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LE MANS: HVM Racing Partners With Status GP
The new partnership between HVM and Status GP also is an extension of the long friendship between Wiggins and Status GP co-founder Mark Gallagher.
Media Release  |  Posted December 04, 2012  
Keith Wiggins, middle, will embark on a WEC program with Status GP. (Photo: HVM/Status GP)
Racing in a Lola also has deep historical ties for Wiggins. He helped to revive and stabilize the legendary chassis manufacturer from 1998-2000 during his tenure as president of the company after Lola’s entry in F1 in 1997.

“We made a decision to expand our interests into sports cars for next year, and once we looked at the WEC program, it was obvious we needed a European base, which is familiar ground for me,” Wiggins said. “Then we started a dialogue with my old friends now together at Status, and it quickly became a partnership both parties wanted and embraced.

“We cover two continents with facilities, staff and equipment and we hit the ground running, able to compete in both the U.S. and Europe, so it makes perfect business sense. Also both groups have a strong history and relationship with the Lola marquee and its future plans.”

The new partnership between HVM and Status GP also is an extension of the long friendship between Wiggins and Status GP co-founder Mark Gallagher. They have collaborated on projects for 25 years, including the launch of Wiggins’ Pacific Grand Prix team in F1 in 1994.

In 2012, Status GP fielded a Lola-Judd B12/80 in 2012 at Le Mans and selected races in the FIA WEC and European Le Mans Series, in which it scored a podium finish on its debut.

Status GP also has a strong history of success in open-wheel racing. The team won the A1 World Cup of Motorsport with its A1 Team Ireland entry in the 2008-09 season. Status GP also has earned race victories in each of the last three seasons of the GP3 Series, an official support series for Formula One.

HVM Racing, a six-time race winner with over 23 podium finishes in the Champ Car Series from 2001-07, comes to sports car racing after running successfully for the last five seasons in the IZOD IndyCar Series, North America’s top open-wheel championship.

HVM and Status GP started their partnership with a successful two-day test of the Lola Coupe last week in Spain with future test dates scheduled. Final details of the combined effort, including technical partners, sponsors and drivers, will be made in early 2013. The 2013 WEC season is scheduled to start April 14 at the Silverstone Circuit in England.
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