The weekend started off with a wet track during Thursday’s collective test day. The team ventured out with the cars and put in a decent number of laps around the iconic French race track. The #19 LMP2 still displayed great pace in the wet and placed P2, with the #8 in P4 during the afternoon session.
FP1 provided the team with valuable data about the track and car, which was used to help set-up
the car for the rest of the week-end. During the Bronze Test, both Tony and Julien were able to put in strong lap times and finished P5 and P7 respectively.
During the cloudy Saturday, the #8 and #19 cars were out for FP2 and Qualifying. Using insights from Friday’s practice, the LMP3 car placed P3 in the last practice. Gillian replicated the result in Qualifying, placing the car on the second row for the main race on Sunday. In the LMP2, the pace was still improving; in FP2, the car placed P8. For Qualifying, Tony put in a strong performance and qualified P6.
The main event had a great atmosphere, with a big turnout of fans who came to watch the race in the south of France. The team hoped to recreate the previous result in Barcelona with another race win for the LMP3 car, while the LMP2 car aimed for a strong result to pick up points for the team.
Tony had a great start and passed several cars in the beginning but was spun by another car within the first lap, relegating him to the back of the pack. After making his way through the grid, Tony handed over the car to Nelson, who faced a tough task of catching the next car ahead. Sadly, a tire failure forced an unplanned pit stop, costing the car more time. Matt took over the car, giving his all to catch the field ahead and finished P7 in the 4 Hours of Le
Castellet.
The LMP3 started with Julien in the driver’s seat. The pace was competitive at the start of the race, and the car ran comfortably in P3 for the first hour. However, after being hit by another car, the car suffered damage that needed repairs in the pit, leaving it a lap down in P7. Bernardo took over and continued the strong pace. But from there, the recovery was tough, and with Gillian at the wheel, the car tried to catch the field. Eventually, the car crossed the finish line P7, concluding the week-end.
Now all eyes are on the next ELMS race in Imola from the 5th to the 7th of July.
