LMP3 team Cool Racing has confirmed that it will step up to the LMP2 category of the European Le Mans Series with Nicolas Lapierre as its platinum-rated driver (en Français).

The team, which has competed in the last two seasons of the championship’s secondary prototype class, will run an Oreca 07 Gibson in 2019.

Its driver lineup will be led by triple 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 winner Lapierre, who has raced for both DragonSpeed in the ELMS and Signatech Alpine in the FIA World Endurance Championship since 2016.

The Frenchman will share driving duties with team regulars Antonin Borga and Alexandre Coigny in what is set to be a precursor to a 2020 Le Mans entry for Cool Racing.

The Cool squad has its new Oreca 07 chassis in the 4 Hours of Portimao paddock this weekend and plans to run a series of tests next week to break the car in.

“I’m really happy to welcome Nicolas Lapierre,” said Cool Racing team principal Patrick Barbier.

“First of all, he is someone who fits in very well to the state of mind of the team. In addition, he has a lot of experience, is very professional and knows the Oreca 07 very well.

“I must admit that I did not think we would have a driver of such caliber in our team. Nicolas will, no doubt, be a major asset in the progression of the team and its drivers.”

Cool Racing also plans to continue its LMP3 involvement next year, with a single Ligier JSP3 Nissan in the Michelin Le Mans Cup for Nicolas Rondet and John Schauerman.