Duqueine Team has announced that it has partnered with R-ace GP for the operational management of its LMP2 programme.
Duqueine made its LMP2 debut in 2018, and achieved its high point five years later with a podium finish at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The past two seasons have proven challenging for Gilles Duqueine’s outfit, however, with it finishing 13th in the European Le Mans Series in both campaigns and failing to secure an entry for last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team also provided support for Isotta Fraschini’s short-lived FIA WEC Hypercar effort.
Duqueine is set to switch to LMP2 Pro/Am for 2026, with qualifying ace Giorgio Roda and Formula 2 race winner Richard Verschoor announced as drivers so far.
“We needed a partner capable of meeting ambitious objectives within a controlled framework,’ explained Gilles Duqueine.
“[R-ace GP founder] Thibaut de Mérindol and his team embody this culture of excellence, combining rigour with a constant quest for performance. Their entrepreneurial approach, already successful in single-seaters and LMP3, is a major asset for our LMP2 project. I am convinced that this synergy will enable us to build a structure where every detail will be optimised to achieve our sporting ambitions.”
R-ace GP is currently Duqueine’s leading customer in LMP3 competition. The French outfit finished second in the Michelin Le Mans Cup on its prototype debut in 2024, before winning the title last year with three consecutive victories to close out the season.
The French outfit was already confirmed to be making its ELMS debut this season, as Duqueine’s sole representative in LMP3, and is now adding its LMP2 debut to its 2026 programme.
“At the end of 2023, convinced by Gilles and his teams’ sporting ambitions and technical expertise, we decided to collaborate with Duqueine Automotive to launch our LMP3 programme,” said Thibaut de Mérindol.
“It is clear that we share the same passion for the fundamental values of motorsport: competitiveness, technical expertise and team spirit, so it was only natural that the idea of an association with the aim of creating an ambitious LMP2 programme was born. Duqueine Team is a fantastic project for R-ace GP, and we are committed to putting all our motor racing expertise at its service, with humility but also with lots of ambition.”
The 2026 European Le Mans Series will begin at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on 10th to 12th April 2026.
Image courtesy of Duqueine Team
