IDEC Sport has elected to withdraw its No. 27 Ligier JS P217 Gibson from the reserve list for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, shifting full focus to its already-confirmed LMP2 race entry for the French endurance classic.

The French squad, which expands to a two-car operation in the European Le Mans Series this year, had lodged a pair of entry requests, with the No. 48 Ligier having been granted an entry with nominated driver Paul Lafargue.

Lafargue will be joined by Paul Loup Chatin and a to-be-announced third driver.

“By concentrating its forces and skills on a single car, the [No. 48] LMP2, the IDEC SPORT team gives itself the best chance to increase its performance and obtain the best results possible that match the new ambitions of this crew,” a statement from the team read.

Nic Minassian has been been brought on board as the team’s new sporting director for this year.

Seven Reserve Entries Remain

Unofficially, seven reserve entries now remain on the list, out of the original nine, following ARC Bratislava’s withdrawal.

APM Monaco Team KCMG sits first with its Dallara P217 Gibson, followed by the No. 55 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GTE, High Class Racing Dallara and Racing Engineering Oreca 07 Gibson.

Former Le Mans GTE-Am class winners Scuderia Corsa, as well as fellow American squad Krohn Racing are fifth and sixth, with Brian Alder’s BAR1 Motorsports operation moving up to seventh.