Ed Jones was one of the stars of last season’s Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship, and is an early favorite for the 2016 title with Carlin.
However the Dubai-based Brit will get his first action of the new year this weekend at the 24 Hours of Dubai.
It’ll be his sports car and endurance racing debut, courtesy of an 11th-hour agreement that will see Jones team up with Hannes Waimer, Wolfgang Triller, Charlie Frijns and Christopher Zöchling in Lechner Racing Middle East’s No. 81 Porsche 991 GT3 Cup entry.
That group will take on 17 rivals in the 991 category, as well as other 82 cars on track.
Jones is looking forward to the opportunity.
Driving for Lechner Racing this weekend in the Dubai 24 hour. Practice and qualifying tomorrow! @24HSERIES 💪 pic.twitter.com/pmsE7AOnZH
— Ed Jones (@Edjonesracing) January 13, 2016
“It’s exciting to be making my endurance racing debut this weekend with Lechner Racing Middle East,” Jones said. “It was a last-minute deal, but it will be amazing to compete on home turf and I have a strong team behind me and four excellent team-mates. I’ve never driven a sports car before let alone entered a 24-hour race, so their knowledge will be vital as I endeavor to get to grips with everything as swiftly as possible.
“I’m obviously fully committed to pursuing the single-seater career path and my forthcoming Indy Lights title bid, but having a race as prestigious as the 24H Dubai on my CV can certainly do me no harm and I really can’t thank Lechner enough for this fantastic opportunity. With my team-mates’ experience, I hope to be up-to-speed quickly and notwithstanding the quality of the opposition in the 991 class, I believe we have a great chance to achieve a solid result.”