Pescarolo enters liquidation

The Pescarolo team is no more after sportscar legend Henri Pescarolo confirmed that the French outfit has been liquidated.

Pescarolo enjoyed plenty of success at Le Mans over the past decade and was regularly the closest challenger to the factory cars from Audi and Peugeot for a number of years.

Recent seasons have seen the team struggle financially however, with the new Pescarolo 03 being beset by problems that meant it was an early retirement in the Le Mans 24 Hours last year and didn't compete again.

Pescarolo then entered a six-month protection period as it looked to find new investment after a proposed deal with Luxury Racing collapsed and with no new partner forthcoming, the team has instead been placed into liquidation.

"As difficult as it is to accept, this decision is justified," Pescarolo said. "The Commercial Court simply applied the law. Pescarolo Team was placed under safeguard proceedings for a period of six months and I was to propose a credible solution for the continuation of the activity. But I did not manage to find a solution.

"The way I managed Pescarolo Team was not put into question; I only suffered from the failure of those that were to be my main sponsors."

Pescarolo did however admit that he hoped to be able to secure a role with a team for the future, with the facility at Le Mans that was the base for his own team still under his ownership.

"I still own superb premises, ideally located in the Technoparc of the 24 Hours and nothing can prevent me from doing business on my own in the future," he said. "I am disappointed for my team, and it matters a lot to me. While we can not hope to enter our own cars in the next 24 hours, there are other possibilities and I hope to offer them a great project, allowing them to demonstrate once again their potential."