Joao Barbosa completes Krohn Racing’s lineup for the 83rd 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside team owner Tracy Krohn and Nic Jonsson.
The 2014 Tudor United SportsCar Prototype champion will return to the famed twice round the clock race for the first time since 2011. In seven previous starts, Barbosa has a best finish of 4th in 2007 racing for Rollcentre Racing in the LMP1 class. In his last appearance at Le Mans, Barbosa aided Level 5 Motorsports resulted in a third place finish in the LMP2 class and 10th place overall.
“I was very excited when I got the phone call with the invitation to drive at Le Mans with Krohn Racing,” said Barbosa. “I’m not only excited to be able to get back to Le Mans but also to join a top team with a great operation.”
Krohn Racing will make their LMP2 debut at Le Mans as part of their full season effort in the European Le Mans Series in their Judd powered Liger JS P2. Krohn and Jonsson have competed at Le Mans together since 2006 with a best finish of second in the GT2 class in 2007.
“As you can imagine, we had a lot of interest from drivers to join us this year at Le Mans in the new Ligier-Judd,” Krohn said. “It’s a competitive package and a step-up up for our team. We’ve already shown a lot of strength in a short amount of time and hope we can do the same at Le Mans. Joao is a great addition because, although he’s not driven the Ligier, he has Le Mans experience and is a fierce and skilled competitor and will suit our team well.
Barbosa will miss the Le Mans test on May 31 due to the TUDOR Championship Chevrolet Sportscar Classic at Detroit being held the same day. He will turn his first laps in the #40 Liger JS P2 race week.
“I’ve been racing against them (the JS P2) in the IMSA TUDOR Championship so I will be able to have an inside look of how good car it is,” Barbosa added.
“From what I’ve seen it’s a great car, very competitive and I think the overall package will work very well at Le Mans.”
Photo credit: Daily SportsCar
