Ryan Cullen will be at the legendary Paul Ricard circuit in Le Castellet, France this weekend, preparing for the opening of the European Le Mans Series 2020 season.

It will be Cullen’s first race since October 2019 and the final round of the ELMS series at Portimão, and one of the first major global motor racing events as the world reorients sporting activities around the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

For Cullen, the frustration of not racing has been replaced by a highly disciplined training schedule in order to remain focused.

Cullen will be reunited with his 2019 Rolex Daytona winning team at DragonSpeed – with a brand new ORECA O7-Gibson to compete with.

The cutting-edge racing prototype – the 54th example to roll out of the constructor’s factory near Marseille – will be Cullen’s ‘home’ for the 2020 season which includes Le Mans, now rescheduled for September 19-20.

“The chance to join DragonSpeed for the European Le Mans Series in 2020 was an opportunity I just had to take,” said Cullen.

“Elton Julian and the team are as committed and highly motivated as ever for success in ELMS and Le Mans and are undoubtedly an experienced performance-focused team.”

Cullen will be joined by DragonSpeed and ELMS regular Ben Hanley and experienced Mexican driver Memo Rojas.

Cullen is delighted to have the pair as teammates, adding: “I’m looking forward to working with Ben and Memo. Ben is a highly rated and fast driver with a great track record and a huge amount of experience. Memo too brings a lot to the team and has enjoyed championship success in many series including ELMS.”

With victory in the LMP2 class at Daytona last year, Cullen and DragonSpeed are aiming for another front-running performance this year and ultimately a challenge for overall championship victory.

“The ELMS championship is the strongest and most competitive series for LMP2 and attracts some of the best drivers in the world,” said Cullen. “But I’m determined to be at the sharp end and fight for overall victory.”