Montoya Jr. on LMP2 car: “It was far more powerful than anything I have driven so far”
At the FIA WEC Rookie Test in Bahrain recently, there was a whole host of drivers from different racing disciplines who got a chance to test various Hypercar, LMP and GT machinery.
One of those racing talents was Sebastian Montoya, the 16-year-old son of legend Juan Pablo Montoya who this year has been driving for the DragonSpeed USA LMP2 team in the WEC.
In 2020, Montoya Jr. made his single-seater debut with Prema Powerteam in Italian F4, as well as select races in ADAC F4. However, Bahrain marked the first time the Colombian driver had been in any sort of LMP machinery.
Montoya Jr. took up the story: “It was obviously a great experience to drive the car. I had been looking forward to it for a while and I didn’t feel that nervous as everyone from Henrik [Hedman], Ben [Hanley], my dad, Elton [Julian] and the engineers have been helping me – it’s been an incredible opportunity.
“Of course, it was far more powerful than anything I have driven so far, so you have to set yourself and really take everything in quickly. But after a few laps I felt quite comfortable and was able to do a good number of laps at the wheel.
“I’m grateful to the team. It was also great to have my dad here and also to see him in action again too. I would definitely love to race these cars at some point… I’ve always wanted to try sportscars, even more so having experienced Le Mans this year and seeing my dad win his category."
DragonSpeed’s team owner, Elton Julian, was quick to praise the ability of Montoya Jr. behind the wheel. He concluded: “Seb is a wonderful human being, who has been on the pace immediately. He needed no time to adjust to the car and was properly on it from the off.”
Read more about the WEC Rookie Test HERE, and also eight-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Ogier’s thoughts on the Toyota TS050 Hypercar HERE.
