Testing times
The ELMS and Le Mans Cup runners all turned laps yesterday in the pre-event test, which allowed anyone unfamiliar with the Aragon circuit (that is new to the ELMS) to get up to speed before practice.
All the fastest ELMS and Le Mans Cup times came during the morning.
In the ELMS, LMP2 was topped by Laurents Hörr set a 1:48.374 aboard the #28 IDEC Sport ORECA. Wyatt Brichacek set a 1:53.746 to go fastest in LMP3 in the #13 Inter Europol Ligier and Davide Rigon reeled off a 1:57.293 to set the pace in GTE in the #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari.
Meanwhile, in Le Mans Cup, Colin Noble’s 1:54.033 in the Team Thor Ligier was the quickest LMP3 time and Kei Cozzolino set a 1:58.728 to lead the way in GT3 driving the #51 AF Corse Ferrari.
United driver change
This weekend the LMP2 class has grown to eight cars, with the addition of the #23 United Autosports ORECA, which has moved from Pro/Am due to Jim McGuire withdrawing from the meeting.
McGuire had an off in the pre-event test day yesterday which aggravated an old injury, forcing him to skip this weekend’s into-the-night race. As a result, he is being replaced by Australian racer Garnett Patterson. The combination of Patterson, Paul Di Resta and Guy Smith means the car is not eligible for LMP2 Pro/Am.
This means Patterson will be taking part in both the Le Mans Cup and ELMS races this weekend. In Le Mans Cup, he competes with United in its #22 Ligier with Joshua Caygill.
📣 DRIVER CHANGE: Following an incident in yesterday’s @EuropeanLMS Test which aggravated an old injury, Jim McGuire will not race in the 4 Hours of Aragon this weekend.
In his place, @Garnetpatto29 will team up with @PaulDiResta and @TheGuySmith in the #23 ORECA 07 for a… pic.twitter.com/dvWzjMR511
— United Autosports (@UnitedAutosport) August 24, 2023
Eurointernational driver change
A second driver change has also been made in the ELMS today. Mattias Luethen will join Glenn Van Berlo in the #10 Eurointernational Ligier JS P30.
Leuthen replaces Radical regular Jacek Zielonka after the Polish bronze-ranked driver was unable to find a safe and comfortable position in the car.
Barrier repairs
The start of Free Practice 1 for the ELMS runners this afternoon was delayed by almost an hour due to barrier repairs that were necessary after an incident during a Le Mans Cup session earlier in the day involving the #70 Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan.
The #70 car had seemingly only light front damage from the impact at first glance, but once the layers were peeled back it was clear that there was more damage done. The team’s second car, the #19 also needed repairs after a second incident. Both cars missed out on Free Practice 2 but should be ready to take part in Qualifying tomorrow.
ELMS videos
The ELMS YouTube page has released a series of videos ahead of the racing this weekend in Spain, including an onboard lap of the circuit and the latest edition of ‘ELMS Raw’.
How to follow
The ELMS, Le Mans Cup and Ligier European Series qualifying sessions and races are being broadcast this weekend on YouTube for free.
Ligier European Series YouTube >>
Live timing for the ELMS can also be found HERE >>>
The Le Mans Cup race is set to get underway tomorrow at 17:40, with the ELMS race scheduled for Saturday at 18:00, local time. The two Ligier European Series races will also be held on Saturday in the build-up to the into-the-night race, at 09:00 and 14:00.
Featured image courtesy of IDEC Sport
