Aurus arrives in Endurance with G-Drive

The Russian limousine manufacturer is launching into motorsport, and more precisely into ELMS and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with G-Drive Racing.

Published on 02/04/2019 à 11:14

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Champion ELMS in title, the G-Drive Racing team is putting its title back on the line this season with a leading trio combining boss-driver Roman Rusinov with Dutchman Job van Uitert – 2018 ELMS champion in LM P3 – and Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne , replaced at the 4 Hours of Castellet and Monza by Norman Nato, due to date conflicts with the Rome and Monaco E-Prix.

But big news this year, to achieve its goals, the Moscow entity will be able to rely on the support of Aurus, a new Russian manufacturer of limousines which did not go unnoticed during the last Geneva show, a few years ago. weeks.

And for good reason, desired by President Vladimir Putin, the Aurus Senat and Senat Limousine, developed by the Central Institute of Scientific and Automotive Research in Moscow, aim to be the new flagships of the Russian automobile industry. The first mentioned, which claims to be the most powerful Limousine in the world, is equipped with a 8-liter V4,4 developing 598 horsepower coupled to an electric motor.

Roman Rusinov and his acolytes will therefore officially drive an Aurus 01 this year, like what they do in WEC Signatech with sound Alpine A470. If it remains LM P2, the involvement of a manufacturer – a Russian one at that – alongside G-Drive Racing, is news that the Automobile Club de l'Ouest can only rejoice in as a source of visibility.