Tatiana Calderón will make the next step in her endurance racing career in 2021 with Richard Mille Racing as the team joins the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The Colombian will be hoping to build on the valuable experience she gained contesting the European Le Mans Series last year as the female-crewed squad joins a packed field in the WEC’s super-competitive LMP2 class.
Entry into the WEC also guarantees a place for Richard Mille Racing on the starting grid of the biggest endurance race in the world, the Le Mans 24 Hours, which Tatiana will contest for the second time this year alongside Beitske Viesser and Sophia Floersch.
Tatiana and her teammates will share the #1 Oreca 07-Gibson for the six-round WEC calendar. But while the car is outwardly the same, there are some important changes, including a power reduction of around 40bhp (down to 560bhp) to help accommodate the new Le Mans Hypercars that replace the old LMP1s.
Goodyear has also taken over the sole tyre supply for the LMP2 class of the WEC, ending the tyre war that had existed in the division between the American firm and Michelin. A switch of tyre maker will only add to the considerable challenge faced by Tatiana and the team.
Although the WEC has not yet released the entry list for the 2021 season, the LMP2 field is set to feature drivers like Le Mans winner Loic Duval, ex-Formula 1 star Stoffel Vandoorne and Indianapolis 500 champion Juan Pablo Montoya. Against such big names, Tatiana has a major opportunity to further underline her potential.
She will combine her WEC campaign with a second season in Japan’s Super Formula championship with the ThreeBond Drago Corse team, as previously announced.
Tatiana Calderón: “I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to stay with the Richard Mille Racing team. It’s going to be a step forward for my career racing in the World Endurance Championship in the LMP2 category against some of the best drivers in the world. The experience of last year in the European Le Mans Series was very beneficial, but this year will be a new challenge – also because the car will have less power because of the new rules, and we are changing from Michelin to Goodyear tyres. In that sense, everything is new, and we have to discover everything afresh. As it’s a world championship, this year will involve even more travelling outside of Europe, so this will also be a challenge with the current situation in the world. But hopefully we can continue to improve and I’m looking forward to continuing our good work from last year and challenging for some strong results.”
2021 WEC SCHEDULE
March 19 – Sebring 1000 Miles (USA)
May 1 – 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)
June 12-13 – Le Mans 24 Hours (France)
July 18 – 6 Hours of Monza (Italy)
September 26 – 6 Hours of Fuji (Japan)
November 20 – 6 Hours of Bahrain
