21 Mar KING ADDS ULTIMATE CUP SERIES TO 2023 SCHEDULE
George King will more than double his endurance racing experience this season, after being added to the Team Virage line-up for the Ultimate Cup series.
The young Briton, who is already confirmed on the Team Virage entry for the 2023 Ligier European Series, has been handed the chance to pilot its LMP3 prototype in the six-round Ultimate Cup season, moving him further down the road towards his goal of racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship and at the Le Mans 24 Hours. King’s co-drivers for the opening round will be Virage’s European Le Mans Series pilot Manuel Espírito Santo and 2023 Asian Le Mans Series LMP3 runner-up Vyacheslav Gutak, with the latter expected to remain in tandem for the rest of the season. The six-round schedule, meanwhile, will expose the Briton to several new circuits — including a brand-new French venue at Mirecourt — as well as the more powerful LMP3 machine.
“In addition to chasing the title in LES, the move to Virage has now also opened the door to the next level of prototype racing, and I’m thrilled to be getting the chance to race the team’s LMP3 machine in the Ultimate Cup Series,” King confirmed. “It’s another step up the endurance racing ladder, and closer to my dream of competing at the Le Mans 24 Hours, and I hope to make the most of racing in what looks to be a very competitive championship.”
Introduced by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) in 2015 as a first step in the endurance pyramid, the LMP3 category uses closed-cockpit chassis built by a handful of licensed constructors, and powered by a 5.6-litre normally-aspirated Nissan V8 engine, producing 455 bhp. Team Virage successfully campaigned Ligier’s JS P3 car in 2022, and will continue with the same technical package this season.
Formed under the name G-TEC Sport, what is now the Virage Group earned early success in singles-seater series ranging from Formula Junior and F3 to the F2-level Open Telefonica by Nissan series. The Virage Academy was created in 2011 in order to assist drivers with their physical, mental and technical preparation, with several future F1 drivers — including Sergio Perez, Vitaly Petrov, Giedo van der Garde and Rio Haryanto — passing through its doors. Team Virage followed several years later in order to compete in various endurance categories, including the LES as well as the European Le Mans Series and Le Mans Cup, and duly swept the board in last year’s LES as eventual champion Gillian Henrion won all but one of the season’s 12 races.
The opening round of the Ultimate Cup Series takes place at the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France this weekend (24-26 March), while King’s busy season will continue with the start of the LES programme at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona in Spain over the weekend of 21-22 April.
