17
September
2018
|
09:33 AM
Europe/Amsterdam

Spa-Francorchamps hosts critical penultimate European Le Mans Series race

  • G-Drive Racing Oreca
    G-Drive Racing Oreca
  • JMW Motorsport Ferrari
    JMW Motorsport Ferrari
  • Algarve Pro Racing Ligier
    Algarve Pro Racing Ligier
  • Cetilar Villorba Corse
    Cetilar Villorba Corse
  • Spirit of Race Ferrari ahead of GTE championship leading Proton Competition Porsche
    Spirit of Race Ferrari ahead of GTE championship leading Proton Competition Porsche
  • Krohn Racing Ferrari
    Krohn Racing Ferrari
  • Track surface unique on 2018 ELMS calendar
  • A & B options available for all Dunlop teams

Spa-Francorchamps hosts the penultimate round of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) on 22nd/23rdSeptember. The 2018 titles will be decided in the final eight hours of racing. The 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps has several unique aspects including the length of the lap, the older aggressive/demanding surface and the elevation changes.

This season sees the #26 G-Drive Racing Oreca at the top of the points table with the Russian squad looking to take its second win at the track this year following LMP2 victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) race in May. The team has won the last three rounds of the ELMS.

In the GTE class, the #88 Proton Competition Porsche leads the title race ahead of defending champions JMW Motorsport with the #66 Ferrari.

For the front-running LMP2 cars, the A and B (soft and medium) options will be available, the same allocation available to G-Drive Racing for the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps win. The all-Dunlop LMGTE class runners also have A and B options to choose from in the dry. Should Spa-Francorchamps feature typical Ardennes wet weather, intermediate tyres and full wet tyres are available for the LMP2 cars with full wets the sole rain option for the GT cars. 

Mike McGregor, Dunlop Manager Testing & Track Support

“We have seen a lot of surfaces that are new or low grip, so Spa is possibly one of the most unusual for the season with the demands of the older, aggressive surface. It should have very different tyre demands to the other tracks on the calendar so teams will need to make the most of their practice time to get the best set-ups for the race. Looking at the points situations in both classes that we’re competing in, this race could be critical which should make for a good race.”

The race starts at 12.30 CEST on Sunday 23ndSeptember. 

A full entry list including Dunlop teams can be found here.

2018 European Le Mans Series Statistics

  • Top 2 LMP2 on Dunlop tyres – 1:G-Drive Racing (Oreca – 87 points), 2:Racing Engineering (Oreca - 53)
  • 2018 LMP2 race winners: Racing Engineering (Oreca - Le Castellet), G-Drive Racing (Oreca – Monza, Red Bull Ring, Silverstone)
  • Top 3 LMGTE – 1:Proton Competition #88 (Porsche - 72) 2:JMW Motorsport (Ferrari -  63 points), 3:Spirit of Race #55 (Ferrari - 58),
  • 2018 LMGTE winners – JMW Motorsport (Ferrari - Le Castellet, Silverstone), Spirit of Race #55 (Ferrari - Monza), Proton Competition #88 (Porsche – Red Bull Ring)

2017 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

  • Winners: G-Drive Racing #21 (Oreca), Spirit of Race #51 Ferrari(LMGTE)
  • Fastest LMP2 lap: Roussel/G-Drive Racing – 2:05.236
  • Fastest LMGTE lap: Griffin/Spirit of Race – 2:20.527