Charlie Eastwood to Embark on European Le Mans Series LMP2 Campaign with Racing Team Turkey
Following his upcoming debut at the Rolex Daytona 24-Hour race on 30-31 January in a TF Sport Aston Martin, 2018 Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year, Charlie Eastwood, will compete in the LMP2 class of the 2021 European Le Mans Series with newly-formed Racing Team Turkey.
The World Endurance Championship GTE AM vice-champion will be joined in the team by Salih Yoluc and previous European Le Mans Series champion, Harry Tincknell.
The new LMP2 outfit will be driven by the multiple GT championship-winning UK-based team, TF Sport, who enjoyed several podiums and a win with Yoluc in the ELMS GTE class, back in 2017.
With a wealth of success and knowledge in many GT categories, TF Sport is confident they can continue their strong performances, but are under no illusion of the challenges that prototype racing will bring. Yoluc has already had a taste of racing the P2 machinery, in 2019, where he scored an outright podium in Shanghai on his debut.
Racing Team Turkey by TF Sport took delivery of their new LMP2 machine before the New Year and their pre-season preparations are well underway.
The first round of the 2021 European Le Mans Series will take place at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain, on April 18.
Charlie Eastwood, Gold Driver: “It’s great to be back with Salih and TF for yet another season and Harry makes a superb addition to our line-up. Prototypes are a completely different animal to GT cars, our brief test in an LMP2 went really well and Salih impressed us with his pace. I have no doubts that we are capable of achieving some strong results this year.”
Salih Yoluc, Bronze Driver: “I’m really happy to be racing with Racing Team Turkey by TF Sport in the European Le Mans Series. It is a new challenge for all of us and I believe we have a great team to progress, and climb up to the top, just as quickly as we did in the GT field!”
Harry Tincknell, Platinum Driver: “With their formidable success, it’s clear that TF Sport are one of the top British teams out there at the moment, so I’m thrilled to be joining them, alongside Salih and Charlie. I’ve been following them closely and it’s the perfect time for them to step into the prototype ranks. I’ve wanted to be back in ELMS in a competitive car for a while and I have no doubt that TF’s GT success will be continued over into LMP2. I’ve watched Salih’s meteoric rise through GT, to become a Le Mans winner and a think the prototype will really suit his driving style. Along with Salih and Charlie, it’s going to be a really fun year!”
Tom Ferrier, Team Owner: “We are really excited about the challenge! We don’t underestimate that it’s going to be tough, but it’s somewhere we have always wanted to progress to. A huge thanks to Salih for making this possible and staying with us. Very happy to keep Charlie, as both him and Salih are known quantities to us and we’re really pleased to have Harry alongside us. A driver of Harry’s quality and experience will speed up the learning process and bring us some strong results.”