Matech Ford GT reshuffles driver line-up

16/07/2010

The Matech Competition Ford GT team has confirmed that Neel Jani and Richard Westbrook will race for the Swiss outfit for the remainder of this year's FIA GT1 World Championship.

In a bid to have two cars competing for regular race wins, the team has decided to split its current No.5 car pairing of Romain Grosjean and Thomas Mutsch, who currently sit second in the driver standings, to accommodate its two new drivers.

This means that Swiss driver Jani will partner Grosjean in the No.6 Ford GT while Britain’s Westbrook, the reigning FIA GT2 champion, will share the No.5 machine with Mutsch.

Jani, who previously competed in the GP2 Series before becoming official reserve driver for the Toro Rosso Formula One team, will continue to race in the Le Mans Series alongside his GT1 duties. He said: "I was very happy to receive the offer from such a great team which has already been so successful in its young history.”

“This is a real challenge and I will have a steep learning curve as I have never driven a GT car before, but I am very much looking forward to this new experience and helping Matech achieve its aim to win the series championship."

Westbrook also comes from a sportscar background, having had previous success in the Le Mans Series, plus the 24 Hours of Nurburgring and Le Mans events.

Matech Competition is currently third in the team standings and will hope its refreshed driver line up will charge the team back to the top of the pack, starting at Spa-Francorchamps.

The fifth round of the FIA GT1 World Championship takes place at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit on 29^th-31^st July.

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