Pickering signs to Welter Racing for Le Mans.

23 year-old Englishman Gavin Pickering has signed to Paris based sportscar team Welter Racing for the forthcoming Le Mans 24 Hours.

This will be London based Pickering's second successive race at La Sarthe circuit, having successfully finished the 2002 event with RML in the Saleen S7R. Ecstatic with the deal, he will be aiming to make it two out of two.

"I am very pleased to have joined Welter Racing, and yes of course my aim will be to finish," said Pickering, "This will be my first attempt in a sports prototype LMP675 car and having acquainted myself with the team since we tested two weeks ago I believe I made a very good choice.

"Gerard and Rachel Welter's operation is small but highly professional. The cars are superbly maintained and there is a huge effort by all the staff on the build up to Le Mans and I have been made to feel very welcome. There's a great atmosphere and buzz of anticipation within the team, they are up for it and have given me added confidence."

The Jardine Lloyd Thompson, Focusing Sport.com, Crash.net and Cranfield University backed driver had his first taste of the Peugeot Turbo-powered car at the popular Lurcy Levis test track near Magny Cours two weeks ago.

"Initially we had some difficulty getting me comfortable in the car," noted Pickering, "I think it was built for jockeys and my legs are too long! But the guys did a great job in rectifying the problem, and after that I could get a much better feel for the car. And in case you are thinking, they didn't cut my legs off!

"There's certainly a real 'kick' from the Garrett Turbocharger when you accelerate but otherwise its a nice car to drive. I will be more confident given more time in the car in pre-race testing. My team mates are more experienced in cars of this nature. Porta races in F3000 and Yojiro Terada I think has raced at Le Mans longer than most of the field put together, so I will be able to learn a lot from them both.

"I am looking forward to the race immensely. I will be aiming to finish and I think we have a great chance of taking LMP675 class honours."

The Le Mans event begins next Monday June 9th with scrutineering in Place des Jacobins in the city centre, followed by free practice and mid-week qualifying and the race starts at 4pm Saturday 14th, ending exactly 24 hours later on the Sunday.