A line-up of three disabled drivers will be racing under the colours of La Filière Frédéric Sausset in the 2019 Road To Le Mans competition, part of the support package for the 87th 24 Hours of Le Mans.

This will be another landmark moment for Frédéric Sausset who, in 2016, became the first quadruple amputee to race – and complete – the French endurance classic.

It is also a major milestone on the roadmap charted by Sausset’s driving academy, known as La Filière Frédéric Sausset by SRT41, with the ultimate aim of entering a team of disabled drivers in the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The Road To Le Mans races is scheduled for 13 and 15 June as a curtain-raiser to the 87th 24 Hours of Le Mans. After racing at Le Mans himself in 2016, Sausset now manages his own team, with Takuma Aoki (Japan), Snoussi Ben Moussa (France) and Nigel Bailly (Belgium) sharing driving duties.

Sausset’s team will be fielding the #84 Ligier JS P3-Nissan, its latest modifications submitted for final approval in the homologation process.

“High-level motor racing is increasingly taking on-board our differences,” said Sausset. “In fact, it is one of the rare sports in which people with disabilities compete against non-disabled people. I’m really proud to be leading the first outfit in the world that lets top-notch drivers with disabilities take part in these events, alongside some of the best competitors on the planet.

“With La Filière Frédéric Sausset by SRT41, we are pursuing the goal set after our 2016 exploit and I’d particularly like to thank Pierre Fillon, Vincent Beaumesnil and Gérard Neveu for believing in us. We have no intentions of letting them down, so we’ll see you at Le Mans with our #84!”

“The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the ideal testing ground for every kind of automotive and mobility innovation,” added Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest.

“For us at the ACO, it was a real honour to welcome and assist Frédéric Sausset in his Le Mans challenge in 2016. After that highly successful Garage 56 initiative, which remained outside official classification, we will see a racing team and drivers with disabilities competing on a par with the rest of the field in the Road To Le Mans races in June.

“They have come a long way and we have to congratulate Frédéric Sausset and his team. They can be sure of ACO support. It is vital that we make motorsport accessible to absolutely everyone.”

Photo courtesy of Pascal Aunai