So24 wants to build a new project

Contacted by AUTOhebdo, the So24 association which brings together Sarthe companies reacted following the Lombard Racing filing for bankruptcy with whom she was partnered.

At what level was the partnership between Jean Lombard and SO24 based? How much of the budget was spent on the team? Were the partnership clauses respected by SO24?

The partnership between SO24 and Lombard Racing was based on the pilot contract of Vincent CAPILLAIRE, pilot sponsored by SO24 for 3 years. The principle was simple, SO24 brought a driver to Lombard Racing, and his budget. Mr. Lombard, his goal was to exploit the Team, that was in no way our role! Our mission at SO24 is to bring a driver from Sarthe to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans thanks to partnerships with Teams. What we did: Bastien Brière and Thomas Dagoneau with Boutsen Ginion in 2012 and 2013, and Vincent Capillaire with Sebastien Loeb Racing in 2014, Alpine in 2015 and Lombard Racing in 2016.

Unfortunately, we were the victim of this company (to which we had lent our name!) which did not have the capacity to respect its commitments: what we were forced to do in its place to ensure the participation of the team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Today Lombard Racing is in liquidation, the responsibility is not ours. We responded to fulfill our obligations (and beyond!), our partners were not left out to support us and Vincent had a particularly good start to the season.

Are you considering any actions?

The actions we are considering are simple: get up and try to help all the people who have found themselves trapped by this situation. Luckily, we can count on the support and trust of our partners! Our goal today is to continue the adventure, even more united than ever. Our title partners have committed to following us for the next 3 years. We're not going to stop there! We will keep our commitments to the end. 

Does SO24 plan to renew a future partnership with another team?

Absolutely, we can say that this bad patch has taught us a lot of things about the world of motorsport. This allowed us to see that there are still people we can trust and we have the firm intention of returning to the championship ELMS 2017 with one of them!