Era Motorsport Partners with JOTA Sport for 2021 Asian Le Mans Series Effort

After joining forces with IDEC Sport for the 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours Era Motorsport will combine with another major European LMP2 team for the 2021 Asian Le Mans Series as t Dwight Merriman returns to action with Kyle Tilley for a full season effort in the four race Series at Yas Marina in February

Less than a year after first joining the world of professional sports car racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Era Motorsport will expand to partner with JOTA Sport to race in the 2021 Asian Le Mans Series with drivers Kyle Tilley and Dwight Merriman.

Era made their professional sports car racing debut last January in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, finishing third and earning three more podiums before journeying overseas to race in their first 24 Hours of Le Mans with IDEC Sport.

Whilst that experience ended dramatically for Merriman with a huge accident in Practice counting him out for the race, the team’s performance in finishing on their debut was a head-turner.

The experience though only increased the appetite for additional international competition. Era’s partnership with JOTA Sport will see the team entering an Oreca 07 in the four x four hour race season, all at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina circuit.

“I’m super excited to be competing in the Asian Le Mans Series with Dwight,” said Kyle Tilley, Era Motorsport Team Principal. “More seat time is always a good thing! Working alongside JOTA will be new to us, however their record speaks for itself. Sam Hignett runs a world-class operation, and I’m excited to be a part of it!”

The blend of the Era and Jota effort will be comprised of a 50/50 split of crew from each effort, with Era heading up the engineering while JOTA manages the programme.

“We are looking forward to partnering with Era for the upcoming 2021 Asian Le Mans season,” said Sam Hignett, JOTA Team Principal. “Abu Dhabi is a new circuit for us in LMP but preparation is in full swing so we are excited to see what we can do together.”

The first two races of the season will be held February 4-6, with the final two races are expected to be held on February 18-20.

All races and qualifying sessions will be streamed live across multiple series platforms including Facebook and YouTube.

“I am very pleased to welcome Era Motorsport to the Asian Le Mans Series for the first time,” said Cyrille Taesch Wahlen, Managing Director, Asian Le Mans Series.

“It is also positive to be able to welcome another American team to the paddock, further adding to the diversity that last year saw teams from 14 different nationalities race with the Series. For Era, joining forces with a Championship winning team like JOTA will strengthen their efforts. We wish them well and look forward to seeing them in February!”

The Jota/ Era entry is set to join what could be a very impressive grid of LMP2, LMP3 and GT3 entries for the 2020 Asian LMS.

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