ELMS: G-Drive leads the championship as the ELMS arrives in Spa-Francorchamps

Round 5 for the European Le Mans Series this weekend on the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the Belgian Ardennes.  All is still to play for in the penultimate race of the championship, especially in LMP2 and LMP3 where both title contenders are just a few points apart.  Luzich Racing has a more comfortable lead in the LMGTE class and might be able to clinch the title already this weekend. 

Earlier this summer, LMEM - organiser of the FIA WEC and ELMS - has renewed its contract with Spa-Francorchamps for another 4 years, up to 2023. Entry is free all weekend, including paddock access, pit and grid walk for all the fans.  And with a dry weather forecast & temps up to 25 degrees over the weekend, there's no reason not to pass by Francorchamps if you're around!  Except maybe that "little" chance of rain during the race on Sunday ... 

G-Drive Racing leads the championship in the LMP2 class with their #26 Aurus 01, after two victories in Monza and Barcelona and a second place in Silverstone. With 81 points the Russian team has an advantage of 9 points of IDEC Sport who won their first-ever ELMS race at Silverstone.  Graff is third so far in the championship with 53 points with their #39 Oreca, followed by Le Castellet winners Dragonspeed (40 points) and Duqueine Engineering (35 points) in the #30 Oreca 07.  

Inter Europol Competition arrives with a new and very ambitious line-up for the race in Francorchamps this weekend. Belgian driver Sam Dejonghe who has been racing in LMP3 with the team so far, makes his debut in the LMP2 class in his home race next to regular driver Jakub Smiechowski.  They will be joined by the experienced Mathias Beche who makes his return to the ELMS after racing with High Class Racing at Le Mans. 

Sam Dejonghe said: “I’m thrilled to make the step up to LMP2! The car and way of doing things in the top class of ELMS is new to me, so it’s a big challenge with limited tracktime. But I know Spa very well, know how the championship works and I feel comfortable in our team. The focus is there, and I will do everything I can to adapt quickly and deliver a performance on Sunday. Can’t wait to get behind the wheel!”

United Autosports waived its second Ligier goodbye and now has 2 Oreca’s on the grid for the 4 hour race on Sunday.  Missing on the grid will be Carlin Racing after Jack Manchester’s fierce crash at Silverstone.  The team used Cetilar’s spare chassis to race in Silverstone with Harrison Newey taking Manchesters’ seat. Fractured ribs prevent Manchester from racing in Spa, so the team decided to sit out this race and will return at the final race of the season in Portimao next month. 

At Cool Racing, Alexandre Coigny hasn’t completely recovered yet from his crash during the race in Silverstone which caused him to miss the teams’ maiden race and victory in the FIA WEC on Sunday.  He won’t be replaced in the #37 Oreca, which will be driven by Nico Lapierre and Antonin Borga. The #35 BHK Motorsport is also back to a 2 man line-up with season regulars Francesco Dracone and Sergio Campana. In the #23 Panis-Barthez Oreca, Leonard Hoogenboom is absent for the race in Spa. 

In LMP3 the difference between both championship leaders is even tighter than in LMP2; just 7 points between the leaders in the #13 Inter Europol Competition (76 points for Martin Hippe and Nigel Moore) and the second-placed #11 Eurointernational of Mikkel Jensen and Jens Petersen with 69 points.  The #2 United Autosports of Garett Grist, Tommy Erdos and Wayne Boyd sits in third place with 53 points, followed by the #17 Ultimate Norma and the #7 Nielsen Racing Norma of Anthony Wells and Colin Noble. 

With Sam Dejonghe moving up to LMP2 at Inter Europol Competition, Constantin Schöll, a very promising 21 year old Austrian Driver will take his place.  He will join Paul Scheusner in the #14 Ligier JSP3.  Mike Guash is still recovering from his accident in Spa where he went hard into the wall, ending up with a fractured vertebra.  He will be replaced by Andrew Bentley in the second United Autosports Ligier. 

Nicholas Adcock takes Nobuya Yamanaka seat in the #8 Nielsen Racing Ligier while the #19 M Racing Norma will also have a two-man crew for this weekend, since Yann Ehrlacher and Yvan Muller are absent due to other racing commitments. Lucas Légeret and Laurent Millara will be up for double duty in the #19 over the weekend. 

Luzich Racing arrives in Spa as the points leader in the LMGTE class.  The #51 Ferrari 488 leads the class with a total of 77 points. Alessandro Pier Guidi, Fabien Lavergne and Mikkel Mac won the 4 Hours of Le Castellet and Monza, finished third in Barcelona and fourth in Silverstone a few weeks ago. 

The Swiss team has a lead of 21 points over three teams who share second place after 4 rounds. The #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR, #66 JMW Ferrari and #83 all-female Kessel Racing Ferrari all have scored 56 points so far in the championship. Further down is the #55 Spirit of Race Ferrari (41 points) and the #88 Proton Competition Porsche. 

