Sébastien Ogier will compete with Richard Mille Racing for a full World Endurance Championship campaign in the LMP2 class this season, which includes the jewel-in-the-crown Le Mans 24 Hours race.
Eight-time world champion Ogier has long made it clear that he only intends to compete in the World Rally Championship part-time in 2022, despite taking second place on the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally, as he looks towards a future in circuit racing.
Immediately after the Monte in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, Ogier was testing Toyota’s GR010 Hybrid racing car at Motorland Aragón in Spain for two days.
But his first full racing program won’t be with his rallying employer, as he will instead ply his trade in the second-tier LMP2 class while targeting a step up to Toyota’s factory team in the future.
Ogier will compete in all six rounds of the WEC season alongside team-mates Lilou Wadoux and Charles Milesi, beginning with the 1000 Miles of Sebring on March 18.
“Up until now, I have focused on my rally career, but it has been on my mind for a long time that endurance racing could be a good challenge. LMP2 is a fantastic category and the best way for me to reach the highest level of endurance racing and improve in this discipline,” said Ogier.
“I am a novice for sure, but I want to enjoy myself while assessing what’s possible and seeing how close I can get to the best.
“This adventure is enticing, but I am aware that I have a lot to learn and a lot of experience to gain. I have always had a good capacity to adapt in rallying, so I hope that this will also be true on race tracks!”
Ogier’s WRC program is yet to be confirmed but he is expected to contest four or five rallies and is understood to be interested in competing on both Rally Portugal and Safari Rally Kenya.
The Acropolis Rally would be impossible as it clashes with the 6 Hours of Fuji while likewise the season finale of WEC – the 8 Hours of Bahrain – coincides with the WRC’s final event in Japan.
Esapekka Lappi will drive the works GR Yaris Rally1 vacated by Ogier in the WRC, starting with Rally Sweden in late February.
