ELMS 2017: Nicolas Lapierre sets the pace at Paul Ricard this afternoon

Blue skies, a few odd clouds and temperatures rising up to 30 degrees set an almost perfect stage for this weekends first practice session at Paul Ricard in the south of France. 

Nicolas Lapierre was the fastest man on track this afternoon in his #21 Dragonspeed Oreca 07, putting a 1.54.234 on the timetable. Second fastest was  Enzo Guibbert in the #39 Graff Oreca in 1:54.333, 0.099 seconds behind Lapierre. Nicolas Minassian impressed again in the #22 G-Drive Oreca, ending up third fastest with a 1.54.789.  An all French top 3 this afternoon with 3 French drivers and 3 Oreca 07's on top in their home race.

The Russian youngsters in the #27 SMP Dallara were fourth fastest today with a 1.54.866 set by Matevos Issakyan. The fastest Ligier was the #32 United Autosport of Hugo de Saedeleer who drove a 1.55.061. The #23 Panis-Barthez Ligier and #47 Cetilar Villorba Corse rounded out the top 7 in the LMP2 class. 

It's difficult to compare this mornings times with the ones set last year when the Mistral straight didn't have the chicane in it, but Lapierre's time was 5.8 seconds slower than the fastest time in last years first practice session (1.48.475) which was also set by Lapierre. 

Alex Kapadia set the quickest time in the LMP3 class, going round the track in 2.03.054 in his #15 RLR MSport Ligier. He was just over a tenth of a second faster than Ross Kaiser in the #6 360 Racing Ligier (2.03.157). The fastest Norma M30 was the #19 M.Racing-YMR of Yann Ehrlacher in 2.03.233. Completing the top 5 in the LMP3 class ware Mikkel Jensen in the #9 AT Racing and Wayne Boyd in the #3 United Autosports. 

Duqueine Engineering is racing with both its Norma M30's for the first time this weekend, the #7 Ligier now also replaced by a brand new Norma. 

Ferrari leads the GTE class after today's session Andrea Bertolini setting a time of 2.05.961 in the #51 Spirit of Race F488 GTE. The Italian is being chased by both Aston Martins; Nicki Thiim just 0.130 seconds behind in the #90 TF Sport and Ross Gunn 0.845 seconds further down.  

This mornings Bronze driver test was lead by Eric Trouillet in the #39 Graff Oreca ahead of Henrik Hedman in the #21 Dragonspeed and Fabian Barthez in the #23 Ligier. Nicholas Schatz was fastest in the #7 Duqueine Norma and Rob Smith was the fastest bronze driver in the #66 JMW Ferrari GTE. 

The second free practice session is set for 9h25 tomorrow morning, qualifying in the afternoon, starting at 13h45. 

FP1 results

Kristof Vermeulen. 

ELMS 2017 - The 4 Hours of Le Castellet kicks off the second part of the season

The 4 Hours of Le Castellet will kick off the second part of the 2017 European Le Mans Series season, after a 4 week summer break since the Red Bull Ring.  35 cars will be on the grid on Sunday; 12 in LMP2, 17 in LMP3 and 6 in the GTE class. With still everything to play for in the championship in all three classes, a weather forecast up to 30 degrees all weekend and one of Europe's most advanced race tracks, the fourth round of the season will get you to the edge of your seat again.

The track layout will be somewhat different from what we've been used to in the past years at Le Castellet, as a chicane will be added on the 1,8 km long Mistral straight. Given the increased power and - most of all - top speeds of the new LMP2's, the chicane has been added for safety reasons.

12 cars will compete in LMP2 in the south of France this weekend. All full season entrants are on the grid except for the #34 Gulf coloured Tockwith Motorsport Ligier, which has been withdrawn for the remainder of the season as revealed by dailysportscar earlier this month.

SMP Racing returns for their second race this season in the #27 Dallara with Matevos Isaakyan and Egor Orudzhev behind the wheel again. 

G-Drive Racing leads the championship in the LMP2 class after winning the race in Monza and podium finishes in Silverstone and the Red Bull Ring last month. With 62 points, the Russian team has an advantage of just 4 points on United Autosports which won the 4 Hours of Silverstone and the Red Bull Ring, but only finished 6th in Monza.