There are a few changes in the driver line-ups to be noted compared to the 4 Hours of Silverstone. In the #60 Kessel Racing Ferrari, Nicola Cadei will be replaced by South African David Perel.  In the #88 Proton Competition Porsche, Thomas Preining will be joined by … 

The #56 Project 1 Porsche of Egidio Perfetti, won’t race at Spa due to the team’s participation with 2 cars in the FIA WEC and the logistics needed for the upcoming 6 Hours of Fuji. The team has a third car in order at Porsche, but apparently, it hasn’t been delivered yet.  As in Silverstone, the Ebimotors Porsche also didn’t make it Francorchamps this weekend. 

Kristof Vermeulen.
Pictures: Kristof Vermeulen & Jellybaby.Media

The ELMS races into the night at Barcelona this weekend

For the first time since 2009, a Le Mans Series race will be held at the Circuit the Catalunya near Barcelona this weekend.  The 4 Hours of Barcelona take the place of the Red Bull Ring on which the ELMS have raced from 2013 to last year.  

For the first time since 2013, when the 4 Hours of Le Castellet raced into dusk, the European Le Mans Series will race into the night.  With the race starting at 18h30, 41 cars will race into sunset and - for the first time in the series - into the dark.  A nice addition to the schedule and something to really look forward to on Saturday evening. 

LMP2 

G-Drive Racing arrives in Barcelona leading the championship after 2 races with a total of 38 points. Newly crowned Formula E champion Jean-Eric Vergne joins the team for the first time in the ELMS this year after missing out Le Castellet and Monza due to a clash with his Formula E commitments.  

Second in the championship so far is the #28 IDEC Sport crew of Paul Lafargue, Paul Loup Chatin and Memo Rojas with 36 points. 10 points further down, in third place, is the #21 Dragonspeed of Henrik Hedman & James Allen. Ben Hanley is 1 point down on his teammates as he didn’t race in Monza in May.  It appears Hanley won’t race in Barcelona either, with Renger Van Der Zande on the entry list. 

Léo Roussel is still recovering from his injuries after his crash at Monza, and will be replaced by Adrian Tambay in the #34 Inter Europol Competition Ligier JPSP2. Mark Patterson is also still recovering from his shunt at Monza. Olivier Pla will take the wheel of the #25 Algarve Pro Racing for the remaining races of the 2019 season.  In the #27 IDEC Sport Ligier, Frenchman William Cavailhes is taking the place of Erik Maris. 

LMP3

15 entries will race in the highly competitive LMP3 class, lead by championship leaders Jens Petersen and Mikkel Jensen in the #11 Eurointernational with 43 points.  Inter Europol Competition also had a strong start of the season with Martin Hippe & Nigel Moore on second place, 10 points behind the leaders. Paul Ricard winners Ultimate are third so far. 

ACE1 Villorba Corse makes its debut in the ELMS with the #18 Ligier, driven by Yuki Harata, Alessandro Bressan and Gabriele Lancieri  This new endurance project is the result of a partnership between Villorba Corse with Yuki Harata’s ACE1 Team. Villorba Corse has run the Cetilar Racing LMP3 and LMP2 project in the past years in the ELMS and at Le Mans and returns to the European Le Mans Series with a lot experience. 

The #7 Nielsen Racing is back on the entry list after a big shunt in Monza.  Nicholas Adcock replaces Nobuyu Yamanaka and joins James Littlejohn in the Ligier JSP3. One of the teams to look out for will be  360 Racing with the #5 Ligier.  The team struggled with setup and top speed in the first 2 races of the season, but seem to be back into their usual form after a few intensive test sessions after Monza. 

LMGTE

8 cars are on the LMTE entry list, equally divided between 4 Ferrari 488 GTE EVO’s and 4 Porsche 911 RSR’s.  The #88 Proton Competition Porsche is absent (again) on the entry list for Barcelona.  After racing in the stunning Felbermayr livery at Paul Ricard, it was withdrawn from Monza and unfortunately, it seems like the team didn’t find any drivers for this race too.

Dempsey Proton Racing does arrive at Barcelona as championship leaders; Christian Ried, Riccardo Pera and Matteo Cairoli collecting 42 points in the first 2 races of the season.  The #  Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi, Fabien Lavergne and Nicklas Nielsen follows close with 40 points. 10 points further down is the JMW Ferrari driven by Jeffrey Segal, Matteo Cressoni & Wei Lu. 

2 driver changes are to be noted in the GTE class: WEC champions Egidio Perfetti and Jörg Bergmeister will be joined by David Heinemeier Hansson in the #56 Project 1 Porsche. The Danish driver replacing Giorgio Roda who raced with the team in the ELMS so far this season.  In the #80 Ebimotors Porsche, Edward-Lewis Brauner replaces Sébastien Fortuna. 

