TotalMotorSport All the latest Motorsport news, race reports and photographs from around the world. Alms, Touring Cars, Formula One & Le Mans 24 Hours

<body> <Table Width="550" border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="0"><TR><TD Width="35"><IMG SRC="//www.totalmotorsport.com/images/spacer.gif" WIDTH="35" HEIGHT="1"></td><td> <CENTER><Table border="0" width="100%"> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="5">LE MANS</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2">08/11/2001</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="4">Reynard at Le Mans</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="3">VLR take to Sportscars</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><img border="1" src="Storage/Reynard-02S-Sportscar(1).jpg"></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="1">  </FONT></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2">VLR have announced their plans to enter two of the new Reynard 02S LMP675 cars at next years Le Mans. The deal to run the cars has come about after many months of negotiations between Reynard and VLR and the team feel they have the right car to be competitive at their first attempt at the famous 24 hour race.<BR> <BR> Vic Lee, Managing Director, VLR, explains, “Sportscars have always been one of my passions and Le Mans 24 Hour race has always been one of my goals. With the foundations that are starting to be put in place for the team, I’m moving closer to realising a dream - although it’s early days and I need to get all the elements together in the next few months. The opportunity to work closely with a company of the calibre of Reynard doesn’t come along too often, so I jumped at the chance to work with them when the right package was presented to me. The 02S is shaping up to be a competitive, lightweight contender in the 675 class and the engineering and design teams are first rate, so I think we’ll be strong challengers for next years race.”<BR> <BR> The team is anticipating delivery of its first car in February, with a full testing programme, including at least one 24-hour test and a possible ALMS outing prior to the Le Mans 24 Hour test session in May. After Le Mans a selected programme of races is planned, with possible European and USA events pencilled into the calendar.<BR> <BR> “We’re delighted that Vic Lee Racing has chosen to work with us,” says Robert Synge, Reynard Motorsport. “It will give us an opportunity to work together in the development of the 02S as they are a fairly local company and I’m sure we can both benefit from the geographical proximity. The team is dedicated to putting together a highly focused programme leading up to Le Mans and we will be giving them as much help as we can throughout this period. We believe it is important to provide the highest levels of customer support, in order to maximise the potential of a car such as the 02S.”<BR> <BR> The engine supplier has yet to be named but it is believed to be a purpose built unit for the Reynard chassis. Vic Lee hopes to run the cars in at least one ALMS race before Le Mans and possibly others afterwards depending on sponsorship and clashing races with the BTCC.<BR> The fact that British Touring cars and Le Mans manage to avoid a clash of dates next season could well mean a return to Le Mans for Steve Soper.<BR> </FONT></TD></TR> </TABLE><BR> </CENTER> <BR><CENTER><font size="1" color="#808080" face="Tahoma">Copyright ©2000-©2023 TotalMotorSport</font></CENTER> </td> </tr> </table> </body>