The SMP Racing team has successfully completed the FIA WEC 2018-2019 Super Season, achieving the highest possible result. The Russian team ran two BR1 prototypes of the LMP1 category, developed by the Russian company BR Engineering and the Italian Dallara. The SMP Racing drivers through the season were Vitaly Petrov, Mikhail Aleshin, Sergey Sirotkin, Egor Orudzhev, Matevos Isaakyan, Stéphane Sarrazin, Jenson Button and Stoffel Vandoorne.
During the season the SMP Racing team has made significant progress and many times finished best of the non-hybrid cars, leaving only Toyota hybrid LMP1 cars ahead. In the 2018-2019 season SMP Racing stepped five times on the podium – in UK, China, USA, Belgium and France. In 2019, in the main marathon of the motorsport at Le Mans SMP Racing has achieved the highest result in history of motorsport for a Russian team, Russian drivers and a Russian car, finishing third overall and in the highest LMP1 category and best of non-hybrid LMP1 cars.
“For us it was a difficult season,” Boris Rotenberg, founder and leader of SMP Racing, said. “We worked a lot on our BR1 prototype. As a result, we were able to show and prove to everyone that the Russian team, Russian drivers and the Russian car are capable of achieving the highest results in the most difficult world championships and in such a prestigious race as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This is a well-deserved success of everyone who participated in this ambitious project – drivers, SMP Racing and ART GP, BR Engineering and Dallara. Our goal has always been only a victory, and we believe that we achieved this victory with the highest possible result in the given circumstances. After the final race at Le Mans we decided that SMP Racing will leave the FIA WEC. Our team will not race in 2019-2020 season”.
Source. SMP Racing
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