Inter Europol Competition

Inter Europol Competition is a Polish motorsports team that competes in the endurance racing. The team is contesting the World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series in 2021. They formerly competed in Asian Le Mans Series, BOSS GP, V de V and Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup. As a reference to the focus of its owner and sponsor, the bakery goods producer Inter Europol S.A., the team is often referred to as "Turbo Bakers".
History.
Beginnings and pre-endurance efforts.
The team was founded in 2010 and grew out of a cooperation between Maurycy Kochański's Kochanski Motorsport and Michael Keese Motorsport. Their joint effort competed first in Formula Ford and Formula Three, then in 2009 in the Italian Formula Renault Championship and in 2010 in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup. At the end of the 2010 season, Kochański ran into financial problems. His share in the team was taken over by Wojciech Śmiechowski, father of its driver Jakub Śmiechowski and owner of the Inter Europol S.A. bakery . The new team was named Inter Europol Competition after its new owner-sponsor. 
Inter Europol Competition started as a single-seater team. Inter Europol's drivers competed in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup in the 2010-2016 seasons, with team's drivers' best overall result being 12th by Jakub Śmiechowski in the 2011 season. 2014 marked the beginning of 6-years long team's effort in BOSS GP, which championship was claimed by Jakub Śmiechowski in that year. Śmiechowski also finished as the runner-up in the 2015 season.
2016.
2016 marked an important milestone for Inter Europol Competition as the team made its full European Le Mans Series and 2016 V de V Endurance Series entries, taking first steps in the endurance racing. The maiden LMP3 campaign in the ELMS with Jakub Śmiechowski and Jens Petersen driving the Ligier JS P3 brought the team 10th place overall. The effort in the V de V was more successful, as Śmiechowski paired with Martin Hippe claimed the championship of the series. 
Third season of Inter Europol Competition in the BOSS GP and the first one without Jakub Śmiechowski behind the wheel brought 8th place for the Dane Jens Renstrup, who drove a Dallara GP2/05.
2017.
In their second year in the endurance racing Inter Europol Competition continued their effort in the European Le Mans Series, bringing to the field a single LMP3 car, Ligier JS P3 number 13. Jens Petersen has been replaced by Martin Hippe, who became team's regular ELMS driver in the years to come. After scoring their maiden podium in the 4 Hours of Castellet, the team achieved a fifth-place finish in the general LMP3 standings.
The team entered the V de V Endurance Series as well, claiming the championship with a car number 22 with Jakub Śmiechowski and Hendrik Still behind the wheel. The best of the car number 33 drivers, Paul Scheuschner, finished eighth.
Walter Steding, driving a Dallara GP2/05 for Inter Europol Competition in his first season, claimed 8th position in the overall classification of the BOSS GP.
2018.
In 2018 Inter Europol Competition once egain entered the LMP3 class of the European Le Mans Series, this time with two Ligier JS P3 cars. 2018 was a breakthrough for a car number 13, as Martin Hippe and Jakub Śmiechowski scored a race win in 4 Hours of Portimão and a third place in 4 Hours of Red Bull Ring – two podiums in total - to finish runners-up in the championship standings. A new entry from the team, car number 14, hosted a total of six drivers in six races, resulting in 15th place in the final LMP3 classification.
2018 marked the final run of Inter Europol Competition in the V de V Endurance series. Paul Scheuschner, driving a car number 33, finished 3rd in the general standings, while the pair of Jakub Śmiechowski and Pontus Fredriksson in a car number 22 claimed 5th overall.
The team was represented in BOSS GP again by Walter Seding behind the wheel of Dallara GP2/05. Steding finished fourth overall.
2019.
The new season saw Inter Europol Competition branching out into new territory of Asian Le Mans Series with Martin Hippe and Jakub Śmiechowski behind the wheel of a number 13 Ligier JS P3 car. The campaign proved to be successful for the team, which claimed the overall victory and an invitation for the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans race.
In the European Le Mans Series the team stepped up to the LMP2 class after purchasing a Ligier JS P217 in addition to fielding two LMP3 Ligier JS P3 cars for the second consecutive year. The LMP2 campaign didn't bring good results and after frequent lineup changes Inter Europol Competition claimed 17th place in the overall classification.
The effort of Martin Hippe pairing up with Nigel Moore, who replaced Jakub Śmiechowski behind the wheel of a car number 13 in the LMP3 class, turned out to be much more fruitful with the team claiming the back-to-back 2nd place overall after a penalty in the last race of the season and rejection of the team's appeal. Car number 14 finished 12th overall.
In June Inter Europol Competition made their debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Jakub Śmiechowski, Nigel Moore and James Winslow, driving a Ligier JS P217, recorded 45th in the race overall standings and 16th in the LMP2 class standings, after having dealt with a lot of technical issues.
In team's last season in BOSS GP the only full-season driver Walter Steding took 9th place in the general standings.
2020.
Inter Europol Competition again started the year with Asian Le Mans Series bid, claiming 4th with car 33 and 5th with car 34 in the LMP2 standings. The cars were driven by John Corbett, Nathan Kumar, Mitchell Neilson and Danial Frost, as well as Mathias Beche, Jakub Śmiechowski and James Winslow respectively. The team ran also one full season entry in the LMP3 class with car 13, raced by Martin Hippe and Nigel Moore, who finished 3rd overall, and two part season entries with cars 14 and 18.
Inter Europol Competition contested the shortened European Le Mans Series season as well, with one entry in LMP2 and LMP3 classes. LMP2 34 car, the only Ligier on the grid, saw a major lineup overhaul with Rene Binder and Matevos Isaakyan joining Jakub Śmiechowski for the ELMS and Le Mans effort. For its LMP3 bid, the team retained the duo of Martin Hippe and Nigel Moore. The LMP2 crew finished the season 12th overall, while Hippe, Moore and Dino Lunardi, who replaced Moore for last two races of the season, claimed the third consecutive ELMS LMP3 vice champion title for the Inter Europol Competition.
The team appeared on the grid of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race for the second time, struggling with technical and regulatory issues, finishing 17th in class and 45th overall.
Inter Europol Competition wrapped the 2020 season up with two races of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, in which the team used the Oreca 07 prototype for the first time. They finished 3rd in LMP2 class and 9th overall in the Petit Le Mans. 12 Hours of Sebring proved to be a more difficult challenge; after Śmiechowski's spin in the 4th hour of the race and subsequent repairs car 51 finished 4th in class and 17th overall.
2021.
With a single Oreca 07 the team is contesting the LMP2 class of World Endurance Championship, moving up there from European Le Mans Series. Car 34 is driven by Jakub Śmiechowski, Renger van der Zande and Alex Brundle. Hélio Castroneves was to drive for the team in 1000 Miles of Sebring as a substitute for van der Zande due to Dutchman's IMSA SportsCar Championship commitments, but the race has been cancelled. Louis Delétraz will replace van der Zande in the races at Portimão and Fuji.
The other part of Inter Europol Competition racing programme for 2021 is LMP3 class of European Le Mans Series, in which the team takes part running two Ligier JS P320 machineries. Car number 13 is ran by a team regular Martin Hippe, as well as newcomers Ugo de Wilde and Julien Falchero.After the first round of the season Falchero has been replaced by Ulysse de Pauw. Julius Adomavicius, Mattia Pasini and Mateusz Kaprzyk, who replaced Alessandro Bracalente after the first race, drive a car number 14.