Jan.23 (GMM) Former Toro Rosso racer Sebastien Buemi will contest this year’s fabled Le Mans 24 hour sports car race.
After losing his F1 race seat and being signed to become Red Bull’s official reserve driver for this season, the 23-year-old Swiss admitted he would also like to contest Le Mans.
The famous endurance race will take place between F1’s Canadian and European grands prix in mid June.
“Ideally I would couple F1 with a different (series), such as endurance — I like the Le Mans 24 a lot,” Buemi said earlier in January.
“There is no grand prix on that (Le Mans) weekend, so it would be possible. The big teams will start their testing soon, so I could participate as well.
“I will probably be able to announce the details of what I will be doing in 2012 fairly soon,” he added recently.
The Swiss newspaper Blick, whose veteran F1 correspondent Roger Benoit is close to Buemi, said Toyota will imminently announce Buemi as one of its Le Mans drivers.
“French sources say the Japanese (Toyota) will announce their teams on January 23,” read the media report.
Buemi’s grandfather Georges Gachnang raced at Le Mans in the early 60s.
