The release of the 4 Hours of Barcelona entry list earlier today confirmed a handful of tweaks, additions and omissions to driver line-ups in each of the four ELMS classes.
In LMP2 the only notable news comes from Duqueine Team. The line-up for its #30 ORECA is now complete, with 2022 FIA Rally Raid Champion Niels Koolen joining the previously confirmed duo Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer and James Allen.
The race in Spain will be Koolen’s ELMS debut. Interestingly, Koolen’s father Kees is the only driver to have completed the Dakar rally in all categories.
LMP2 Pro/Am meanwhile, sees a handful of notable changes to the list.
At DKR, two new names are listed against its #3 DKR ORECA, with Andres Latorre Canon and Laurents Hörr joining the team to race alongside Turkish driver Cem Bolukbasi. Tom van Rompuy was originally pencilled in but he has since taken on a full-time FIA WEC programme with TF Sport in LMGT3.
Team Virage has some new names too. Neither Rob Hodes nor Ian Rodrigues are now due to drive. Instead, Tony Wells and Matt Bell will pair up with the only TBA remaining in the third driver slot. For Wells, this programme will run alongside his Le Mans Cup LMP3 effort with Nielsen Racing and Wayne Boyd.
Proton Racing’s #77 ORECA also has three names confirmed now, with Rene Binder and Bent Viscaal joining the previously announced Giorgio Roda.
In the 10-car LMP3 class, DKR has signed Alex Mattschull and Wyatt Brichacek to race with Belen Garcia.
RLR M Sport, the only team with two cars in the class, has also firmed up its line-ups. Sharing the #5 Ligier will be James Dayson, Bailey Voisin and Daniel Ali, and the #15 will be piloted by Michael Jensen, Nick Adcock and Gael Julien.
Horst Felbermayr was originally listed for the team, but he will not race in Spain.
Gillian Henrion, the 2022 Ligier European Series Champion and 2023 Le Mans Cup champion, has been confirmed too.
This year he will look to earn a third title in as many years as part of Team Virage’s roster. He will race with 2023 Le Mans Cup teammates Julien Gerbi and Bernardo Pinheiro.
Matthieu Lahaye and Alexandre Yvon complete Ultimate’s line-up.
Finally, all the seats in LMGT3’s 11-car field are now filled with some new names listed against Ferrari 296 GT3s.
Formula Racing’s #50 296 will see Nicklas Nielsen race with Johnny and Conrad Laursen, while the #51 from AF Corse now has Ulysse De Pauw signed up alongside Manu Collard and Charles-Henri Samani.
Kessel’s #57 crew is now complete too, with Esteban Masson set to share drive time with Takeshi Kimura and Daniel Serra.
The fourth and final Ferrari to feature a new addition to its line-up is the GR Racing example. With Ben Barker now racing with Ford as a factory driver, Davide Rigon joins the team to race with owner Mike Wainwright and Riccardo Pera.