There's some good news for the fans of the JMW Le Mans livery: the team has decided to have it on their Ferrari 488 for the remainder of the season ! 

Timing

Due to the race being driven on Saturday, there’s only a 2-day schedule for the 4 Hours of Barcelona.  Track action starts Friday afternoon with the first 90-minute practice session at 14h30 and night practice at 21h30.  Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday morning from 10h40 onwards.  The 4-hour race “into the night” will be green flagged at 18h30. 

Live streaming is available on the ELMS website from qualifying on. Club Arnage will have its usual live feed on twitter, reports and pictures over the course of the weekend. 

Timetable

Entry List

Kristof Vermeulen. 

Pictures: Kristof Vermeulen & Jellybaby.Media

ELMS: 42 cars in Monza this weekend for the second race of the season

The European Le Mans Series set up camp in Monza this weekend for the second race of the season.  After an exciting opening race at Paul Ricard, with 4 hours of uninterrupted racing, 42 cars will be on the grid for Sunday’s 4 Hours of Monza. 

Dragonspeed arrives in Monza as championship leaders after winning in France last month, with Renger Van Der Zande making his debut in the series. In LMP3 Ultimate will want to build further on their success from last month while the LMGTE sees the introduction of success ballast for the first time in the championship. It will be interesting to see how this will affect laptimes and race strategy over the weekend.   

LMP2

19 cars are on the entry list for the LMP2 class, one up from last month at Le Castellet.  Cetilar Racing Villorba Corse joins the LMP2 class for a one-off race in the series this season before heading to Le Mans and the FIA WEC next season. The now blue and green Dallara will be driven by the team’s regular drivers Roberto Lacorte, Giorgio Sernagiotto and Andrea Belicchi.  

Harry Tincknell returns to the series this weekend taking up his seat in the #45 Carlin Dallara after missing out the first race last month due to a clash with the IMSA race at Long Beach. Tincknell will race the remainder of the season with the British team.  Another new face in the LMP2 paddock is Will Owen in the #32 United Autosports Ligier.  Owen also missed Le Castellet due to the IMSA race and will now join Alex Brundle and Ryan Cullen for the rest of the season. 

No Ben Hanley at Dragonspeed this weekend.  The winner of last months race will be replaced by Dutchman Renger Van Der Zande, who will make his debut in the European Le Mans Series.  Henrik Hedman and James Allen will join him in the #21 Oreca. 

Unfortunately Mark Patterson won’t be able to race in the #25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca.  Patterson had a big accident during testing on Thursday at the first chicane in Monza. Breaking away at the rear, his Oreca spun across the track into the second Algarve Pro car of Tacksung Kim. A huge impact, writing off Patterson’s chassis and causing some heavy damage to the #31 car.  Both cars will run at the 4 hours though, the team getting an ex Graff chassis and having repaired the #31. Patterson is reported to suffer from a broken pelvis and will also miss Le Mans next month, Kim lucky got away from the incident with some bruises.  

LMP3

The LMP3 grid for Monza remains unchanged, with just one driver change compared to last months race in the south of France. 

Inter Europol Competition added Belgian driver Sam Dejonghe to the crew of the #14 Ligier JSP3.  Dejonghe, who is currently development driver for Mahindra Racing in the Formula E championship and races in the Belcar championship, will share the #14 with Paul Scheuschner for the rest ion the season. Dejonghe said to be happy to be back in the paddock, and to do so with a team like Inter Europol Competition. “I love my role with the Mahindra team, where I spend most of my time doing development and in the simulator, but am aware that I need to race to keep my competitive edge, and the ELMS feels like the perfect environment for my ambition to climb up the prototype ladder. The LMP3 is a very good-looking car, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it!”

LMGTE

According to the new regulations for the 2019 season, the LMGTE class will see the addition of succes ballast for the first time this season. The amount of ballast is based on the result of the previous race and championship standings and will be calculated in three stages: 

• Table A is the result from the previous race, with 15kg for the winning car, 10kg for second place and 5kg for third.
• Table B is the result from the race preceding the previous event with the same ballast of 15kg, 10kg and 5kg.
• Table C is the current championship positions, with 15kg for the championship leaders, 10kg for the second placed car in the championship and 5kg for third.

For the Monza race, the success ballast is calculated by adding the three tables together. The no51 Luzich Racing Ferrari, which won the 4 Hours of Le Castellet, will receive 30kg of success ballast for the 4 Hours of Monza (15kg for winning the race (Table A) and 15kg for leading the championship).  As there was no event prior to Le Castellet then the ballast for Table B is 0kg. The no83 Kessel Racing Ferrari will have 20kg of ballast for the 4 Hours of Monza (10kg + 10kg) and the no77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche will have 10kg (5kg + 5kg) for this weekend.

