Murphy Prototypes racer Michael Lyons will begin his journey towards a drive in the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours at the 83rd staging of the great race next weekend, 13th/14th June, when he forms part of the LMP2 squad’s core support team.
With his chief goal being to debut in the world’s most famous motor race in 12 months’ time, the rapid 24-year-old will be seeking to glean as much information as possible from his involvement this year where he will work hand-in-hand with the team’s management.
Although the Bishop’s Stortford racer won’t have an opportunity to get behind the wheel of the Murphy Oreca 03R-Nissan he regularly pilots in the European Le Mans Series, he will experience the full workings of a full Le Mans 24 Hours weekend at the coalface.
“Obviously I’d love to be racing at Le Mans next weekend but this really is the next best thing, officially being part of the team and getting to learn on the ground about everything competing at Le Mans entails”, said Michael.
“I’ll be involved with all of the briefings and meetings with the Murphy guys and will be in the garage all weekend, just soaking up everything I can from the experience. My aim is to be racing at the 24 Hours next year and, coupled with the progress I’ve been making in the ELMS over the last couple of seasons, this is a building block to achieving that.”
Murphy will field Michael’s ELMS team-mates Nathanael Berthon and Mark Patterson in next weekend’s twice-round-the-clock race, alongside former Formula One racer Karun Chandhok. The team lapped fastest in LMP2 during the official test last weekend.
During the most recent round of the European Le Mans Series at Imola in Italy last month, Michael partnered Berthon and Patterson to a superb second place finish to secure the Irish squad’s first podium result of 2015.
More than 60 cars are set to take part in the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours which will begin at 15.00 (local time) next Saturday, 13th June. Live television coverage of the great race will be screened in the UK on British Eurosport – check listings for full details.
Michael’s next race outing with Murphy Prototypes, meanwhile, will come during round three of the European Le Mans Series on 11th/12th July at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. Before then, he will be in action with Kessel Racing in the Blancpain Endurance Series at Paul Ricard on Sunday, 20th June.
