Isotta Fraschini will partner with Duqueine for their debut FIA World Endurance Championship season with the Tipo 6 Le Mans Hypercar, after being unable to continue their partnership with Vector Sport.
As the 2024 entry list was announced, Vector Sport shared the news of their split with Isotta Fraschini Milano (IFM), with who they were going to partner with for the 2024 WEC campaign.
Despite the partnership being announced last year, and testing occurring with Vector Sport’s branding on the LMH, the deal recently did not come to fruition due to a lack of data being shared from the Italian manufacturer.
IFM has decided to partner with Duqueine, a specialist in designing and manufacturing parts for the aerospace, sports and leisure industries with various successful sportscar appearances with their D08 LMP3 machinery.
Claudio Berro, Head of Motorsport Activities at Isotta Fraschini, said: “We are happy with the entry for the WEC 2024.
“Thanks to an important sponsor, we have agreed with Duqueine.
“We are always in contact with Vector Sport and know of their disappointment, but, unfortunately, having only one car entry was not possible to satisfy Vector’s request.”
One Tipo6-C will be run by the team after having confirmed Alejandro Garcia and Jean-Karl Vernay as two of their three drivers in the #11 Hypercar entrant.
Garcia made his sportscar racing debut this year in the European Le Mans Series with Cool Racing, driving a Ligier JS P320 LMP3 car to five podium finishes, including four class victories, and the championship title with Adrien Chilla and Marcos Siebert.
The Mexican driver had also taken part in the ELMS Rookie Test held after last month’s season finale in Portimao, where he drove the #30 Duqueine Team Oreca 07-Gibson.
He also participated in the FIA Formula 3 Championship although scored only 12 points from 18 races, and he will now make the step to the Hypercar class.
On the other hand, Jean-Karl Vernay has spent the majority of his track time this year developing and testing the LMH, having done so most recently at Imola in wet conditions.
After Glickenhaus were unable to continue their LMH programme, and Vanwall/ByKolles’ 2024 application was rejected, the bespoke name joins the likes of Alpine, BMW and Lamborghini as a debuting manufacturer in the WEC.
