ELMS – Countdown to the 4 Hours of Barcelona
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ELMS – Countdown to the 4 Hours of Barcelona

The European Le Mans Series 2021 season gets underway this weekend with the 4 Hours of Barcelona. Let’s take a look at the main protagonists.

No fewer than 42 cars will line up for the opening round of the ELMS 2021 season: the 4 Hours of Barcelona.  The grid will comprise 16 LMP2 and 16 LMP3 prototypes, nine LMGTE entries and one Innovative Car.
Current title holder United Autosports will be back with two Oreca 07s. Last year’s champion driver Phil Hanson will be partnered by two new teammates in the shape of Tom Gamble (reigning LMP3 champion) and Jonathan Aberdein. The 4 Hours of Barcelona will also see former Formula One driver Robert Kubica make his LMP2 début. He will share the wheel of the #41 Oreca 07-Gibson fielded by Orlen Team WRT with Louis Deletraz and Yifei Ye. Several teams have strengthened during the close-season with the aim of challenging for the podium and pushing United Autosports all the way. They include G-Drive Racing with its two Aurus 01-Gibsons, DragonSpeed USA, IDEC Sport, Algarve Pro Racing and Panis Racing. These experienced outfits will do well to keep an eye on the performance of LMP2 newcomer Racing Team Turkey who has recruited Salih Yoluc, Charlie Eastwood and Harry Tincknell for its Oreca 07.

Fourteen Ligier JS P320-Nissans and two Duqueine M30-D08-Nissans will make up the LMP3 field. United Autosports will be in the hunt for a fourth title with its pair of Ligiers. The British outfit will, however, have to see off two strong title contenders: RLR MSport (#15 Ligier JS P320-Nissan) and Eurointernational (#11 Ligier JS P320-Nissan).
Six Ferrari F488 GTE Evos, two Porsche 911 RSR-19s and an Aston Martin Vantage AMR will contest the LMGTE class. Titleholder Proton Competition will again be banking on its champion driver Christian Ried who, this time, will be joined by Gianmaria Bruni and Jaxon Evans. To pursue his dream of racing at Le Mans, Hollywood actor Michael Fassbender is back for his second ELMS season. As in 2020, he will drive the #93 Porsche of Proton Competition along with Felipe Laser and Richard Lietz.

The Innovative Car entry is the #84 Oreca 07-Gibson fielded by Association SRT41 featuring two drivers with disabilities, Takuma Aoki of Japan and Belgian Nigel Bailly. They will be joined by Frenchman Pierre Sancinéna. The man behind this project is Frédéric Sausset who, five years ago, became the first quadruple amputee to take part in and finish the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team is also getting ready to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 21-22 August 2021.

The competitors took part in official pre-season testing on Monday and Tuesday. Louis Deletraz in the #41 Oreca 07-Gibson of Orlen Team WRT clocked the best lap time of 1:33.173 over the two days. Then came United Autosports’ #22 Oreca 07-Gibson one-tenth of a second down on the fastest time, followed by the #21 Oreca 07-Gibson of DragonSpeed USA.

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The European Le Mans Series’ Facebook page and YouTube channel will show live action from the 4 Hours of Barcelona. Qualifying will be held on Saturday from 13:40 to 14:20 CET. The race itself will start at 11:00 CET on Sunday.

Check out the provisional entry list for the 4 Hours of Barcelona.

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