[05-04-2019]
PIERRE RAGUES REVVED UP FOR ELMS SEASON-OPENER
 The long wait is over as the European Le Mans Series returns next week with the 4 Hours of Le Castellet and a two-day pre-event test session at Circuit Paul Ricard.
French racer Pierre Ragues will be hoping to make an immediate impression on the 2019 championship, as he re-joins the experienced Duqueine Engineering team for a full campaign. In addition to ELMS, Pierre will also contest his 12th Le Mans 24 Hours.
In ELMS, Pierre will pilot the competitive #30 Michelin-equipped LMP2 Oreca 07 alongside Nicolas Jamin and Richard Bradley for six events starting at Le Castellet and moving onto Monza, Barcelona, Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps and concluding at Portimão.
A two-day test will precede the opening round of the season at the popular 5.861km Paul Ricard layout in the south of France, allowing all participating teams and crews to get up to speed. There will be 18 competing LMP2 teams out of the 41-strong field so every lap will count.
Pierre is hoping to show a repeat of the competitive form he showed throughout 2018 at a venue where he scored a third-place podium finish twelve months ago. The Caen star is no stranger to success in the closely fought ELMS championship, having taken the title in 2013.
The test will take place from 8-9 April before the first free practice session gets underway just three days later. An initial 90-minute session on Friday 12 April will be followed by a further free practice on Saturday morning before the frantic ten-minute qualifying session. The four-hour race itself starts at lunchtime on Sunday with everyone aiming to get the season off to a flyer!
Pierre commented: “It’s always exciting to start a new season. Expectations and motivation levels are high, and there’s a real ‘back to school’ feeling. It’s even better when we return to the scene of past success, because it automatically puts us in the right frame of mind. I am thrilled to be returning to ELMS this season with Duqueine Engineering, and alongside such talented drivers as Nicolas and Richard. I can’t wait to get started. We will have our first taste of the Oreca 07 over two days of testing, during which we will work on car set-up and Michelin tyre evaluation. With such a competitive field of LMP2 cars, we need to make sure every aspect of our operation is on point at all times. Together with my personal partners GroupAuto, Yacco and Ellip6, I am confident we can deliver; we showed our potential last year and we will be doing all we can to build on that.”
4 Hours of Le Castellet Schedule
8 April
09:00-13:00 Session 1
14:00-18:00 Session 2
19:00-21:00 Session 3
9 April
09:00-13:00 Session 4
14:00-17:00 Session 5
12 April
11:05-12:35 Free Practice 1
13 April
09:00-10:30 Free Practice 2
13:35-13:45 Qualifying (LMP2)
14 April
12:30-16:30 4 Hours of Le Castellet
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