Van Merksteijn Motorsport to quit Le Mans series at end of season so can concentrate on their rallying next year

Van Merksteijn Motorsport will leave the Le Mans series at the end of this year to focus fully on it's WRC programme next year, according to autoklub.pl. It is believed that the team will enter the 2009 WRC as a manufacturer team, and there had been talk of Francois Duval being involved though this may change depending how his recent promotion to the BP Ford team for the two asphalt rounds go.

Father and son recently competed in WRC Germany with Peter jnr coming out on top in his 06 Focus in 17th while Peter snr was 21st in his 07 example. With Van Merksteijn Motorsport pulling out of the Le Mans series it means Jos Verstappen will have to look for a new team.

 Team manager Gerard Grouve explains the decision to quit racing:

 The aim of Peter van Merksteijna was placing on the stage at Le Mans. We had two seasons, to meet this goal, but success came faster than we all think. Van Merksteijn in Le Mans and the LMS, therefore, we turned to Audi with the intent to buy a prototype R10. The German car manufacturer, at this time, does not want to encourage the private team. Under these circumstances, we can not compete in the next season to achieve better results. "

No more LMP for Van Merksteijn in 2009

All efforts will focus on the 2009 WRC campaign

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