Frant based JOTA Sport have announced a new sponsorship deal with G-Drive Racing, the Russian team, sponsored by Gazprom Neft’s premium G-Drive fuel brand.

Founded by British entrepreneurs Simon Dolan, Sam Hignett and David Clark, JOTA Sport is the racing division of UK-based JOTA Group. Since its inception, JOTA Sport has become one of the UK’s best known motor racing teams, achieving widespread success in sports car racing both in the UK and on a global level, including victory in the iconic Le Mans 24 Hour race.

The pioneering sponsorship arrangement spans twelve months and will see Gazprom Neft take on the naming rights for JOTA Sport, under the premium fuel brand, ‘G–Drive’. The financial details are not being disclosed.

Both cars owned and raced by JOTA Sport will be re-liveried in line with the G-Drive Racing brand while, as title sponsor, Gazprom Neft will also maintain a trackside presence alongside the wider JOTA Sport team at each event in the 2016 calendar. The partnership will also be promoted across Gazprom Neft’s 1,800 G-Drive fuel stations.

G-Drive Racing in cooperation with JOTA Sport is preparing for its most significant season to date, entering the FIA World Endurance Championship as well as competing in the European Le Mans Series, in which it finished third last season.

Drivers confirmed to compete as part of the team during the European Le Mans Series include JOTA Sport co-founder Simon Dolan, former Caterham Formula One driver Giedo van der Garde, and talented young British drivers Harry Tincknell (ELMS) and Jake Dennis (Le Mans). The drivers confirmed to compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship, meanwhile, are Russian-born Roman Rusinov and France’s Nathanael Berthon, with one driver still to be announced.

Sam Hignett, Team Principal at JOTA Sport, said: “2016 is an incredibly important year for JOTA Sport, one which will see our operation essentially double in size, as we not only take on the European Le Mans Series once again but also set our sights on the FIA World Endurance Championship. In order to successfully compete in both major competitions, we have significantly increased the size of our team, invested in a vast amount of new equipment and, ultimately, dramatically increased our capacity as a commercial sports operation.

“G-Drive Racing offers a wealth of knowledge and experience in the global motorsport arena, which will no doubt prove invaluable to our team as we continue to grow our operation and strive for success throughout 2016 and beyond.”

Alexander Krylov JSC Gazprom Neft Regional Sales Director and Project Manager for G-Drive Racing commented: “Following the successful season and recognizing the rapidly growing interest in FIA WEC, we again choose that format this year. The season’s pecking order and participation in 2 series simultaneously – FIA WEC and ELMS – doubles the team’s chances to win the season’s main race – Le Mans 24 Hours.“

The 2016 European Le Mans Series, in which JOTA Sport – operating as G-Drive Racing – will compete, is a six-event season beginning at Silverstone race track. The 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship, meanwhile, features race tracks in territories including Fuji, Shanghai, Bahrain and Mexico City. Both cars will compete in the iconic Le Mans 24 Hour endurance race.