Pastor Maldonado is crashing the Le Mans party

While Max Verstappen is providing much of the wheel banging entertainment in Formula One this season, the original “Crashtor” is about to enter a new series to get at it again.

Following his stints with Williams and Lotus in F1 two years ago, Pastor Maldonaldo breaks his hiatus from racing by securing a seat among the ranks of the World Endurance Cup (WEC). Joining the Franco-American Team DragonSpeed, Maldonaldo is set to pilot an LMP2 together with Mexican driver Roberto Gonzales and Frenchman Nathanael Berthon.

Piloting a Gibson-powered Oreca 07, Maldonaldo topped LMP2 lap times during last month’s pre-season testing at Paul Ricard. Looks like the Venezuelan looks towards a positive stint in prototype sports car racing. "It was my first time in this type of race car and I really enjoyed the performance of it," he said. "I expected it to be different really, but I saw the car working well and we were able to post a good time.  However, it is very early in this programme for me and we have to stay realistic, there is still a lot for me to understand, but the first impressions are very positive.”

Poised for his debut at the Total 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, Maldonaldo and DragonSpeed will be working towards a win at the biggest endurance event of the season: The 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The question still stands though: Will the car last 24 hours? And how many cars will he take with him?