The #88 Proton Porsche won’t be in action this weekend in Monza.  Although present at the track, only Thomas Preining has been listed as driver. Apparently the other two seats couldn’t be filled for this race. The car has also been rebadged, not longer featuring the Felbermayr livery from Paul Ricard last month. 

Timetable

Entry list

Success Ballast Monza

Spotter Guide

Kristof Vermeulen. 

FIA WEC: 34 cars to race at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps this weekend

The FIA World Endurance championship returns to the iconic Spa-Francorchamps this weekend for the penultimate round of the 2018/2019 super season ahead of the big finale in Le Mans.  While Toyota in LMP1 and Porsche in GTE Pro are miles away from the competition in the championship, LMP2 and LMGTE Am still have all to play for.

The weather forecast for Francorchamps looks very interesting to say the least.  While we had sunny weather and warm temperatures in the past years, 2019 might be the one race with some real “Spa-weather”.  Temperatures in the Ardennes are dropping down as from Thursday on with (heavy) rain predicted, (almost) freezing temps at night and even a hint for snow on Saturday.

Toyota arrives in Spa, one of their home tracks with the factory based in Cologne, leading both the drivers and manufacturers championship with the TS050 Hybrid.  The TS050 will be equipped in the team’s new low downforce spec, which has been tested recently in a 4.000 km test at Paul Ricard. 

With 151 points after 6 races, Toyota can secure the teams championship this weekend in Spa. They have an advantage over Rebellion Racing of 53 points (98) and 80 points over SMP Racing (71). In the driver’s championship Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Fernando Alsono are in the lead with 135 points; 15 points more than Jose Maria Lopez, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway in the #7 Toyota. Gustavo Menezes and Thomas Laurent (Rebellion #3) are in third position with 81 points, followed by Mathias Beche with 73 points and André Lotterer & Neel Jani with 63 points. 

For the first time this season, the non-hybrid LMP1 cars will have no restriction in the amount of fuel energy they are allowed to use per lap. This means they will no longer have to lift and coast on the long high speed sections at Spa and finally are allowed to race flat out. Whether this will be the case at Le Mans too is still unclear at this moment.  The Rebellion, ByKolles and Dragonspeed however did get a weight increase.  Their minimum weight now up to 824 kg instead of 818 kg.  

At Rebellion, Andre Lotterer takes his seat back in the #1 R13 after missing out the last race in Sebring due to his Formula E commitments.  Both Rebellions are expected to be racing in their new low drag body kit which has been tested in Aragon last week.  James Allen will race the #10 Dragonspeed BR1 instead of Renger Van Der Zande. Allen had a strong performance with the team at Le Castellet, winning the opening race of the ELMS 2 weeks ago with Hedman and Hanley in the Dragonspeed LMP2. (Update: The #10 Dragonspeed entry will not race this weekend at Spa.  The team have not been able to acquire  the electronics that needed fixing after their DNF at Sebring.)

© Erik Junius - http://motorsport.image-ine.net/

A big driver change in the #11 SMP Racing BR1, where Belgian driver Stoffel Vandoorne will make his sportscar debut at Spa this weekend.  Even more, it’s only the second time the former F1 driver will race a closed cockpit car in his career.  Vandoorne, who now races in the Formula E championship, will take Jenson Button’s place in Spa and at Le Mans, racing together with Vitaly Petrov and Mikhail Aleshin. 

ByKolles will race its Enso CLM P1/01 for the first time with the Gibson engine after sitting out the 1000 miles of Sebring in March. Tom Dillman and Oliver Webb return to the Austrian team, and will be joined by Italian driver Paolo Ruberti.  Ruberti will make his debut in the LMP1 class, and returns to the FIA WEC after racing with the Larbre Corvette in 2016. 

The race for the title in LMP2 seems to be the one that will go down to the wire.  With the top 3 cars only separated by 7 points, all is still to play for between Jackie Chan DC Racing and Signatech Alpine Matmut.

Jackie Chan DC Racing has both of his cars in the top 3, separated by the Signatech Alpine Matmut.  The #37 Jackie Chan Oreca 07 leads the championship after rather win in Sebring with a completely new driver line-up.  With 130 points after 6 races, the Jota run Oreca has an advantage of just 5 points over the #36 Signatec Alpine.  The second Jackie Chan Oreca (#38) follows closely with 123 points. Best of the rest is the #31 Dragonspeed, which has collected 92 points so far. 

Andre Negrao, Nicolas Lapierre and Pierre Thiriet are leading the drivers championship with 125 points, 2 points more than the #38 crew of Gabriel Aubry, Ho-Pin Tung and Stéphane Richelmi. The former drivers of the #37 Oreca are still in third place but won’t race anymore, so third place in the championship is basically for Pastor Maldonado and Roberto Gonzalez in the #31 Dragonspeed with 92 points. 

