Frenchman Patrick Pilet will return to the Flying Lizard Motorsports squad, where he's raced sporadically throughout his career, for a last-minute appearance in this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. Pilet replaces Darren Law, unable to participate due to a scheduling conflict, in the team's No. 79 GTE Am class Porsche 911 GT3 RSR alongside team principal Seth Neiman and Spencer Pumpelly.
Pilet tested with the Imsa Performance Matmut team during the official Le Mans Test Day this past Sunday, and has competed with the team in the 2009 through 2011 races. Imsa's GTE Pro class No. 76 car was eligible for the test, but was not one of the 55 nominated entries for the race itself. Pilet co-drove with Flying Lizard teammate Patrick Long in the 2010 24 Hours.
"Obviously, we are disappointed that Darren is unable to participate; he has been a fundamental part of our American Le Mans Series team since 2004 and our Le Mans program since 2009," said Eric Ingraham, Flying Lizard team manager and strategist of the No. 79 Porsche. "However, Patrick will be an excellent addition to the No. 79 lineup. He ran with us for our full 2008 American Le Mans Series season, and several races since, including the 2011 ALMS Petit Le Mans where he finished second in the No. 45 Porsche with Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long."
The team's GTE Pro class No. 80 car remains unchanged with Bergmeister, Long and Marco Holzer on board.