go the race, forcing the DS Virgin Racing team to undertake an entire rebuild of the back end of the car under severe time pressure.

Speaking about his race, Bird said: "This really is one for the team. The boys at DS Virgin Racing worked incredibly hard to fix the problems we had in the immediate lead-up to the race. They were under huge time pressure - not to mention having to work in baking hot conditions.

"We know that this championship is about speed, but it’s also about getting to the finish and we did that superbly today."

DS Virgin Racing Team Principal Alex Tai said: "We are delighted to claim another podium here in Putrajaya after Sam’s victory last year. His tenacity together with the reliability of the DS drivetrain gave us a great result today.

"I’d also like to praise the effort of the entire team, who put in a huge effort to replace two car components shortly before the race."

Sam and the team now move on to Punta del Este for the Uruguayan ePrix on 19 December.

A dramatic Six Hours of Shanghai saw Sam Bird and the #26 G-Drive Racing Ligier JS P2-Nissan team survive the challenging wet-to-dry conditions and earn a battling second place to increase their lead in the FIA World Endurance Championship LMP2 standings.

After back-to-back victories, a third consecutive win eluded Bird and team-mates Julien Canal and Roman Rusinov and ultimately they were glad to safely bank their sixth podium of the season. With just one race remaining and a maximum of 26 points available they hold a 16-point advantage over their nearest challengers.

On a dry Saturday Bird had grabbed the bonus point available for qualifying on LMP2 pole - but a treacherous Sunday saw the race begin with 16 minutes behind the safety car and continue with cars spinning off the track from the first green flag lap to the last.

When racing began Sam immediately looked to build a gap from the rest of the LMP2 cars, but his progress was swiftly disrupted by a full-course yellow after the #26 car’s main championship rivals, the #47 KCMG Oreca, span into the gravel and had to be recovered.

Bird ended his stint as the LMP2 leader, but worsening weather caught out many drivers, causing multiple full-course yellows, and also posed a challenge for the tyre strategists. By the time he returned to the car for his second stint the #26 had fallen to fifth in class.

On a drying track he regained third place and handed over to Rusinov who moved up to second at the flag. Behind him, the recovering #47 KCMG Oreca took advantage of a last-lap spin for the second G-Drive car to seize third place and set up a title decider at the season-ending Six Hours of Bahrain on November 21.

G-Drive Racing team principal Philippe Dumas said: "The team was very strong. We continued to demonstrate the performance of the Ligier JS P2 in dry, normal conditions, as shown by getting pole in qualifying. We were hoping for a dry race and I think, had it been dry, we would have been very strong. But that’s how it goes: sometimes you get difficult races.

"It was a very stressful race for everyone - it was hard for the drivers to stay on the track, for the engineers to get the right strategy, which I think they got right. We’ve scored some important points for the championship.

"I’m really disappointed for the #28 who had done a very good race. It was a cruel end to go out one lap from the end, but that’s part of motorsports. We still have one car in strong contention for the title and we’ll put our efforts together to get there."

Duncan Tappy’s debut season in the GT Asia Series ended in style as he and team-mate Benny Simonsen drove their #77 Absolute Racing Bentley Continental GT3 to victory at the Buriram Chang International Circuit in Thailand.

The pair were quick all weekend, Tappy qualifying on pole for the Saturday race before dominating the opening stint of the 60-minute contest and handing over to Simonsen to complete the win.

Tappy said: "It may not have been exciting to watch but, as a driver, that’s what you want - get your head down, stay out of trouble and open up a gap to make it as easy as possible when you hand it over.

"Ultimately I was surprised it wasn’t closer, because qualifying was so close. I expected the McLarens might put me under pressure for the first five or six laps, but that didn’t happen."

Simonsen added: "I really just had to go out and maintain the gap. Duncan did an awesome opening stint and that made things a lot easier."

Behind them in third place came their Absolute Racing colleagues Adderly Fong and Keita Sawa, a result that set up a final-race shoot-out for the drivers’ title on Sunday between their #8 Bentley and Darryl O’Young in the Craft-Bamboo Aston.

The closeness of the contest meant that Tappy and Simonsen put aside hopes of individual glory to support the team effort, slotting in behind the third-placed #8 car as it tried to close the gap on O’Young and Briton Daniel Lloyd.