G-Drive is using the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps as their annual prep for Le Mans by with the recently rebadged Aurus 01 (Oreca) for the first time in the FIA WEC.  Roman Rusinov will share the car with Job Van Uitert and Jean-Eric Vergne, the latter one missing out the ELMS Le Castellet race due to a clash with Formula E in Rome.  After winning the race in 2017 and 2018, Rusinov & co will certainly be out for a third win in a row. 

Norman Nato, who took pole position for G-Drive at Le Castellet earlier this month, will now race with TDS Racing where he will replace Loic Duval.  Duval is tied with the DTM race at Hockenheim next weekend, but will be back with the team for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

Nicholas Boulle has been added to the #50 Larbre Competition Ligier JSP217.  He will join team regulars Erwin Creed and Romano Ricci in Spa.  Boulle is no stranger to LMP2 racing as he raced at Le Mans with Jackie Chan DC Racing last year, finishing 8th in the LMP2 class with David Cheng and Pierre Nicolet.  The American driver already ha some experience in Spa after finishing third in last year’s Spa 24 hours in the Rinaldi Racing Ferrari. 

Contrary to Sebring and Spa last year, all cars in LM GTE Pro will be driven by the team’s regular WEC drivers.  In other years, Spa was the ideal race for most teams to have their Le Mans line-up in the cars.  No driver changes to be noted, but an important change in the sporting regulations. As per decision by the FIA Endurance Committee, all Pro cars must be equipped with a homologated “Fuel Flow Meter”, starting at the Le Mans test day.  A decision that has been made with unanimous agreement of all LMGTE Pro manufacturers and the approval of the Endurance Commission.  So far the Fuel flow meter will only be used to collect data and won’t have any effect on the regulations or a restriction of the fuel flow as in LMP1.

After 6 of the 8 races in the Super Season, Porsche has built up a massive lead in the championship over the other manufacturers.  With a total of 227 points, Porsche leads Ferrari with 110 points.  A lead that big so the team from Stuttgart might be able to clinch the title even before the last race at Le Mans.  The battle for second place will be very intense though with just 2 points between Ferrari (127) and Ford (125).  Aston Martin isn’t far behind with 102 points so far, followed by BMW who have scored 87 points over the first six races of the season. 

Porsche also dominates the drivers championship, with Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen leading with 125 points.  Sebring winners Gianmaria Bruni and Richard Lietz are in second place, with a total of 100 points.  Third place is for Ferrari drivers Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado with 80,5 points, followed by Ford drivers Olivier Pla and Stefan Mücke with 69 points so far.

Team Project 1 leads the GTE Am championship with a total of 103 points after 6 races.  Egidio Perfetti, Jörg Bergmeister and Patrick Lindsey have an advantage of 25 points over the #55 Spirit of Race Ferrari of Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci and Giancarlo Fisichella who have a total of 78 points so far.  9 points further down is the #98 Aston Martin of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda with 69 points, with the #90 TF Sport Aston Martin right in their tail with 68 points. If Project 1 manages to win this race in Spa, they might take a big step to the WEC title in their first season in the championship. 

Two notable driver changes in the Am class, in the #77 Dempsey-Proton Porsche and the #90 TF Sport Aston Martin.  Julien Andlauer won’t be able to make it to Spa due to his commitments in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland in Hockenheim.  He will be replaced in the #77 Dempsey-Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR by Ricardo Pera who joins team owner Christian Ried and Matt Campbell .  Pera who races with Ebimotors in the European Le Mans Series already drove the #88 sister car during the 6 hours of Shanghai with Matteo Cairoli and Khaled Al Qubaisi.

Euan Hankey makes his return to the #90 Aston Martin Vantage of TF Sport alongside Salih Yoluc and Charlie Eastwood. Since Silverstone last year, Jonny Adam raced the blue Vantage, but will now be replaced by Hanley who returns to the team for the first time since Le Mans 2018.

Track action in Belgium starts on Thursday with the first two 90-minute practice sessions.  Race start is scheduled for Saturday, March 3rd at 13h30.  If you’re heading to the track, bring your snowboots and winter jackets, they might come in handy this year. 

Timetable 

Entry list 

Event map

Kristof Vermeulen.
Pictures: Kristof Vermeulen, Erik Junius & Jellybaby.Media

ELMS: 2019 season to kick off with the Official test at Paul Ricard today

The European Le Mans Series is ready for what promises to be another exciting season of endurance racing in 2019.  As last season, the season kicks off at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet with the 2-day official test ahead of the 4 hours of Le Castellet on Sunday.  All 41 full season entrants are at the track, setting up their garages and getting the cars through scrutineering yesterday. 

The weather has been pretty unpredictable in the south of France so far.  Sunday starting in glorious sunshine before the rain started pouring down, only to do so over and over again for a few times during the afternoon.  Today (Monday) appears to be the best day of the week, and probably the only dry one until next weekend.  Fingers crossed that all teams will make the most of the available track time without any major incidents. 

