Rio Haryanto (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)

After taking a break for two years from the racing arena, former Formula One (F1) driver Rio Haryanto is ready to race again as he is set to join the Indonesian-Singaporean team T2 Motor sports to compete at this season’s Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia and Asian Le Mans Series 2019/2020.

Rio, who had to stop his F1 journey in the middle of the 2016 season because of a lack of financial support, will be paired with Indonesian David Tjiptobiantoro, the founder of T2 Motor sports, in both races.

Having been approached by the team last year, 26-year-old Rio decided to come back to the arena not only because he missed racing, but because he found compatibility in the mission brought forward by T2 Motorsports.

“After Formula One, I have been looking for opportunities to get back onto the circuit again. I had to wait for quite a long time until last year, when I got the offer from T2 Motorsports,” he told a press conference in Jakarta on Friday.

“We have [this mission] to create a successful journey in motorsports in which our plan is to qualify for the 24 hours of Le Mans in 2020, in which no Indonesian driver has qualified,” he added.

With such a target, Rio and David are upbeat about their ambitious target as competing at Le Mans means they must finish as the champions of the Asian Series.

On the same occasion, David said he was confident that they could take the team to the top of the podium, emphasizing that grabbing the seat at Le Mans was their ultimate goal.

“We will discover the harmony between me and Rio during the test in early April. Rio already has many experiences in his career and we [feel] like we will support each other,” David said.

Commenting on his transition from racing with the open wheel to the closed wheel, Rio said he would learn from his partner as David was much more experienced in competing in the closed wheel category.

“This is such a challenge for me. In the open wheel, the aerodynamics are bigger compared to closed wheel, which is more into mechanical works that influence the lap time,” he said.

“Previously, my teammate was the one to beat but now we have to support [each other] and share feedback to find the optimal setting [for our cars],” he added.

The T2 Motorsports team will provide David and Rio with a Ferrari 488 GT3 for the two races. The team will start practicing on the circuit on April 3 where it will be the first time Rio tests his performance in a new car.

It will be the second time for T2 Motorsports at the Blancpain GT World Challenge, which previously used the name Blancpain GT Series Asia in the 2016 edition. Blancpain GT World Challenge will consist of six races in five different countries in Asia.

Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia will be the first stop as the race is scheduled for April 6 and 7. The next competition will be held at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand on May 11 and 12, followed by two races in Japan at the Suzuka International Circuit and Fuji Speedway on June 22 and 23 and July 6 and 7 respectively. Shanghai International Circuit will be the last race of this year’s season with the race to commence on Sept. 27 to 28.

Meanwhile, the Asian Le Mans Series will start at the end of the year with the first race at the Shanghai International Circuit in China scheduled for Nov. 22 to 24, followed by the other series in 2020 where it will take place at The Bend, Australia, Malaysia’s Sepang and the Chang International Circuit in Thailand.

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