By the closing stages it was clear that Sawa was not making progress, so the team gave Tappy the all-clear to pass and try to chase down the leaders - but, by then, his tyres were past their best and he chose to drop back behind the other Bentley and finish fourth.

He said: "It was a frustrating race for me really. My pace - as it has been all weekend - was really strong. I qualified on pole, won the first race, it was amazing and it was brilliant, and we carried that pace into race two, but we had to play a bit of a team game and sit behind Sawa.

"Towards the end of the race the team gave me the all clear to go past, but by then it was too late in the day. So ultimately we decided to just stay behind and gain some more valuable points for Absolute Racing."

The result meant that Tappy finished the season seventh of 59 in the drivers’ standings, while Bentley Team Absolute won the team title.

A rain-soaked Fuji Speedway saw Sam Bird and his G-Drive Racing team-mates Roman Rusinov and Julien Canal earn pole position and victory in their class.

The win was the second in a row for the trio, who have now finished first or second in class at all bar one of the season’s races, and it moved the #26 car into the FIA World Endurance Championship LMP2 lead with only the China and Bahrain rounds remaining.

The team’s pole-setting average of 1:31.529 had been achieved in the dry, but race day was wet and the first 40 minutes of Sam’s stint was spent behind the safety car waiting for conditions to improve enough for racing. When it finally did the G-Drive car’s performance got better in tandem with the conditions and a robust performance by all three drivers saw the car take the flag in first place.

Team principal Philippe Dumas said: "What I’m going to take away from this weekend is that we were incredibly powerful in the dry. I think that we’ve done the best qualifying in the history of the G-Drive Racing team. It’s very positive for the rest of the championship and the future of the Ligier JS P2. The rain didn’t help us today; we thought it would stop sooner than it did, but that’s part of the game. The drivers all did a good job and we found a great setup for the end of the season."

Bird said: "We’re obviously delighted to win. The whole team put in an amazing effort all weekend, from first practice to the last corner. Everybody did their job correctly and we’ve come out with a win. We now lead the championship and it’s now all to play for. It’s going to be a case of who wins the last two races and we’ll see how it goes."

But the season will not end for Bird at the chequered flag in Bahrain - his consistently strong performances have earned him a slot in the LMP1 rookie test that takes place at the circuit the following day.

He is one of three drivers selected for the test by the FIA World Endurance Championship promoter based on performance, determination and race skills during 2015. Bird and New Zealanders Richie Stanaway and Mitch Evans will each be paired with a prototype manufacturer for a guaranteed minimum of 30 laps testing.

Bird, who will work with Toyota on the day, said: "It’s good that what I have done this year has been noticed. I’m looking forward to it, and it is definitely a step in the right direction for my career."

Announcing the names of the drivers chosen for the test, ACO president Pierre Fillon said: "Of the many potential candidates we considered for selection, these three have shown outstanding performances which we considered merited the test drives in Bahrain. All three have come from GP2, and we respect that Sam has made the full commitment this year to endurance racing."

GÈrard Neveu, CEO of the World Endurance Championship, said: "This first Rookie Test is a fantastic opportunity for these three up-and-coming endurance drivers to test an LMP1 prototype, the most technologically advanced race cars in the world.

"We looked in depth at drivers from within the world of endurance racing before making the selection, and believe that Sam Bird, Mitch Evans and Richie Stanaway fully deserved the opportunity to demonstrate their talent and potential.

"This Rookie Test will give drivers an added bonus to their season, and forms an important element in the progressive career path available within the endurance family."

Sam and his G-Drive team-mates Roman Rusinov and Julien Canal earned another LMP2 podium as the World Endurance Championship returned from its summer break with the Six Hours of Nürburgring.

Sam brought the #26 car home in second place, ahead of the other G-Drive car, ensuring that both remain in touch with the championship-leading KCMG entry as the season reaches its mid-point.

G-Drive Racing team principal Philippe Dumas said: “I’m very proud of the team who’ve done an excellent job all weekend. We had very good pit stops and we had a very good strategy, but KCMG was faster! But we don’t have any regrets even though we would have preferred winning.

