AF Corse’s #83 ORECA fine after fire
All was calm at AF Corse this morning, after the dramas for the pit box fire, believed to be caused by a fuel spillage yesterday early evening in the working area around the #83 ORECA.
First things first, all personnel are absolutely fine. The standard procedure in the garage is to wear full fireproof overalls at all times, something that clearly paid off yesterday. Team personnel and those from the GMB Motorsport squad next door rapidly had what was a significant fire, under control.
There is no meaningful damage to the #83 car. A team member, DSC understands, immediately closed the left-hand cockpit door and whilst there were scorch marks this morning on the left-hand side of the car, it was ready to go this morning.
Varrone tours the paddock
Corvette Racing FIA WEC driver Nico Varrone, fresh from a GTE Am class win last weekend in Portimao, was spotted in the ELMS paddock today by DSC. The Argentinian was busy getting a feel for the ELMS field this year in between his WEC trips to Portimao and Spa with Corvette.
Varonne explained that during long stretches of European races during the season he lives in Barcelona, and heads back to Argentina in gaps in his calender to see his friends and family.
“It’s really busy for me right now,” he said. “We had Portimao last week, then next week we have Spa. After that I am heading to Watkins Glen for a multi-day test with my IMSA LMP3 team (AWA) before getting my first experience of the Corvette Racing sim in the USA to prepare for Le Mans. Then we have Le Mans itself of course!
“It’s not easy living in two places, but it’s great here in Barcelona, the culture is similar to Argentina so I feel right at home.”
Varrone isn’t the only Corvette-affiliated driver here this weekend. Oliver Gavin is present supporting TF Sport GTE driver Ben Tuck and Jan Magnussen is competing in the Michelin Le Mans Cup.
Two Matt Bells!
There has long been two Matt Bells in international sportscar racing, with the British (brother of Rob) Matt often confused with his American IMSA-package counterpart. However, even more confusing here in Barcelona, is that we have another two Matt Bells, both of them involved in LMP3.
Matt (brother of Rob) is racing with Nielsen Racing in the Michelin Le Mans Cup and the other Matt (AKA, Matthew Richard Bell) is making his debut in the ELMS with Eurointernational after a one-off last season was scuppered by licence issues.
DSC is yet to establish whether or not either can be described in the traditional DSC Bell family fashion, as either less or more attractive and or, less or more hirsute than Rob. We will keep you posted…
How many Ligiers?
With 128 cars in the Barcelona paddock this weekend, a total of 54 Ligiers (18 in Ligier European Series, 26 in Le Mans Cup and 10 in the ELMS) is both an incredible total, and incredible proportion. Indeed, take out the 26 Porsche cup cars and Ligier forms more than half of the overall totals of the three-tier ladder on the ELMS bill.
Job Van ‘Oof’tert
Panis Racing star Job Van Uitert is sporting an impressive repair job after requiring four surgical staples in his scalp, following a miscalculation in leaving the grid after the ELMS all-drivers photoshoot yesterday evening.
Van Uitert chose to access the pitlane via one of the holes in the fence above the pit wall, without realising the closeness of the safety structure above it, leaving an impressive wound to be treated at the medical centre.
Mercifully, as a professional racing driver, the impact missed his brain by a clear four feet!
It is important to note that Job took part in Free Practice 1, with no issues.
Get well soon!
Split opinion on the LMP2 power increase
DSC has spoken to a handful of drivers in the LMP2 classes this weekend about the power increase given to the teams in the ELMS this year. The increase is understood to bring the cars close to the original performance levels of the cars back in 2017 when the rulset was introduced.
Whether or not it is a difference that can be felt behind the wheel is something that is somewhat up for debate!
United Autosports driver Phil Hanson told DSC that the change isn’t noticeable from behind the wheel.
“I haven’t felt it,” he said. “The gap between LMP2 and LMP3 is not big enough. It’s such a small increase in power.
“And it’s difficult to feel because I’m coming from a WEC car with less power but significantly less downforce. So it feels like a step up anyway, but a lot of that is due to downforce. And you don’t have a comparison with LMP3 in WEC. If they gave me 100 horsepower maybe I’d feel it!”
Alex Lynn, with Algarve Pro Racing this season, feels differently.
“It’s a welcome change,” he said. “They feel like proper LMP2 cars again, it makes a big difference in the feel.”
Yoluc tops Bronze Test
Racing Team Turkey driver Salih Yoluc set the fastest time in this afternoon’s Bronze Test, a 1:33.078.
In the other classes, Eric Trouillet went quickest of the Bronze-rated drivers in LMP3 driving the #35 Ultimate Ligier with a 1:38.697 and Johnny Laursen led the way in GTE with a 1:41.522 in the Formula Racing Ferrari.
Hodes ‘ok’ after Bronze test shunt
Rob Hodes, driver of the #19 Team Virage ORECA, had a substantial off during the Bronze Test earlier today. The car went off the track between Turns 8 and 9, impacting the barrier at the front and rear, with the most severe damage seemingly at the left-rear corner.
Hodes himself is absolutely fine. DSC will catch up with Team Virage tomorrow morning after its crew has had a chance to assess the car.
Introducing… Steph Wentworth
What’s new for the 2023 season? Join the DSC editor and the newest member of the ELMS TV team, Steph Wentworth, for a paddock walk and talk on YouTube.
More onboards!
Some additional onboard videos have been uploaded to the ELMS YouTube Channel today. Both are well worth a watch!
Le Mans’ oldest ever driver racing on
A notable name in the supporting Porsche Carerra Cup France field is Dominic Bastien. He is now 77-years-old and still the oldest driver ever to have started the Le Mans 24 Hours. He competed most recently at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2021 with Proton at the age of 75.
