The SD Team-backed High Class Racing Porsche squad is gearing up to tackle the biggest event of the Michelin Le Mans Cup season, with two races in support of the world-famous Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend.
Nick Jones will return to compete on the undercard of the world’s biggest race for the fourth time this season, having twice raced around the 8.5-mile Circuit de la Sarthe as part of the Porsche Sprint Challenge before joining the Le Mans Cup field for the first time last year.
Jones will be joined in the Porsche 911 GT3 R by Sven Müller in a change to the usual line-up, with the German-Swiss driver signing up for the remainder of the season. Müller brings with him extensive experience of Porsche racing, having won both the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany and European Supercup titles in 2016 and he also regularly competes in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe. Müller has competed at Le Mans twice before, in 2018 and 2019, but this will mark his first appearance in the Le Mans Cup support event.
With this weekend’s races taking place on the biggest sportscar racing stage of them all, the grid will be boosted by a number of additional entries, with 18 GT3 cars set to do battle for honours. The expanded GT field also complements extra entries in the LMP3 category, with a maximum of 58 cars lining up in what will be the overall largest grid of the season. While the nature of the Le Mans circuit means all cars can be accommodated across the two hour-long sprint races, it does mean managing traffic effectively can be a key to success.
SD Team heads back to France on a high after showing podium-challenging pace last time out at Circuit Paul Ricard, when Jones and Scott Malvern were unfortunate not to land their first top three of the season after a thrilling battle, only to be denied by contact in the closing minutes.
Regardless, the race showed the potential of the 992-generation 911 GT3 R, and Jones and new teammate Müller are aiming to continue making gains with the car, with all eyes on enjoying a flying start to their partnership this weekend.
Nick Jones says: “I can’t wait to get back on track at Le Mans. It’s such a special event, and one I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of a few times now. Le Mans is unlike any other race in the world, with the huge number of fans, the quality of the entries and the circuit itself is just amazing. Even as a support race you get an incredible rush from it. Obviously, things will be a bit different this weekend with Sven joining the team. I’ve had many great years racing with Scott, and I want to thank him for everything. We had a really productive test with Sven recently and we got on really well. I have no doubt I will learn a lot of new things sharing with him. The grid this weekend looks super competitive, but we hope to get ourselves into the mix for the big points.”
Sven Müller says: “I’m really looking forward to working with Nick across the rest of the season. The test we did recently went really well and it’s my job to give him as much information as I can to help him improve as a driver and together we can move forward. I also know the team at High Class Racing already, including many of the mechanics and engineers, so I am confident we can make a strong start. This will be my first appearance in the Le Mans Cup, so it’s a new experience for me in some ways. I did the Le Mans 24 Hours for two years before and know how wonderful the circuit is – It’s such a special place to go and compete and I’m excited to begin this new journey.”
Action for the Michelin Le Mans Cup gets underway with two free practice sessions on Wednesday June 12, with qualifying and the opening race of the weekend on Thursday. Track activity then takes a break on Friday to reset ahead of the weekend, and the last Le Mans Cup race takes place just before the start of the 24 Hours on Saturday morning. All sessions will feature live timing, with both qualifying and the races being shown live on the championship’s YouTube channel.
