Grid shot released
The 2024 ELMS field was assembled yesterday ahead of Round 1 of the season for the traditional pre-season grid shot.
The magnificent photo (above), featuring all 42 cars, was released earlier today.
Night Practice
The two-hour Night Sractice session held from 19:00 – 21:00 local was a quiet affair with just 14 cars venturing out, seven LMP2 cars, five LMP3s and two from the LMGT3 pack.
The session was topped by Team Virage’s #19 Pro-Am ORECA in the hands of Nelson Piquet Jr, the ex F1 racer setting a 1:30.796.
Fastest in LMP3 was the #11 Eurointernational Ligier of Adam Ali who set a 1:37.485. Davide Rigon’s 1:42.109 topped the LMGT3 times.
The #35 Ultimate Ligier, damaged in the morning session, did not make it back on track this evening.
Spare Porsche on site
Behind the Proton garages sits a spare Porsche 911 GT3 R 992 this week. The car, sporting #88, is a factory-owned car that was on site last week for testing with Richard Lietz.
It has since stayed on-site at the circuit as it was logistically difficult to return it to Germany before this weekend.
Aston Martins get converted
The #59 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin did not run in the first session, as the car’s conversion to LMGT3 spec was completed during the morning.
The same car actually raced with Comtoyou Racing at Paul Ricard yesterday as a regular GT3, the Racing Spirit of Leman wrap nestling beneath Comtoyou’s colours during the GT World Challenge weekend!
The #59 joined the afternoon session and set the fastest LMGT3 time in the hands of factory driver Valentin Hasse-Clot.
The #97 Grid Motorsport by TF Vantage meanwhile did not complete a flying lap in the Morning Session and was a late joiner to concerted running in the Afternoon Session. The team worked on systems integration after that car’s conversion to 2024 spec and LMGT3 configuration was also finished just this morning (this the chassis that competed in the Asian Le Mans Seres with John Hartshorne over the winter).
George King on site
2023 Ligier European Series standout George King was spotted by DSC sitting in Virage’s garage watching the action.
King is without a drive this season in the ELMS or its supports, but he won’t be out of the cockpit of a race car for long. Right now, he told DSC, he is considering his options going forward and is Spain making contacts and keeping an eye on movements in the paddock.
“I’m here all week and I’m ready if anyone needs a driver at the last minute,” he said. “Beyond that though I’m looking at some one-off drives during the season ahead of a bigger programme I am working on for 2025.”
Deletraz aiming for more success
AO By TF LMP2 driver Louis Deletraz is looking to protect a sterling record at Barcelona this weekend.
The Swiss, fresh from a Sebring 12 Hours overall win last month, has a 100 per cent winning record in the ELMS at the Spanish circuit, after taking overall wins in 2021 with Team WRT, 2022 with PREMA and 2023 with Racing Team Turkey.
This season is sharing the #14 with Robert Kubica and Jonny Edgar. Needless to say he is looking to extend that streak in Sunday’s four-hour race.
With no ElMS drive in 2024 (so far!) for Filipe Albuquerque we’re unlikely to have the Spider-Man moment at AO by TF that occurred at 99 Racing during the Asian Le mans Series at was Marina (pictured above).
Duck(lings) and cover!
A family of ducklings had to be evacuated from the service road at pit out just before the Afternoon Session got underway today, as the mother duck and young charges were attempting to cross the track.
Session restart delayed by the following suspects. Caught in the pitlane without fireproofs! #ELMS | #4HBarcelona pic.twitter.com/RScPaw1td2
— Nielsen Racing (@RacingNielsen) April 8, 2024
Unfortunately, the mother, startled by either the noise of the ELMS field or the rescue attempt, made a swift ariel exit, while the ducklings were all gathered up safe and sound.
Attempts will be made to reunite the family once the paddock is quieter.
ELMS Rookies
After 2023 saw a huge influx of LMP2 talent, 2024 looks like the year of the talented Rookie in LMP2. Many of the names listed below are set to embark on their first forays into sportscars, others adding the ELMS to a CV that already covers off LMP racing elsewhere.
Across LMP2 and LMP2 Pro-Am alone, there are no fewer than 19 drivers who will make their first ELMS starts in 2024
Pro
- Maceo Capietto
- Jonny Edgar
- Felipe Drugovich
- Bijoy Garg
- Stephane Richelmi
- Arthur Leclerc
- Niels Koolen
- Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer
- Oliver Gray
- Luca Ghiotto
- Clement Novalak
- Lorenzo Fluxa
- Tom Dillmann
- Ritomo Miyata
- Frederik Vesti
Pro Am
- Cem Bolukbasi
- Alex Quinn
- Albert Balboa Costa
- Gregoire Saucy
