Aylesbury-born Alex Kapadia makes his LMP2 debut this weekend at the Hungaroring in the penultimate round of this year’s European Le Mans Series. He will join former LMPC team-mate John Hartshorne and Kuwaiti driver Khaled Al Mudhaf in the Boutsen Ginion Racing Oreca 03-Nissan.
Kapadia made his Le Mans Series debut in 2011, racing alongside Tor Graves and John Hartshorne for Neil Garner Racing in the Formula Le Mans (LMPC) class at Estoril. On that occasion he placed the team’s FLM 09 Oreca on pole before the car went on to take third at the flag.
The following year he shared the Curtis Racing Technologies LMPC Oreca at Paul Ricard, with Phil Keene and, once again, John Hartshorne. The car (below), managed by Mike Sweeney, took the class win after six hours, and somewhat ironically, pushed rivals Boutsen Ginion into second.
The move up to LMP2 has been a target for Kapadia for some time. “Competing in LMP2 has always been a goal of mine and I am very grateful to Boutsen Ginion Racing and my co-drivers for the opportunity,” said Alex. “We have a lot to learn in a short time, but it’s a challenge I am looking forward to. My focus will be on learning the car and the series, enabling me to build on this experience for future events.”
Thirty-three year-old Kapadia hopes to capitalise on his previous successes in the championship’s LMPC category, but given the limited track time available before the weekend, he is acutely conscious of the scale of the challenge. The 2013-spec Oreca 03 LMP2 is a far cry from the FLM machines he drove in 2011 and 2012, and a world away from the Radical SR3 RS with which he’s had most success. A Formula First champion as long ago as 1999, Kapadia’s peak to date has been taking the Radical European Masters title (SR8 LM class) in 2009, and a class win in the Dubai 24 Hours (SP3) in 2010. However, he has the benefit of experience on the Mogyoród circuit, having raced there in 2010, and is looking forward to the 180-minute race with relish.
There will be generous coverage of the race from the Hungaroring this weekend here on Dailysportscar.
