Champs, Sportscar Aces And Rising Stars For Autosport International
Audi’s newest factory sportscar driver, Oliver Jarvis, 2014 GP3 Champion Alex Lynn and former FIA World Touring Car Champion Rob Huff are among the latest motorsport stars heading to this weekend’s 25th anniversary edition of Autosport International in Birmingham.
The Brits join a bumper line-up attending the NEC on 8-11 January* for Europe’s biggest motorsport show, which was attended by 82,000 people in 2014. Former 24 Hours of Le Mans winner David Brabham will launch the new Project Brabham initiative, while a number of local rising stars will also appear.
Celebrating every level of the sport, the guest list features ex-F1 ace and BBC F1 expert David Coulthard, FIA World Rallycross Champion Petter Solberg, FIA World Endurance Championship-winning drivers Anthony Davidson and Allan McNish, recent F1 debutant Will Stevens and Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Champions Colin Turkington, Andrew Jordan, Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden.
A former Macau Grand Prix winner, Jarvis has been selected by Audi to replace the retiring ‘Mr Le Mans’, Tom Kristensen, in its 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship line-up. Among a variety of sportscar racing in recent years, Jarvis has already finished third at Le Mans in 2012 and 2013, and won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2013.
“As a nine-time Le Mans winner and FIA World Endurance Champion, I’ve got some big shoes to fill replacing Tom, but I’m excited about rising to this new challenge,” Jarvis said.
“It’s an exciting opportunity and something I’ve been working towards. I’m looking forward to starting this new chapter of my career at Autosport International this weekend.”
Another Macau winner, 21-year-old Lynn added to his already impressive resume in 2014 by winning the GP3 Series as a rookie. Lynn won three races and was second in four others, and was rewarded with his first taste of Formula 1 machinery in November, testing with Lotus F1 Team.
“It seems like yesterday I was at Autosport International 2014 talking about my upcoming move from Formula 3 to GP3. It’s been an amazing 12 months since then, hopefully this weekend’s show can start another memorable year in 2015,” Lynn said.
Lynn won’t be the only member of Britain’s next crop at the show. Another GP3 race winner, Nick Yelloly will appear on Saturday with Oliver Rowland, fourth in Formula Renault 3.5 Series, Jordan King, sixth in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship, and Jack Harvey, runner-up in Indy Lights, the feeder class to IndyCar. On Sunday, gamer-turned GP3 race winner Jann Mardenborough will join Lynn on stage.
Including his 2012 crown, Huff has won a race in the FIA World Touring Car Championship in every season since 2006. In 2014, he took Russian manufacturer Lada’s programme to new heights, winning two races for a manufacturer which had previously never finished a race higher than fifth.
“I really enjoyed working with LADA Sport team in 2014. We made a lot of progress throughout the year and to claim Lada’s first WTCC victories was incredibly satisfying, particularly ending the season with a win at Macau,” Huff said.
“With an all-new car being developed for 2015, there’s a lot to be excited about, and I’m looking forward to sharing that with everyone at the NEC.”
Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2009 with Peugeot, Brabham will also take to the stage on Autosport International’s public days, 10-11 January. He’ll discuss the latest chapter in his family’s rich motorsport story, Project Brabham, which will make its physical debut with a stand.
The motorsport stars will be joined by exclusive collections spanning karting to Formula 1, amazing shows in the Live Action Arena, interactive activities and the best of the motoring world in the Performance Car Show, presented by Landsail Tyres, in association with Autocar and PistonHeads.com.
Tickets to Autosport International are available from £32 for adults, with children’s tickets priced from £21 and children under five years admitted for free. For tickets, visit www.autosportinternational.com
