G-Drive Racing Team recruits Austrian Binder and Australian Allen for FIA WEC

G-Drive Racing Team will welcome the returning Rene Binder and Australian racer James Allen to its 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) campaign, for which Algarve Pro Racing will provide technical support.

An experienced LMP2 driver, Binder has regularly scored points since taking his first steps in endurance sportscar racing during the 2019 European Le Mans Series (ELMS), and the Austrian will be welcomed back to G-Drive Racing after playing a crucial role in securing the 2021 Asian Le Mans Series championship title and an automatic entry to the 89th 24 Hours of Le Mans for the Russian-flagged team.

“I would like to begin by thanking Roman Rusinov and the entire G-Drive Racing team for placing their confidence in me,” said Binder. “In fact there were several promising options for 2022 but for me it’s a great honour to race the #26 G-Drive Racing LMP2 in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Following our joint success in the Asian Le Mans Series, our partnership continues onto the world stage, and the start of the 2022 season at Sebring can’t come quickly enough for me.”

Allen, who has featured on the ELMS podium several times and finished third in the 2021 LMP2 classification, has now committed to a three-pronged campaign with G-Drive Racing, as his 2022 FIA WEC drive will follow the IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona (27-30 January) and be dovetailed with a full season in the ELMS.

“I’m still struggling to grasp the fact that I will be competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2022,” said Allen. “It has been a goal of mine to take on the FIA WEC since my debut in sportscar racing, and I can’t think of a better team to achieve that with. I’m thrilled to be racing with Rene (Binder) on his return to G-Drive Racing after winning the Asian Le Mans Series. He comes with a mass of experience across both endurance racing and single-seaters, and I can’t wait to utilise that to reach our full potential.

“I can’t thank Roman Rusinov enough for placing his trust in me, and I’ll do everything I can to help achieve our goals. Frankly, It’s an honour to be able to run across three championships with the same team and phenomenal driver line-ups. I don’t think anyone is prepared for what G-Drive Racing is going to achieve in 2022.”

G-Drive Racing Team Principal, Roman Rusinov, said: “G-Drive Racing is really pleased to have drivers of James Allen and Rene Binder’s calibre in our FIA World Endurance Championship line-up, and I’m looking forward to announcing our Platinum driver. With technical support from Algarve Pro Racing. I’m confident it’s an entry that will be capable of fighting for race wins, the FIA WEC LMP2 title and victory in the 90th 24 Hours of Le Mans, so it’ll be a particularly exciting season for us all.”