24h Le Mans
Victory at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet, the opening round of the 2018 European Le Mans Series season, was clinched by Racing Engineering (#24 ORECA 07-Gibson). Before we head to Italy for the next ELMS round, here's a quick review of the race in France.
- Adrian Newey, the famous British engineer who has worked with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull Racing in F1, was present in the paddock to support his son Harrison driving APR-Rebellion Racing's #31 ORECA 07-Gibson. Adrian hopes to participate in the Le Mans Classic once again (July 7-9, 2018).
- At Le Castellet, Bruno Senna - a confirmed driver with Rebellion Racing in LMP1 for the 2018-2019 WEC Super Season - replaced Filipe Albuquerque at the wheel of United Autosports' #22 Ligier JS P217. The Portuguese driver made the right decision, he ended up winning the third round of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Long Beach in Califonia.
- Aurélien Panis also took part in the 4 Hours of Le Castellet, representing of course his father's team, Panis-Barthez Compétition, set to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year for the third time.
- Stanley Dickens, winner at the 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans (Sauber C9 with Manuel Reuter and Jochen Mass), is serving as team manager for SPV Racing (Michelin Le Mans Cup).
- Thomas Laurent, a Rebellion Racing driver in LMP1, visited with APR-Rebellion Racing, a team he had been announced to join before he was replaced by Harrison Newey.
- Le Castellet was also the scene of the first round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup. The defending champion team, DKR Engineering, won the opening race with its #3 Norma M30-Nissan driven by Léonard Hoogenboom and Jens Petersen. Kessel Racing's #8 Ferrari 488 GT3 claimed the top step on the podium in the GT3 class.
- Seventeen cars expected to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (June 16-17) took the start at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet, twelve LMP2s: the #22 and #32 Ligier JS P217-Gibsons of United Autosports, the #23 Ligier JS P217-Gibson of Panis Barthez Compétition, the #25 Ligier JS P217-Gibson of Algarve Pro Racing, the #26 ORECA 07-Gibson of G-Drive Racing, the #28 ORECA 07-Gibson of IDEC Sport (#48 at Le Mans), the #33 ORECA 07-Gibson of TDS Racing (#28 at Le Mans), the #35 Dallara P217-Gibson of SMP Racing, the #36 Alpine A470-Gibson of Signatech Alpine, the #39 ORECA 07-Gibson of Graff, the #40 ORECA 07-Gibson of G-Drive Racing and the #47 Dallara P217-Gibson of Cetilar Villorba Corse...and five LMGTEs: the #54 Ferrari 488 of Spirit of Race, the #66 Ferrari 488 GTE of JMW Motorsport, the #80 Porsche 911 RSR of Ebimotors, the #86 Porsche 911 RSR of Gulf Racing and the #88 Porsche 911 RSR of Proton Competition (#99 at Le Mans).
- This was a weekend of firsts: the first pole position for the IDEC Sport team, the first victory for Racing Engineering (a team from the GP2 Series) and the first win for Norman Nato (also from single-seaters).
- Racing Engineering leaves France at the reigns of the European Le Mans Series with 25 points. The next ELMS round will take place on May 13th at Monza in Italy.
Video YouTube - ELMS official
