LE MANS, FRANCE, FEBRUARY 12, 2007 - Jonathan Cochet has announced that he will compete in the entire 2007 Le Mans Endurance Series in the LMP1 class for Courage Competition. Cochet will co-drive a new Courage LC70 with Swiss driver, Alexander Frei, including at the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. The Frei / Cochet program will be run out of the Courage Competition workshop along side a tandem, factory LMP1 program.
Both programs were announced today by team owner, Yves Courage, at a press event held at his Le Mans workshop. It was also announced that Alexander Frei will assume management responsibilities for his program with Cochet. Frei will be responsible for all key decisions relating to testing, chassis development, driving assignments and other operational issues during the season. For 2007, both Courage Competition LMP1 cars will feature 3.6 L turbocharged AER engines, Michelin tires and Xtrac gearboxes.
Cochet recently completed initial testing of the new car. “We have a lot of work to do since 60% of the car is new from last year,” said Cochet. “Because of this, we will work first on developing its reliability. We already know that the car can be quite fast and I am sure we will find the speed again this year. Both Alexander and I have a lot of experience in working with Courage. This will definitely help both programs as we develop the car together.”
“We know it will be hard competing against some of the other factory LMP1 efforts at Le Mans, but I think we will have a very strong package. I am looking forward to showing what we can do.”
In addition to his new Le Mans Endurance Series program with Frei, Cochet will once again drive this year in the Renault Formula 1 Roadshow. He is all set to pilot Fernando Alonso’s 2006 World Championship winning Renault R26 Formula 1 car in demonstration runs during World Series Renault events throughout Europe, exposing fans to the stunning performance of a modern Formula 1 car. Cochet says, “The time I spend driving the Renault R26 Formula 1 car can only help when it comes to our LMS program, so I am very happy to have a full season of driving ahead of me in top level equipment.”