Setup day ahead of the official test is also the moment to take the annual group shot of all contenders.  A massive job this season with no less than 41 cars on the grid for the European Le Mans Series.  Luckily the sun stayed out just long in enough in the afternoon, after some heavy showers earlier to get all cars staged.  

So here's your ELMS class of 2019 with the three title defenders on front row: the #88 Proton Competition Porsche, the G-Drive Aurus and the RLR Msport Ligier JSP3.

"Funky" livery for Project1

Project1 expands its efforts in endurance racing beyond their FIA WEC campaign and will make their debut in the European Le Mans Series this week.  The team fields a new Porsche 911 RSR in a rather striking new livery. 

The drivers for the #56 Porsche will be Egidio Perfetti and Jörg Bergmeister, both also active in the FIA WEC with the team.  They will be joined by defending ELMS champion Giorgio Roda. 

Nigel Moore returns to the ELMS with Inter Europol

Inter Europol Competition have confirmed Nigel Moore as  their second driver for the #13 Ligier JSP3 in the LMP3 class.  Moore will join Martin Hippe who is in his third season with the Polish team.   Moore is obviously delighted to finally be able to sign with Inter Europol Competition and be part of the team for the ELMS series. "Hopefully we shall be competitive from the start of the season."  It's a return to the ELMS for the English driver after competing in LMP2 and LMP3 with Tockwith Motorsports in 2016.

Martin Hippe said : “I am really happy and proud to race another year with Inter Europol Competition in the ELMS. It will not be easy, but I hope we can better the great performance from the last ELMS with one place. I am really happy with my new teammate, Nigel, as has shown a stunning performance in Asia and I am really looking forward to work with him.”

Sascha Fassbender (Team Manager): “I am very happy to welcome Nigel in our team as one of the strongest drivers in LMP3. He has shown his speed in many LMP3 races. We have Martin for the third year running, a great constant in our team as well as the reigning champion in the Asia Le Mans Series and Vice champion of ELMS.”

New mascot

Meet Rooky, the new mascot of the European Le Mans Series.  Rooky will makes his "debut" at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet next weekend !   His name was chosen by the ELMS fans on facebook.

Babini, Fortuna and Frazza in the #80 Ebimotors Porsche

Ebimotors is set for its second season in the European Le Mans Series with their Porsche 911 RSR.  Fabio Babini returns as the lead driver for the Italian team after an impressive debut season with four podium finishes in six races and a sixth place finish in the GTE-AM class at Le Mans.

This season, Babini will be joined by Italian French driver Sébastien Fortuna and Italian Marco Frezza.  Fortuna has veen working together with Ebimotors for several years while Marco Frezza had a very succesfull season with the team in the 24 Hours series last year (wins in Imola, Navarro and Spa-Francorchamps). 

New Media Center at Le Castellet

The Official test and 4 Hours of Le Castellet is be the first time that the European Le Mans Series will use the new Media Center at Circuit Paul Ricard.  The new media center was created for the return of the F1 last year in June, and is located at the back of the paddock. 

The return of the infamous Felbermayer livery

No more grey liveries for the #77 and #88 Proton Competition Porsches this year, but 2 new designs.  One of our personal favourites is back in the paddock: the infamous Felbermayr Porsche.  Thanks to Horst Felbermayr Jr who is sharing the #88 Porsche RSR with Marco Seefried and Thomas Preining.  

More news, updates and new liveries to follow in the upcoming days leading on to the first race of the 2019 season.  But first there's the 2 day "Official test" which kicks off this morning.  Over the span of 2 days all contenders will have 18 hours of track time, including a "night practice" tonight from 19h to 21h. 

Kristof Vermeulen.

Asian LMS: Title showdown at the 4 Hours of Sepang this weekend

It's title showdown for the Asian Le Mans Series this weekend, with the final race of the 2018/2019 season to be held at the Sepang International Circuit. After a season full of close and exciting racing, all four championships are still up for grabs! 22 cars will be on the grid for the title deciding race in Malaysia on Sunday. 

The final four invitations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans are also at stake this weekend.  All class champions will reveive an invitation for the French classic in June; an invite for the LMP2 class for the champions in LMP2 and LMP3 and an invite for the LMGTE Am class for the GT3 champion.  Additionally there will be an added recognition for the LMP2 amateur entries. They will also fight not only for the championship but for an extra invite to Le Mans. 

LMP2

After missing the previous round in Thailand, the #8 Spirit of Race Ligier JS P2 will be back with Côme Ledogar, Alexander West, and Pipo Deranifor the 4 Hours of Sepang. While the #8 is expected to be fighting for the race win, the Championship battle is now down to just three teams, series debutants, United Autosports, 2016/17 Champions Algarve Pro Racing and ARC Bratislava.

