A fresh face to the FIA World Endurance Championship paddock in Shanghai is young French single-seater star Tom Dillmann. Racing with Nelson Panciatici and Paul-Loup Chatin this weekend, the 26-year-old will make his debut aboard the No.36 Alpine A450B-Nissan.
Les Bleus' new recruit has a wealth of experience in F3, GP3 and GP2 but is now branching out to the competitive world of LMP2 racing in the WEC.
“I have always wanted to race in the WEC, it is a really nice championship,” said the Mulhouse-born racer. “I’m happy that Signatech Alpine gave me the opportunity this weekend and after FP1 this morning I got a nice feeling for the car. I haven’t had any testing, just a seat fitting in a show car.
“I know the team well since I was fighting against them in Formula Three a few years ago,” continued Dillmann. “Now we have the opportunity to race together, so I am sure it will nice, especially with two good team mates like Nelson (Panciatici) and Paul-Loup (Chatin).
“This morning Paul-Loup started on new tyres and, like me, he needed to learn the track. I then got in and did a long run on heavy fuel to get used to the car in race conditions. Then Nelson got in and it all went smoothly. I think we can have a really strong weekend and I am hopeful that this will be the start of a nice story for me and the FIA WEC.”
Sam Smith
