[16-09-2019]
PIERRE RAGUES PREPARED FOR PENULTIMATE ELMS ROUND OF SEASON AT SPA
.jpg&maxsize2=250) Pierre Ragues and the Duqueine Engineering squad are targeting a return to form as the European Le Mans Series heads to Spa-Francorchamps for the penultimate round of the 2019 season.
The team has shown its capability to compete strongly at the front of the LMP2 category throughout the season with a potent car-crew combination. The #30 Oreca 07 with Michelin tyres, and the trio of drivers – Pierre, Nicolas Jamin and Richard Bradley – have regularly been among the front-runners.
Unfortunately, a complicated race at Silverstone prevented the team from adding to its championship points tally with just two rounds of the season remaining.
The 7.004km Spa-Francorchamps circuit is next on the calendar, featuring some of motorsport’s most beloved sections, where Pierre will aim for a return to fortune. All teams will have the opportunity for a pre-race weekend test on Wednesday during which Pierre will get reacquainted with the track. A total of 38 cars are entered into the race, including 17 in the competitive LMP2 category.
Quick Q+A with Pierre Ragues
How do you feel heading to Spa and the penultimate round of the ELMS season?
“In pure racing terms, I am looking to get back into the cockpit of our Oreca 07 with the aim of fighting for a strong result this weekend. We have seen the pace of our car in the races to date, but we had some misfortune in Silverstone that we’re determined to put behind us. The damage to our car was extensive and I would like to praise the team for their amazing work to get us ready for this next event. We know we can feature strongly, and we also have a testing opportunity on Wednesday which will be useful. We would like to use the final two rounds of the 2019 season to improve upon our championship position.”
What have you made of the ELMS season to date?
“The great thing about ELMS is the level of competition is incredibly high. You can’t take anything for granted, it requires everything to be working perfectly to fight for victories. We have shown that we can be setting the standard in outright pace, but we have been missing an element of luck at times, which has prevented us from getting the best out of our technical package. I hope we can unlock the full potential at Spa, and finish the season with two representative race weekends in Spa and then at Portimao. I’d like to thank my partners in ELMS for their support: Yacco, Ellip6 and Sparco, as well as the entire Duqueine Engineering team.”
4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps Schedule
18 September
Pre-event collective test
20 September
Free Practice 1 11:30-13:00
21 September
Free Practice 2 09:05-10:35
LMP2 Qualifying 13:02-13:14
22 September
4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps 12:30-16:30
ELMS LMP2 Teams’ Classification after four rounds
1. 26 G-Drive Racing 81
2. 28 Idec Sport 72
3. 39 Graff 53
4. 21 DragonSpeed 40
5. 30 Duqueine Engineering 35
ELMS LMP2 Drivers’ Classification after four rounds
1 Job VAN UITERT 81
1 Roman RUSINOV 81
2 Memo ROJAS 72
2 Paul LAFARGUE 72
2 Paul Loup CHATIN 72
3 Alexandre COUGNAUD 53
3 Jonathan HIRSCHI 53
3 Tristan GOMMENDY 53
4. Jean-Eric VERGNE 43
5. Henrik HEDMAN 40
5. James ALLEN 40
6. Ben HANLEY 39
7 Norman NATO 38
8 Nicolas JAMIN 35
8 Pierre RAGUES 35
8 Richard BRADLEY 35
|
)