13th march 2012

Boutsen-Ginion Racing is on the point of putting together a project that constructors as well established as Rondeau, Courage or even Pescarolo have never managed to do.

Thanks to the Belgian team, carefully selected by the people behind the So24 project, spectators at the coming 24 hours will see a 100% Sarthe team on the official entry list!

The idea is by nothing new and has often been brought up by lovers of the event: this time, though, it looks like the dream is going to become reality. All the praise must go to two young 28-year-olds, Bastien Brière and Thomas Dagoneau from Le Mans. Driven by their passion for motor racing, for as long as they can remember they have always wanted to be at the start of the greatest race in the world together. This is why they combined their efforts in the “Sarthe Objectif 24 H association.”

Their meeting with Dominique Payen, a funds manager through his company Opti Finance, proved decisive. Payen is in contact with many local entrepreneurs, in particular through the Le Mans basketball club of which he is one of the oldest partners, and straight away the arguments put forward by Bastien Brière excited his interest. Brière has raced in the event three times, and via this new involvement he is offered companies an opportunity to generate real synergy around the ACO’s 2012 race.

His ideas also struck a common cord with the Le Mans 24-Hours Selection Committee as the Le Mans’ guys entry was selected to the delight of the Belgian team on whose experience Brière and Dagoneau are relying via an Oreca-Nissan. The two Sarthois* are still trying to find the last third (some 900 000 euros) of the budget for the ELMS Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours. This ultimate challenge shouldn’t prove too difficult to overcome given the imagination they’ve shown so far. The identity of the third driver still has to be announced.

Text: Michel Bonté – Photo: So 24

*Sarthois is the name given to people from the Sarthe department.