Vandoorne joins LMP2 World Endurance Championship outfit Jota Sport

Mercedes reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne has announced he will race in the World Endurance Championship LMP2 class this year with Jota Sport.

Vandoorne faces a hectic schedule in 2021 competing in both WEC and in Formula E alongside Nyck de Vries in the factory Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team.

Through Jota Sport, Vandoorne will also race in the Asia Le Mans series.

In a tweet Vandoorne said: "[I'm] very happy to be back in WEC this season with Jota Sport together with my buddies Sean Gelael and Tom Blomqvist. Let's get it!"

?NEWS!? Very happy to be back in @FIAWEC this season with @JotaSport together with my buddies @gelaelized and @tom_blomqvist ? let’s get it??? pic.twitter.com/SmpgFfskqQ

— Stoffel Vandoorne (@svandoorne) January 7, 2021

Vandoorne experienced endurance racing for the first time in 2019 when he finished third overall, behind only the two Toyota entries, for LMP1 team SMP Racing, in the Le Mans 24 Hour.

For 2021, a new hypercar class - Le Mans Hypercars - will replace LMP1 as the championship bids to rekindle manufacturer interest after Porsche and Audi pulled out in recent years, leaving Toyota as the sole manufacturer-backed LMP1 entry.

LMP2 will remain the 'budget' competition with teams obliged to run one of four homologated chassis with no developments permitted. Manufacturer entries in the category are also banned with entries reserved for "smaller independent teams with a lower budget".

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