"There are still four rounds left, and we will fight to get more victories and continue our battle for the title, which remains our goal.

"We would’ve liked to get the Ligier JS P2 to the top of the podium this weekend though, as a tribute to Guy Ligier.”

DS Virgin Racing have confirmed that Sam Bird will return to race for the team in the second FIA Formula E season, after a début campaign that saw him win two races and challenge for the title.

He will be partnered in the garage by French ex-F1 driver Jean-Eric Vergne.

Bird, who represented the Virgin Racing team in the inaugural season of the FIA Formula E championship, won as many races as the eventual championship winner, including the London finale and a dominant victory in Putrajaya, Malaysia. The 28-year-old was one of the most impressive drivers in the first season, picking up three podiums and two fastest laps in addition to his two race wins.

He said: "Last season was a learning curve but one I thoroughly enjoyed, so I’m elated to be back with the DS Virgin Racing team for the 2015-16 season. We had two great wins last season so the aim is to build on that success and have a fantastic second season in Formula E. The advancements to the car around the powertrain are really exciting so I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel at Donington to get some good testing in before the first race in Beijing."

Alex Tai, DS Virgin Racing Team Principal, said: "We are thrilled to have retained Sam and to be able to welcome Jean-Eric to the DS Virgin Racing team for season two of the FIA Formula E championship. Both Sam and Jean-Eric are exceptional talents and I believe we now have one of the strongest driver pairings on the grid. I’m looking forward to being able to compete for regular honours from race to race and, following the announcement of our partnership with the DS brand at the end of last season, I am very happy that the good news for the team keeps on coming."

The second FIA Formula E season will commence in Beijing on the 17th October 2015. Summer testing began on 10th August 2015 at Donington Park.

Virgin Racing driver Sam Bird delighted the British crowds with a champagne performance as the inaugural Formula E championship came to a thrilling end in London’s Battersea Park.

A display of aggressive driving saw Bird work his way from fourth place on the grid to the top step on the podium, his second win of the season after also taking victory in Putrajaya.

After jumping to third following a precise car changeover, Bird overtook Loic Duval for second place and then fought a long battle with Stephane Sarrazin for first. Venturi driver Sarrazin was only able to protect his lead by exceeding his energy allocation on the final lap and was given a post-race time penalty, handing victory to the Briton.

Bird said: "What an amazing race and end to the season. We worked hard to maintain our position in the first half of the race and after a great car changeover we jumped to third. I managed to conserve the car’s energy to enable a lap more than Stephane before the second stint - that turned the race for me. To end the season on top of the podium in front of a home crowd is incredible."

Alex Tai, Virgin Racing Team Principal, said, "We couldn’t have scripted a better end to the first FIA Formula E series. As the only British team in the Championship, to finish with a win in London is incredible. Sam drove an excellent race and I’m hugely proud of the whole team. Winning the last race is great - it might be the end of this season but really it is just a beautiful beginning for us as we are already looking forward to season two, which we will be entering with our new partner as DS Virgin Racing."

For more information on the Virgin Racing Formula E Team, please visit http://www.virginracing.com.

A consistently skilful performance across the whole of the gruelling 24 Hours of Le Mans saw Sam and his team-mates Roman Rusinov and Julien Canal rewarded with third place in the LMP2 category of the classic race.

They brought home the #26 G-Drive Racing Ligier JS P2 several laps ahead of their colleagues in the #28 car for a 3-4 finish that earned valuable points in the FIA World Endurance Championship standings.

In a race disrupted by three safety cars and countless yellow flags and slow zones, the two G-Drive Racing cars kept clear of the main incidents from start to finish.

The weather through most of the 24hrs was favourable, starting warm and bright with only about 30 minutes of light rain on Sunday morning, and the race got off to a very clean start with no incidents for the first hour.

Sam had qualified the #26 strongly and took the start for the team, but slipped back in the initial shuffle before recovering steadily to third. He held the place until his pitstop and driver change-over, but a small fuel fire delayed the car and cost several places.

He returned to the car later in the day with his team-mates having held seventh place, and a strong fight-back helped him recover to third by sundown. A retirement ahead took him into second place and the team worked on tracking the class-leading #47 KCMG Oreca 05.

