Panis Racing has signed an all-French driver line-up for its LMP2 entry into this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The French squad, owned by former Monaco Grand Prix winner Olivier Panis, will enter the #31 ORECA 07-Gibson driven by Mathieu Vaxiviere, Nicolas Jamin and Julien Canal.
It will mark the first time the squad has contested the race under the Panis Racing banner, having competed as Panis-Barthez Competition for a number of years previously.
For Vaxivière, it will be his fourth start in the French endurance classic, and the first since splitting fro the TDS Racing LMP2 squad. In 2019, he finished third in class in LMP2.
The 25-year-old has been drafted into the team in place of Will Stevens, who campaigns with the team in the European Le Mans Series. Stevens has clashing commitments with the Jackie Chan DC Racing WEC squad, with which he will compete in the race instead.
Vaxiviere has history with the team that runs the Panis Racing operation, Tech 1 Racing, competing for the French outfit in the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2012 and 2013.
Nicolas Jamin made his Le Mans debut in 2019, partnering Pierre Ragues and Romain Dumas at Duqueine Engineering, finishing seventh.
Julien Canal is by far the most experienced driver of the trio. The Le Mans native made his debut in 2010 and captured three class wins in a row with Larbre Competition before adding another class podium with G-Drive Racing in 2014. The 38-year-old joined the team, known then as Panis-Barthez Competition, in 2018.
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