LM24: Belloc gets last Le Mans 24 Hours seat

The last vacant seat for the Le Mans 24 Hours has been filled by Jean-Philippe Belloc, at the Larbre Competition Chevrolet squad.

The Frenchman is returning to a team for which he has driven at Le Mans on three previous occasions to take the place of the injured Paolo Ruberti in the 24 Hours on June 18-19. He will share the GTE Am class Chevrolet Corvette C7.R with Pierre Ragues and Yutaka Yamagishi.

Belloc, who won the FIA GT Championship with Larbre in 2001, and BMW factory driver Nicky Catsburg were both given try-outs in the car at last weekend's Le Mans test day. Catsburg topped the times in GTE Am on his debut on the full Le Mans circuit, but Belloc got the nod courtesy of his relationship with former Larbre team-mate Christophe Bourret, who retains links with the team.

Team boss Jack Leconte said: "When the going gets tough, it is essential to have a solid footing and clear points of reference, and Jean-Philippe Belloc is definitely someone Larbre Competition can rely on. The close relationship we have kept with Christophe Bourret, who also drove for Larbre in 2011 and 2012, has enabled us to overcome Paolo Ruberti's forfeit quickly."

Leconte revealed that it would be "keeping a eye on Catsburg for the remainder of the WEC season".

Ruberti had been confirmed in the Corvette for only for the first three rounds of the WEC. He was ruled out of Le Mans after sustaining back injuries in an accident while coaching at Hockenheim last week.

Originally on Autosport.com