 4 Hours of Buriram race winners, Phil Hanson and Paul di Resta in the United Autosports #22 Ligier JS P2 Nissanhold a commanding lead of 18 points in the 2018/19 season. Currently second are the 4 Hours of Fuji winners, Harrison Newey and Andrea Pizzitola in the #24 Algarve Pro Racing Ligier JS P2 Judd. For the final round they will again be joined by Ate Dirk De Jong.  The #4 ARC Bratislava Ligier JS P2 Nissan being driven by Miro Konopka, Kang Ling and Darren Burke are also still in with a chance. To win, they must win the race, the #22 DNF, and the #24 finishes 2ndor worse.
 
LMP2 Am Trophy 

The ARC Bratislava #4 Ligier JS P2 Nissanalso comes into the final round of season with a 9-point lead in the LMP2 Am Trophy class. Their closest rivals are the #23 United Autosports Ligier JS P2 Nissan, Guy Cosmo, Patrick Byrne and Salih Yoluc who are 9 points behind them.

LMP3 

The LMP3 Championship has been intense this year and going into the final round there are four entire still in contention for the win. 

With a race win and two second place finishes the Class, LMP3 Championships leaders, Jakub Smiechowski and Martin Hippe inthe #13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier JS P3 have an 8-point lead.  In second place is the United Autosports #2 Ligier JS P3 Nissan, driven by Chris Buncombe, Garett Grist and Wayne Boyd, and 9 points behind them is the sister United Autosports, Ligier JS P3 Nissan, the #3 driven by Matthew Bell, and Kay van Berlo. While it is a long shot, the #79 Ecurie Ecosse/Nielsen Racing Ligier JS P3 Nissanis 20 points behind the Class leaders. With 26 points on offer for pole and the race win, it is still possible. 

The 4 Hours of Sepang will see the welcome return of the #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing entry. Racing for the team will be Rick Yoon, Jake Parsons and James Winslow. As previously announced, the line-up of the R24 entry will feature Katherine Legge, Margot Laffite, and Michelle Gatting for the 4 Hours of Sepang. 

GT

Series new comers, Japanese team Car Guy have dominated the GT class this season winning every race in the 2018/19 Season, with their #11 Ferrari 488 GT3.  In the 4 Hours of Sepang, drivers Takeshi Kimura, Kei Cozzolino and James Calado will again come under intense pressure from the Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3 being driven by Alessadro Pier Guidi, Ozzy Negri Jr and Francesco Piovanetti. The #51 can still win the Championship, but they must win and the #11 not score any points.  

Official Audi Sport driver Dries Vanthoor will return with the TianShi Racing Team (TSRT) in the #88 Audi R8 LMS GT3. He will be racing with Xu Wei and (David) Chen Wei An. Joining the #66 entry will be new driver Qi Peiwen (Aven) who has previously race in the teams SEAT TCR entry.  He will join Zhang Yaqi (Dennis), and Max Wiser.

Entry List
Championship standings

Historics: 4 more reasons why the Amelia concours is worth a visit in March

Last Sunday, we gave you a few good reasons to plan a visit to the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance next March.   But there's a lot more to look forward to on March 10th: from "Cars of the Rock Stars" with John Oates over Volkswagen coachbuilders to a striking mid-engine Corvette prototype from 1973.

Cars of the Rock Stars

The Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance will partner with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, John Oates, to celebrate the relationship between the automobile and the guitar. Cars and Guitars will center on vehicles and instruments from John's personal collection. The display will allow fans unprecedented access to the guitars Oates has played onstage with the best-selling rock duo of all time, Hall & Oates. 

"Throughout my life I have always had two major passions: Driving cars and playing guitars. Both the machine and the instrument are paragons of inspired and purposeful design. Both tell their unique story historically and culturally. Both have their roots in the late 19th century, evolving and continuing to fascinate and excite through the 20th and now into the 21st centuries," said Oates. "I'm very proud to have the opportunity to collaborate and curate this unique collection with Chris Brewer and the Amelia Island folks...we hope you enjoy it."

Additionally, The Amelia will gather a small number of historically-significant vehicles previously or currently owned by musicians. John will work with The Amelia to pair each vehicle with a carefully selected guitar for the “Cars of the Rock Stars” field.

It doesn’t end with just the cars of the rockstars this year, as Cincinanati based artist David Snyder has painted a one-of-a-kind Fender Stratocaster guitar for the “Cars of the Rock Stars” class.  David Snyder started drawing cars, airplanes and trains at the age of six. His passion for transportation history continues today. Snyder has displayed his artwork at The Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance since 2004. 

