E2P Racing has confirmed that GT racing mainstay Álvaro Parente will headline its driver line-up in the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook in 2024, with the Spanish team also hoping to challenge for the Overall GT Teams’ championship this season. 

E2P Racing recently registered its Porsche 991.2 GT3 R for the full 24H SERIES season in 2024, and will contest the full season once again with 2023 drivers Pablo Burguera and Antonio Sainero. The Spanish teammates will be joined by Parente, who replaces E2P Group CEO and team principal Javier Morcillo on the driver line-up, following a successful test for the former Bathurst 12 Hours winner and 2005 British Formula 3 champion this past weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona. 

“Our plan for the future is going to other championships and other races in the future,” Morcillo explained to CREVENTIC, “so we need to fine-tune everything at E2P. We feel that somebody like Álvaro [Parente], top in the world, is going to help thusem grow and learn, and will become a proper reference for [drivers Pablo Burguera and Antonio Sainero] in every single session: how to set up the car; how to deal with the team, everything. It’s a long-term project and we’ve very excited about it.”

Though still a hefty undertaking, Parente’s arrival as the team’s PRO for 2024, plus a successful maiden campaign for the 2022 991 Teams’ ‘Europe’ champion in GT3 in 2023 – one that included three class podiums and a shot at the GT3-AM Teams’ championship – has left Javier Morcillo hopeful that E2P Racing can compete for GT3-Pro/Am class honours in 2024, if not the overall GT Teams’ title. 

“We want to fight for the championship,” Morcillo continues. “I assume we will be in GT3-PRo/Am this year with Álvaro, but we are looking at the overall standings as our main goal. That doesn’t mean we’re going to win it, because it’s really difficult, but that is what’s in our mind. We definitely want to have a crack at the overall championship.

“Race strategy is something we were been getting better at every race [in 2023], and we will be better still this year. This car [Porsche 991.2 GT3 R] is complicated, so we were learning at every race how to fine-tune the car more effectively, and I think we will continue along those lines. We still have room for improvement – there will always be – but we’re working hard on that.”

Morcillo’s lofty ambitions for 2024 will prove similarly exacting for Antonio Sainero and 2022 991 Drivers’ champion, Pablo Burguera. Both are set to compete in their second successive 24H SERIES season for the first time, and with a full season of GT3 endurance racing experience behind them, Morcillo believes both can – or indeed, should – hit a new competitive level in 2024.

“It’s the first time in their lives that Pablo and Antonio are going to do the same thing – same car, same championship – for the second year in a row. And this should make a big difference to them: they know how the car is going to behave, how the races works, what the circuits are, and what difficulties to expect. They can concentrate on evolving instead of dealing with a new thing every weekend, so they have to up their game, for sure. 

“They’re both very different drivers, in terms of age and experience, but their objective is the same: to come out of 2024 as better drivers. And I know they are working hard on that, so now our obligation is to provide all the tools that they need and all the help they need to come out of 2024 stronger. I’m confident they can do that.” 

Interestingly, Morcillo also hinted that a fourth driver – 2022 World Touring Car Cup champion Mikel Azcona – could make his GT racing debut with E2P Racing in the 24H SERIES in 2024. The two-time TCR Europe Touring Car Series champion, and the WTCR’s last-ever world champion, also tested with E2P Racing at Barcelona this past weekend, but was ultimately passed over the seat thanks to Parente’s GT racing experience: a GP3 and GP2 race winner, the Portuguese driver has raced, and won in, the FIA GT Championship, the Blancpain GT Series and the IMSA Sportscar Championship, among others, since his switch from single seaters in 2012.

Though by no means confirmed, Morcillo does admit to CREVENTIC that, should circumstances allow it, Azcona could cameo in the E2P Racing Porsche this season as the Spaniard considers a full-time switch to GT racing. 

“There’s always a chance. We definitely want to help Mikel [Azcona] get into GTs, and I think he is a future star of GT racing. We have no doubt about that, and if we have an opportunity to help him with that, we will. So yeah, it’s a strong possibility, for sure.”

Hoping for a solid run at its home race in September – the 20th Hankook 24H BARCELONA – E2P Racing is also keen to get its European season off to a good start in Mugello after gearbox-related retirement from the Hankook 12H MUGELLO in 2023…

“Mugello’s always been really bad for us over the years. I don’t know why, but it’s always a really difficult weekend. Last year especially was wild because we had transmission issues caused by a puncture that we didn’t manage well. Plus we it was the first race for the [Porsche 991.2 GT3 R] and the setup was completely wrong, so it was a really tough weekend. 

“We’re looking forward to starting off on a better foot this year. We know a lot more and we hope we will have a strong race and [bank] a solid amount of points. That’s what we’re after.”

E2P Racing is the latest team to have confirmed a full European season entry in the 24H SERIES for 2024, alongside defending 992-Am Teams’ champion RPM Racing, 2017 Overall GT Teams’ ‘Europe’ champion Hofor-Racing, last year’s GT4 Teams’ runner-up Buggyra ZM Racing, reigning GTX Teams’ champion RD Signs - Siauliai Racing Team, Lionspeed GP in its first campaign as a stand-alone entity, and former Hankook 24H BARCELONA class winner Orchid Racing Team. 

The European season is scheduled to begin with the 10th edition of the Hankook 12H MUGELLO on 22-23-24 March, which will be followed by the Hankook 12H SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS on 19-20-21 April. Tickets for both events are now available for purchase below.

No stranger to 24H SERIES competition, E2P Group CEO Javier Morcillo made his series debut, as a driver, at the 24H DUBAI back in 2014, and did so most recently at the Hankook 24H BARCELONA in 2022. As it has been for the past two decades, his main focus has been the ‘Escuela Española de Pilotos’ racing school and the training of up-and-coming Spanish drivers. And as far as gaining experience goes, there are few arenas Morcillo feels are more beneficial to them than “the Formula 2 for Le Mans,” the 24H SERIES. 

“It’s a really good run championship. We as a team feel welcome. Everything is really well-organized, really well planned. The rules are clear and good for learning, and I think, as I said before, it’s the Formula 2 for GT racing, for Le Mans: it’s the championship you need to be in if you want to become a big team and, if you’re a driver that wants to learn long-distance racing, you absolutely should go through CREVENTIC to learn how to run a good championship. There are professional teams, there are professional drivers, so the level is really high. It’s absolutely a no-brainer to go with the 24H SERIES.”