Tougher time on the cards for Le Mans trio

Jaafar is expecting a much tougher race when he takes to the track with teammates Weiron Tan and Nabil Jeffri for the 24 Hours of Le Mans from June 16-17.

This is because the LMP2 class will be double the grid size from what they had to face during the Six Hours of Spa Francorchamps in Belgium last month (eight cars).

Spa was the season-opening round for the World Endurance Championship (WEC), in which the trio are full-season competitors.

Le Mans, however, will feature a 20-car grid with teams from the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) combined with cars from WEC.

Jazeman admitted that he is wary of the competition from the ELMS cars as well as the numerous ex-Formula One drivers in LMP2.

“The level of competition is very high, we know there are a number of dangerous teams from ELMS, though we are not 100 per cent sure about all the teams (from ELMS), it will be a new experience for all of us,” said Jazeman.

“There will also be a lot of current and ex-F1 drivers. Fernando Alonso will be in the LMP1 class while in LMP2 class, there are Juan Pablo Montoya, Giedo Van de Garde, Jean-Eric Vergne and Paul di Resta.

“Obviously they are all very experienced drivers who will be very hard to beat.

“Personally, I have very high expectations and expect us to be among the front runners in the race.”

Jazeman added that the three of them, who race for the Jackie Chan DC Racing X Jota outfit, are undergoing a thorough fitness training regime as part of their preparation for the physically demanding race which will see them doing one to four hour shifts at the wheel.