Maini set for 'crazy' Le Mans debut

Young Indian racer Arjun Maini, who was forced to halt his single seater career this season, will tick off a major motorsport milestone when he competes at the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend.

Maini has switched to sports car racing this year but vows to return to single seaters in the near future.

Maini will compete in the LMP2 category, which has 19 other entries, for British team RLR Msport. The 21-year-old will share racing duties with gentleman driver John Ferraro and the experienced Frenchman Norman Nato.

The Bengaluru-based driver is racing in European Le Mans this season.

The other Indians who have been part of a Le Mans weekend are Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok.

"Competing in one of motorsport's biggest races is crazy! The atmosphere during testing alone was something special and I can hardly wait for the actual race weekend.

"The biggest challenge I will face is the fact that I will be in the car much longer than in any of my previous races and I hope to be as consistent as possible as this will be key is gaining a good result," he said.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the biggest races in the year. With over a 150 drivers racing across various classes and a history that dates back to 1923, the race sees a footfall off over 250,000 people during the weekend.

Run on the historic Le Sarthe race circuit, which is known for its long back straight where cars can reach over 300 kmph, modern day competitors complete over 5000 kilometers during the 24-hour time period.