Matthieu Vaxivière joins Fabien Barthez and Timothé Buret for the 4 Hours of Monza in ELMS

French F4 Championship Champion in 2011, Matthieu Vaxivière climbed up the ladder up to the doors of Formula 1 as he finished World Series 3.5 vice-champion for Lotus in 2015 before going on last year in Formula V8 3.5 for SMP Racing. This season, he is involved in the FIA WEC championship in LMP2 for TDS Racing team. The rookie quickly distinguished himself with his teammates whilst climbing on the podium for the first round at Silverstone. With his talent and his facility to communicate with the Panis-Barthez Competition Managers, the young man from Limoges is now part of the team to compete the Italian round.

Olivier Panis - Team-Principal: “We easily opted for Matthieu because he is a driver I have known for several years. I saw him improving in various championships, among others against my son, Aurélien. I could notice his speed on track and its good state of mind. He contributes to make our will continue, that is to say to put forward the young drivers in endurance. This constitutes the DNA of Panis-Barthez Compétition.”

Sarah Abadie - Team-Manager : "We are delighted to have Matthew for the next race. He is a driver we particularly like because we worked two years with him in Formula Renault 2.0 after his coronation in F4. He has built an amazing career, has a great top speed and a personality we appreciate a lot. He looks like us and fits in the team perfectly. He is a top driver who will know how to accord with all the staff and his teammates for this substitution at Monza."

Matthieu Vaxivière - LMP2 driver : " I am really happy to share this race with this team which proved that its project was ambitious and solid from its creation last year. I am already familiar with him, I know Olivier Panis well and I competed two seasons in Formula Renault 2.0 with Tech 1 Racing managed by Sarah and Simon Abadie. I am delighted to join Fabien Barthez on the Ligier JS P217 who, besides bringing his experience of top athlete to young people, showed a great improvement on track. I am also looking forward to being with Timothé ; I have a great feeling and complicity which started during V of V races in the past. I am going to try my best to bring my own experience of the LMP2 category to the team and work in a great cohesion in order to give us all the means to perform well at Monza.”