The Mansells will be back in 2010

The Le Mans Series organisers must be happy with their start to 2010. After a couple of announcements yesterday, today the Mansell family announce that they will race in the 2010 Le Mans Series in a Ginetta Zytek in the LMP1 category. Greg and Leo Mansell will do the entire year with 1992 F1 Champ, Nigel Mansell joining for the 1000km of Silverstone and Le Mans.

The car will be run by British GT team Beechdean Motorsports with assistance from Ginetta.

"The team comes fresh to the Le Mans Series with an impeccable pedigree and with full support from Zytek Engineering and I’m looking forward to working closely with Andrew and his team. I am very excited about 2010 and the prospect of racing with both my sons for the first time," said Nigel Mansell.

The Beechdean team are also looking forward to the season. It will be the first time they have raced a prototype in the Le Mans Series.

"It has been an ambition of mine to race a Le Mans Prototype ever since we started racing GTs and competing at the Le Mans 24 Hours is the ultimate goal. It’s a dream come true for our young team to enter into a partnership with one of the sports most famous names in the first year at this level," said Beechdean Motorsport Team Principle, Andrew Howard.

Indeed working with such illustrious names will bring its own pressures. It will certainly bring more press coverage to the team, but it will also come with greater expectations.

"Nigel brings a huge wealth of knowledge and experience to the team, with Leo and Greg, already established as accomplished race drivers in their own right, forming an integral part of the intensive development programme we are now setting in motion with Zytek. We will begin testing early in the new year and 2010 already promises to be an exciting and dynamic year," said Howard.

Greg and Leo Mansell bring their own experience to the program. Leo has raced extensively in junior single seater racing and raced with Team Modena in the GT2 category of the Le Mans Series in 2009.

Greg Mansell also raced in single seaters, both in Europe and America. He also teamed up with Nigel for a run at the Siverstone 1000km in 2009.

Sam Tickell