Two mistakes by the #47 gave hope of catching up but the lead was too great and, late in the race, differing pitstop strategies allowed the hard-charging #38 Jota Sport Gibson to relegate the #26 to third.

For G-Drive, the result meant important points in the FIA WEC battle and a pleasing podium. Team Principal Philippe Dumas said: "I’m obviously torn between the disappointment of not winning this unique race that everyone wants to win, and a really good overall result.

"Le Mans is Le Mans and to get to the end is an exploit in itself. Third and fourth in class translates to second and third in the WEC LMP2 classification, and we have to be satisfied with this result. We also need to congratulate our rivals."

Speaking immediately after the race, Sam said: “So we’ve just finished the 24 Hour Le Mans race, and I’ve got to say that it’s probably the hardest race I’ve ever taken part in.

"The boys and girls at G-Drive Racing, and everybody here, did a really good job - they’re faultless. They made sure the cars were immaculate all week and fast. Just not fast enough in a straight line unfortunately for this event, but it’s a long championship and a podium is an amazing achievement here. So congratulations to everybody."

Bentley Team Absolute readies three-car line-up as 2015 GT Asia Series gets under way

• GT Asia Series 2015 begins at South Korean F1 track
• Three-car Bentley Team Absolute to face "most competitive field on record"
• Duncan Tappy drafted in while Steve Kane tackles Nurburgring

(Yeongam, South Korea, 13th May 2015) The three-car Bentley Team Absolute entry embarks upon its 2015 GT Asia Series campaign this weekend at South Korea’s 5.6 km F1 track, where two sixty-minute races will see the powerful line-up take on what has been billed as the series’ most competitive field on record.

Marking the start of the team’s first full season contesting the region’s most high-profile GT championship, piloting the three Bentley Continental GT3 race cars will be an expert line-up of drivers with diverse backgrounds, together representing an intriguing combination of sportscar experience and exciting young talent.

All three are entered in the GT3 Class, with car #07 driven by Jeffrey Lee of Chinese Taipei and 2010 Indy Lights champion, Frenchman Jean-Karl Vernay, runner-up in the Blancpain Endurance Race in Monza last month. New Lotus F1 Development Driver Adderly Fong of Hong Kong will be at the wheel of the #08 car alongside multiple GT race and championship winner Keita Sawa of Japan.

The third entry sees reigning GTM Class champion Jacky Yeung team up with Briton Duncan Tappy who steps in to replace fellow countryman ’Bentley Boy’ Steve Kane who will contest the ADAC Zurich 24h Race at the Nurburgring the same weekend. It will be a new partnership for the pair in the #77 car, but 30-year-old Tappy, a former single seater star and Blancpain Endurance Series regular, brings a wealth of experience.

Tappy said: "I’m very pleased to be joining Absolute Racing for this weekend’s GT Asia Series race at the Korea International Circuit. This will be my first time racing in Korea and in this Championship, which I know is very competitive. But the Bentley Continental GT3 is a car that I know well and that I love racing in and I’m looking forward to rising to the challenge as part of an excellent team. I’d like to thank Ingo and Fabien from Absolute Racing and Bentley Motorsport for giving me this opportunity."

The Continental GT3 retains the iconic silhouette of the Continental GT but weighs 1000 kg less, while its road-derived 4.0-litre V8 produces up to 600bhp. Now in its second season of racing, this weekend marks the start of a first full season of competition in Asia for Continental GT3.

"Everyone at Bentley Team Absolute is raring to go, and looking forward to getting the season under way," said Absolute Racing director Ingo Matter. "The GT Asia Series entry for 2015 is indeed formidable, but we have the very best line-up of drivers more than able to rise to the challenge. We believe the nimble, powerful Bentley Continental GT3 will be ideally suited to varied nature of the Korea International Circuit, with long straights, tight hairpins, and medium-speed turns."

The weekend marks the start of the 11-race GT Asia Series season, and complements an expanded global motorsport agenda for the Bentley Continental GT3 in 2015, which includes both Bentley Works and Works-supported teams. The Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, this weekend’s ADAC Zurich 24h Race at the Nurburgring, and the Sepang 12 Hours headline a programme which also includes the Blancpain Endurance and Sprint Series, the ADAC GT Masters and the Pirelli World Challenge.