This Cars of the Rock Stars Fender Stratocaster features automobiles owned or closely associated with successful musicians . The headstock is inspired by the hood of Janis Joplin’s 1964 Porsche 356C. Other highlights include the 1959 Chevrolet Stingray Racer driven by Elvis Presley and a Porsche 911 GT3-R customized to celebrate the music and instruments of Eddie Van Halen. Of special significance are two of John Oates’ personal vehicles that will be displayed at Sunday’s Concours. To the left of where the neck joins the body is John’s 1959 MGA Twin-Cam Roadster, on the right is John’s 1960 Porsche 356 Emory Special Cabriolet.  

The Cars of the Rock Stars Fender Stratocaster guitar will be sold on March 9, 2019 during the RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island auction to support The Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance Foundation, a 501(c)3 charity. The non-profit foundation supports North Florida-based charities and has donated more than $3.45 million since 1996.

The Mercedes-Benz 500k - 540k

A remarkable and special class that will take center stage on March 10th will be the Mercedes-Benz 500k - 540k. Both cars descend from the mighty Mercedes-Benz SSK, winner of the brutal 1931 Mille Miglia. The 500K was a superstar and supercar from its first moments at its introduction at the 1934 Berlin Auto Show. From 1934 through 1939 500K - 540K-series Mercedes was the ultimate super car, long before the term had been coined. The “sheer insolence of its power” made it “a master car for the very few,” according to British enthusiasts’ magazines.  

It was the age of the all-conquering Silver Arrows racing cars and the ruthless and relentless technological overkill that spawned them. There was even an Indy 500 project on paper in the Rennabteilung, Mercedes-Benz’s fabled racing division. It now seems inevitable that some of the energy, glamour, power, speed and technology that went into the Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Champions of the 1930s would find its way into the marquee 500K and 540K as the decade came to an end.

A supercharged 5.4 liter straight-eight engine ultimately delivered 180 horsepower making a “an almost demonic howl” mirroring the straight-eight engineering format of the W125 racing car that dominated the 1937 Grand Prix season.  Just 354 500Ks were created from 1934-1936 and 319 540Ks were built from 1936 through 1939; but only for those fortunate enough to be able to pay the equivalent of $5,000 for the privilege.

“Mercedes 500K and 540K-series were cars designed and built without compromise,” says Bill Warner, founder and Chairman of the Amelia IslandConcours d’Elegance. “They were the essence of what would come to be called ‘grand touring’ cars. These cars made Karl Benz’s immortal quote, ‘the best or nothing at all’ a commandment, not a slogan. We have assembled a mouthwatering class of 500Ks and 540Ks. This will undoubtedly be one of our ‘destination classes’,” said Warner. “Knowledgeable enthusiasts will enter the 2019 Amelia Concours show field and head straight for this class!”

70 years Volkswagen Bug in America

Another 70th anniversary is the arrival of the VW Bug in America. To acknowledge that, the Amelia concours will highlight an overlooked segment of Europe’s “carrosserie” culture with a class of custom coachwork Volkswagen “Bugs”. This will be one of the classes to watch out for, as there have been several surprising and very elegant custom built coachwork VW’s produced; not only in Europe but also in the States.  The perfect fodder for an Amelia Concours special class said founder Bill Warner. 

Jacksonville has played a role in the VW saga thanks to local import car industry Hubert Brundage, the “BRU” in Brumos. His name will always be associated with Jacksonville where he also created the Brumos Porsche Car Corp. 

Mid-engine sports car showcase

A striking mid-engine Corvette prototype will be featured as a part of the 2019 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance’s Mid-Engine sports car class. The display is also scheduled to include examples from DeTomaso, Ferrari and Lamborghini.

The 1973 Chevrolet Corvette XP-897 GT was one of two mid-engine Corvette prototypes designed by General Motors Styling Division to promote the smooth and high revving Wankel Rotary engine. The rotary was intended to power GM passenger cars from 1976, so both cars were shown at the major worldwide auto shows from September 1973 to April 1974. Unfortunately the rotary Wankel engine proved to be both thirsty and polluting compared to the conventional piston-in-cylinder engine so the simultaneous gasoline shortage and strict Federal emission legislation sealed its fate.  

Photo courtesy of GM

After the last show appearance in Europe the XP-897 GT lost the rotary engine and was sealed in a plywood case and stored at the British GM Division Vauxhall Motors Design Centre in Bedford, England. Scheduled to be crushed in the early 1980s, it was rescued by Corvette author Tom Falconer with the assistance of then GM Head of Design, Chuck Jordan, and has been displayed in Kent, England until recently.

On March 10, 2019, the XP-897 GT will be displayed alongside a recently-acquired 1973 GM rotary engine at The 24th Annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. 

The Amelia will be held March 7-10, 2019 at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island and The Golf Club of Amelia Island. For the Amelia’s full events schedule, including Saturday’s Cars & Coffee at the Concours and Sunday’s premier Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, visit www.ameliaconcours.org.