2017 is British driver Ben Hanley’s second full season in Endurance racing.  The 32-year-old from Manchester has been competing in the European Le Mans Series with American team Dragonspeed and has also been making one off appearances for various LMP2 teams on the FIA World Endurance Championship grid. 

Ben Hanley raced for TDS Racing in Spa-Francorchamps and for G-Drive Racing in Nürburgring. This weekend in Mexico Hanley will be part of the CEFC Manor TRS Racing team.

We caught up with Ben Hanley just ahead of the 6 Hours of Mexico to discuss his season and his debut at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez this weekend.

Q: Here in Mexico you will be racing for CEFC Manor TRS Racing, your third different team in 2017.  How difficult is it racing for different LMP2 teams?

BH: “Well they are all the same car, they are racing the Oreca 07, so it’s not that big a deal if I am honest.  Maybe if it was different manufacturers then it might take a little bit of time to get used to it.  It’s just how quickly I can get to know the engineer, the team, things like that.

It’s a great opportunity for me once again in the WEC.  I think I’ve only got two more teams left to race for to get the full set. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Q: What are your thoughts on the circuit in Mexico?

BH: “I’ve never been here before.  Manor raced here last year so it’s not like the team is going in blind. They have the information that they need. It’s a new driver line up, so we’ve got to adapt as quickly as possible.  Matt Rao was with the team last year, so he knows pretty much how it is going to work, and Jean-Eric Vergne has been racing with the team this year.  There shouldn’t be any major problems and it is a strong line up.”

Q: In the ELMS you and Nico Lapierre are teammates at Dragonspeed but here in Mexico you will be rivals. Have you talked to him about the track in Mexico?

BH: “No not really.  In the ELMS we work together really well and there has never been any issue between us.  We’re always trying to help each other and push each other.  But here in Mexico we are with different teams so it is a different situation.”

Q: How have you found these new, more powerful, LMP2 cars this year?

BH: “I feel the 2017 car has suited me better than last year and this is my second year in endurance racing, so I am feeling a lot more comfortable with the racing, the strategy and with traffic management.  It’s going well and I just have to keep my head down and keep pushing.”