Qualifying for Round 1 of the GT Asia Series gets under way on Saturday, 16th May, with the first 60-minute race following three hours later. Round 2 will be held on Sunday 17th May.

It was one-two finish for G-Drive Racing at the 6 Hours of Silverstone, a first for the Russian team in the FIA WEC, with Sam leading the way in the #26 Ligier JS P2 to take the chequered flag a full lap ahead of the sister #28 machine in second place.

Starting on the front row of the LM P2 grid, the G-Drive cars briefly lost the lead of the race on the opening lap. However, in less than twenty minutes, Bird had regained top spot and from there, he and team mates Roman Rusinov and Julien Canal gradually extended their lead, creating an insurmountable gap to their rivals.

With each driver double-stinting, Bird was back in the car for the final stages, taking the flag as the LMP2 winner and in sixth place overall.

The G-Drive Racing cars proved quick all weekend, not only topping the practice and qualifying sessions but also setting the two fastest laps of the race, with Sam fastest of all in 1:50:045.

Sam said: "Today was race day at Silverstone, my first race with G-Drive Racing in LMP2, and it couldn’t have gone any better. We’ve had a one-two finish, with car 26 coming home with the win and car 28 second. I couldn’t have dreamt of a better start to the season, so congratulations to everybody involved with G-Drive Racing."

Team-mate Roman Rusinov said: "It’s a great start of the season. We did a spectacular race and it was not an easy one as our sister car was really fast. It was an important challenge to manage traffic with no risk in Silverstone but we all did a great job. Sam did the perfect job today so I have to say thank you to him and also to Julien who was also very good. The team did a fantastic job - thanks to all our crew as this victory it’s a great recompense for a strong involvement of each person in the team."

And Team Principal Philippe Dumas added: "It’s a good demonstration of teamwork between the team and the drivers and of our car, the Ligier JS P2. I’m very pleased with the way we’ve worked during the winter tests and how we approached this race. We’ve really progressed in all areas - organisation, people, strategy, confidence, and that’s what I’m going to retain from this weekend. There are still some small details to improve on, but it’s part of our work and of races to be able to improve something. It’s a nice reward for the amount of work we’ve done on this car and we’re going to continue."

G-Drive Racing have confirmed today that they have signed Sam Bird for the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship season.

Sam will join forces with Russian driver, Roman Rusinov, with G-Drive for the fourth consecutive year and Frenchman Julien Canal, back with the team for a second season. 

The team, who narrowly missed out on the 2014 WEC LMP2 title, will continue its highly successful association with French constructor Onroak Automotive and enter two Nissan-powered, Dunlop-shod Ligier JS P2s. The 2015 WEC season features seven 6-hour events around the globe as well as the blue-riband event of the sports car calendar, the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Sam will combine his WEC programme with his ongoing FIA Formula E duties, to which he remains fully committed. Already a race winner in Formula E, Sam currently lies second in the Championship.

Sam Bird: “I’m delighted to be joining G-Drive for the World Endurance Championship. They are a top team in LMP2, run by very professional people and the results they achieved last year speak for themselves. I will do my very best to help them go one step further this season. Thank you to everyone at G-Drive and OAK for their confidence in me”.

Philippe Dumas, Team Principal: “In our second year with G-Drive Racing we’re really determined to win the title that escaped us by such a tiny margin in 2014. Naturally, we’ve remained faithful to the Ligier JS P2 that’s proved just how competitive it is, and we have two excellent driver line-ups. We’ll be up against very stiff opposition in LMP2 with the arrival of new teams and new cars. But that makes the challenge all the more exciting and victory is our sole aim!”

"I love GT racing and the buzz of pushing an entire team," says sports car ace Duncan Tappy as he looks forward to fresh challenges in 2015.

In an interview with the Daily Sports Car website Tappy, who has raced in Bentley, McLaren and Mercedes machinery since his switch to GT racing, says he enjoys helping a team maximise the consistency and pace of their car, and contributing to the development of gentleman drivers’ skills.

And he says his options are open for the 2015 season - while a link to Bentley remains a possibility, he is open to other opportunities to continue his sports car journey.

You can read the full interview on dailysportscar.com here.