Arjun Maini to make his Le Mans debut with RLR MSport

After embracing a career in single-seater car championships for the past six years, Arjun Maini will represent team RLR MSport at this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the European Le Mans Series as well.

Arjun Maini is all set to kick-start his endurance racing stint this year as he will join the RLR MSport team in their much-anticipated return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Maini will also compete in the LMP2 Class of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) with an ORECA 07 Prototype vehicle, which will also be driven by teammates John Farano of Canada and Brazil's Bruno Senna. Senna, due to his contractual obligations with Rebellion Racing in the LMP1 Class, will force him to relinquish his seat in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with RLR MSport. 21-year-old Maini becomes only the third Indian driver after Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok to represent India at a Le Mans weekend. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is scheduled to take place from 15-16th June 2019.

After a successful karting career in India, Bengaluru-based Maini has competed in numerous motorsport championships like the Formula BMW Championship, which took place in India and where he finished overall second. He then made his international appearance in the BRDC Formula 4 Championship alongside then-teammate George Russel. After a speedy rise in the single-seater rankings, Maini next set his eyes on the Formula One-supporting GP3 series and last year he moved up to the Formula Two championship, where he finished the season in 16th place for team Trident Motorsport. Besides his racing commitments, Maini is also known for being Haas F1 Team’s development driver.

Maini, sharing his thoughts about his upcoming endurance racing debut, said, 'I’m extremely excited to make my endurance racing debut this year in the European Le Mans Series. The highlight of the year will surely be the race at Le Mans and I’m hoping I can do my country proud as it is one of the most prestigious events in motor racing. It is imperative for anyone to succeed to be backed by a strong team and I think the team at RLR MSport will provide the perfect environment for me to perform at my very best, especially considering I will be racing in a category I have no prior experience in. Given that they are the reigning ELMS LMP3 Champions, the expectations for the 2019 season will be quite high and I’m looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.'

Talking about the team's comeback and Maini's potential, Nick Reynolds, Director of Motorsport Operations at RLR MSport said, 'RLR MSport’s return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the European Le Mans Series’ headlining LMP2 class is an important milestone for the team and we feel it’s absolutely imperative to maximise our chances of achieving great results by recruiting the best drivers. Arjun Maini has shown a great deal of innate speed during his illustrious single-seater career and his talent is unquestionable. I’m certain his transition to prototypes will be a successful one and that he will give a positive contribution to RLR MSport’s 2019 programme at Le Mans and throughout the European Le Mans season.'