Two teams are tied on the third place in the 2017 championship: Danish High Class Racing (#47) and the #39 Graff, both with 34 points. The second Graff Oreca rounds out the top 5 with 28 points after three races.

The #2 United Autosports and #17 Ultimate Ligier are both leading the championship so far with a total of 45 points. They are closely followed by the #18 M.Racing-YMR, just 2 points behind the leaders. After their victory in Austria last month, the #11 Eurointernational climbed to fourth place, 10 points behind the leaders.  In fifth position is the second United Autosports Ligier JSP3 with 28 points. 

Two driverchanges are to be noted in the LMP3 class: Nicolas Melin replaces Douglas Lundberg in the #8 Duqueine Engineering Norma and Maxwell Hanratty will be behind the wheel of the #12 Eurointernational instead of James Dayson. 

No changes in the GTE field for this upcoming race, with all 6 usual suspects travelling down to Le Castellet for the weekend. 

TF Sport (Aston Martin) leads the championship with 59 points after a win in Silverstone and podium finishes in both Monza and Red Bull Ring  with 59 points. JMW Motorsport is second, 6 points behind the leaders.  With their new Ferrari which has raced in ELMS for the first time in Austria, JMW will be TF Sport's biggest rivals for the title this year. Behind both leaders, 3 teams are tied on 38 points: Spirit of Race (Ferrari #55), Proton Competition (#77 Porsche) and defending champions Beechdean AMR (#99 Aston Martin).  

Action on track starts Friday morning with the Bronze driver test at 11h20. The first 90 minute practice session will be green flagged Friday afternoon at 15h05. The 4 Hours of Le Castellet will start on Sunday, 12h00 local time in France. 

Entry to the track is – as always in the European Le Mans Series – free.  Paddock access including a pit walk on Saturday afternoon and the driver autograph session on Sunday morning is available for 10 €. 

Useful links:
Timetable
Entry List
Spotter Guide 

Kristof Vermeulen

Porsche announces Rennsport Reunion VI to be held September 2018

Today Porsche Cars North America and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca announced the next Porsche Rennsport Reunion will take place at the famed California racetrack in 2018. The upcoming world's fastest class reunion expanded to four days and will be held September 27-30, 2018.

In what has become a tradition, Rennsport Reunion VI will bring together an extraordinary gathering of significant Porsche racecars, as well as those who have designed, engineered, and driven them to victory in the world’s most famous sports car races. Hosted by PCNA, the four-day program of on-track competition will be complemented by a Concours d’Elegance, which is open to invited race participants.

After staging the first three events in the east, with the inaugural at Lime Rock Park in 2001, followed by two events at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida in 2004 and 2007, Rennsport Reunion IV moved west in 2011, tapping into a vast array of west coast car aficionados and Porsche enthusiasts. Returning to a three year interval, this incomparable event has turned into a world-wide happening. 57.000 spectators participated in the last edition in 2015. 

“Choosing the Monterey Peninsula once again for our unique Porsche family reunion builds upon what we learned from previous Rennsport Reunions,” said Klaus Zellmer, President and CEO of Porsche Cars North America. “We had close to 60,000 fans, enthusiasts and owners come through the gates of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to

celebrate with us in 2015, and California’s picturesque central coast provides an ideal backdrop. The Golden State as a whole has always been like a second home to Porsche.”

“We are honored to have been selected once again as the host circuit for Porsche Rennsport Reunion,” said Gill Campbell of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. “This prestigious event has created a tremendous impact on motorsports

around the world in the past and we are eager to bring it back to life again in partnership with Porsche. It is truly the most rewarding event I have ever had the pleasure of being involved in.”

During Porsche Rennsport Reunion V in 2015, over 1,300 Porsche Club of America member-owned Porsche models helped fill the show fields, race classes, and parking lots of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to overflow capacity. For the upcoming sixth rendition, the PCA will once again play an integral role in the festivities.

Relive the 2015 edition of this extraordinary event here: Automotive heaven in Monterey

Kristof Vermeulen.