A date clash between the World Endurance Championship and the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 could see Alexandre Premat unavailable for next year’s Pirtek Enduro Cup.
The Frenchman remains in talks for a seat in the 2015 WEC, which features its Japanese round at Fuji on the Bathurst weekend.
Premat endured a lean first season out of full-time V8 Supercars competition this year, undertaking just two Blancpain Endurance Series outings in addition to the Enduro Cup.
Having moved his family from Melbourne back to France mid-year, the 32-year-old is hoping to rejuvenate his sportscar career, which previously included a stint as a factory Audi pilot.
“I am talking to some WEC teams to do that championship next year so next year’s Enduro Cup will depend on if there is a clash with that,” Premat told Speedcafe.com.
“I will have to make the right decision, but I should know more within the next few weeks.
“If there is a clash (with the Enduro Cup) then we will need to talk to Volvo and Polestar to see what we will do if that comes up.
“It would be great to have all this tied up before the end the year.”
Premat teamed with Kiwi Scott McLaughlin at Volvo Polestar Racing in this year’s endurance events, forming a strong pairing which delivered fifth spot in the Pirtek Enduro Cup standings.
The duo were in contention to score podiums in both the Wilson Security Sandown 500 and the Supercheap Bathurst 1000, before going on to score a second place finish in the final race of the campaign at the Castrol Edge Gold Coast 600.
Premat is highly rated by the team and emphasised his enjoyment of the co-driver events.
Those three races are pretty amazing, they are so intense,” he said.
Securing a podium was the perfect way to end the Enduro Cup and it was the best feeling ever to stand on the podium.
It was a relief as we had been so close on so many occasions.”
Premat will dovetail racing commitments with an existing development driver role for Renault Sport as the firm refines its brand new sports racer, the R.S.
Working alongside former DTM racer Felipe Albuquerque, the pair have been developing the new 3.8 litre V6 powered machine built to LMP1 regulations.
The car is set to be launched in a new one make series that will join the World Series by Renault package with a view to providing drivers a stepping stone into high-profile sportscar racing.
“Its a pretty good race car, it has a lot of downforce it is in between a DTM car and a GT car,” explained Premat.
“I was very impressed with it and its been a long time since I have driven cars like that.”
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