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Le Mans / ALMS
LE MANS: Jeannette, Montecalvo Sign With Luxury
ALMS stars to pilot GTE-Am-class No. 58 Ferrari F458 Italia, beginning with next weekend's FIA WEC Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps...
Gunnar Jeannette and Frankie Montecalvo will embark on a season in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Luxury Racing. (Photo: John Dagys)
America’s presence in the FIA World Endurance Championship has continued to grow, with Gunnar Jeannette and Frankie Montecalvo the latest drivers to join the global sports car series, beginning with next weekend’s Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
2011 American Le Mans Series PC class co-champion Jeannette and runner-up Montecalvo were confirmed Friday by Luxury Racing, which will see the duo team with Pierre Ehret in the French sqaud’s GTE-Am class Ferrari F458 Italia.
The deal to put the two ALMS stars behind the wheel of Luxury’s 2011-spec Ferrari came through family friend Mark Schomann, who has served as the team’s engineer since last year and has since taken on a full-time role within the organization.
While initially exploring a program in the FIA GT3 European Championship, prior to the Luxury’s withdrawal from the undersubscribed series, Jeannette and Montecalvo turned their focus to securing a drive in the FIA WEC instead, as Jeannette tells SPEED.com in an exclusive interview.
"Frankie finished second in the [ALMS] PC championship last year but he didn't have the budget to [fund] an entire car,” Jeannette explained. “The Montecalvo's really wanted Frankie and I to drive together and we also wanted to find something to further his career and development.
"We looked around in the ALMS and the biggest problem was that if you're only bringing the budget for a single seat, there really wasn't a deal that had a co-driver or a team that could go for race wins and championships.
"So we started looking at other things and that led to us to GT3 Europe, Blancpain and a bunch of different options over there. But when the GT3 deal fell through, we were very, very fortunate in the fact that the WEC opportunity popped up.”
While having missed the FIA WEC season-opener at Sebring last month, where both the team’s GTE-Pro and GTE-Am class entries were knocked out early due to accidents, Jeannette and Montecalvo plan to complete the remainder of the eight-round championship.
That of course includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where Jeannette, the youngest-ever starter at La Sarthe at the age of 18, will be making his ninth start in the twice-around-the-clock French classic.
"Unfortunately, neither of Luxury cars got points at Sebring,” Jeannette said. “So for Frankie and I, it's not like we're coming in on the back foot in regards to points. You never want to start a championship by missing the first race, but to come in and do the whole World Endurance Championship is awesome.
“I haven't been to Le Mans since 2008, so I'm really excited to get back, especially in a Ferrari. Frankie, for his first time going over to Le Mans, I think he's obviously super excited for that as well."
In preparation for next weekend’s debut, Montecalvo spent the past week in France, completing a shakedown of the F458 Italia at Magny Cours on Tuesday.
Jeannette and Montecalvo join fellow Americans Krohn Racing in the GTE-Am ranks, along with Ft. Lauderdale-based Starworks Motorsport, which heads into the second round of the season in the LMP2 championship lead.
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
2011 American Le Mans Series PC class co-champion Jeannette and runner-up Montecalvo were confirmed Friday by Luxury Racing, which will see the duo team with Pierre Ehret in the French sqaud’s GTE-Am class Ferrari F458 Italia.
The deal to put the two ALMS stars behind the wheel of Luxury’s 2011-spec Ferrari came through family friend Mark Schomann, who has served as the team’s engineer since last year and has since taken on a full-time role within the organization.
While initially exploring a program in the FIA GT3 European Championship, prior to the Luxury’s withdrawal from the undersubscribed series, Jeannette and Montecalvo turned their focus to securing a drive in the FIA WEC instead, as Jeannette tells SPEED.com in an exclusive interview.
"Frankie finished second in the [ALMS] PC championship last year but he didn't have the budget to [fund] an entire car,” Jeannette explained. “The Montecalvo's really wanted Frankie and I to drive together and we also wanted to find something to further his career and development.
"We looked around in the ALMS and the biggest problem was that if you're only bringing the budget for a single seat, there really wasn't a deal that had a co-driver or a team that could go for race wins and championships.
"So we started looking at other things and that led to us to GT3 Europe, Blancpain and a bunch of different options over there. But when the GT3 deal fell through, we were very, very fortunate in the fact that the WEC opportunity popped up.”
While having missed the FIA WEC season-opener at Sebring last month, where both the team’s GTE-Pro and GTE-Am class entries were knocked out early due to accidents, Jeannette and Montecalvo plan to complete the remainder of the eight-round championship.
That of course includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where Jeannette, the youngest-ever starter at La Sarthe at the age of 18, will be making his ninth start in the twice-around-the-clock French classic.
"Unfortunately, neither of Luxury cars got points at Sebring,” Jeannette said. “So for Frankie and I, it's not like we're coming in on the back foot in regards to points. You never want to start a championship by missing the first race, but to come in and do the whole World Endurance Championship is awesome.
“I haven't been to Le Mans since 2008, so I'm really excited to get back, especially in a Ferrari. Frankie, for his first time going over to Le Mans, I think he's obviously super excited for that as well."
In preparation for next weekend’s debut, Montecalvo spent the past week in France, completing a shakedown of the F458 Italia at Magny Cours on Tuesday.
Jeannette and Montecalvo join fellow Americans Krohn Racing in the GTE-Am ranks, along with Ft. Lauderdale-based Starworks Motorsport, which heads into the second round of the season in the LMP2 championship lead.
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
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