Neel Jani, teammate of Romain Grosjean

Winner in Abu Dhabi and Brno, the crew of the No. 5 Ford GT, second in the drivers' championship behind the Michael Bartels-Andrea Bertolini pair, will be disbanded. This is the decision taken by Martin Bartek, the boss of Matech Compétition, who wants to put all the chances on his side to see one of his drivers triumph at the end of the season.

The former Renault resident F1 team will now have to share the seat of its car with Neel Jani. Former Champcar driver, ex-reservist at Toro Rosso in 2006, A1 GP champion 2007-2008 and passed through GP2 in 2005 and 2006, the Swiss currently races for Rebellion Racing in LMS. Fast and reliable, the Swiss driver should acclimatize without too much trouble to the team and the car.

“I am very happy to have received this offer from such a successful team which, although very young, has already experienced success, said a delighted Neel Jani. It's a real challenge, and I'm going to need a little period of adaptation, as I've never driven a GT before, but I can't wait to start this new adventure, and to help Matech to achieve his goal which is to win the championship.

The second Ford GT will be entrusted to the German Thomas Mutsch and the Briton Richard Westbrook, reigning FIA-GT2 champion with Prospeed and third in GT2 in recent years. 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Two very high level crews who will try to bring Matech Compétition up in the teams ranking (currently third). First event for these new duos on July 29 and 31 as a curtain-raiser to the 24 Hours of Spa.

Find an exclusive interview with Romain Grosjean in your AUTOhebdo magazine on newsstands tomorrow.