The winter break is over for IDEC SPORT, which is starting its ninth season on the track, the eighth in the ELMS in the LMP2 category. After a few days of private testing, it’s time to get back to racing and to hit the tarmac of the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit in a field of 42 cars, including 18 LMP2s.
IDEC SPORT is fielding its #28 ORECA, which will be shared by Paul Lafargue, Paul-Loup Chatin and Laurents Hörr.
The first meeting of the season always includes a little more driving, as the teams benefit from two extra days of testing to settle in (April 19 and 20).
The programme returns to its usual format, with two free practice sessions to be held on 21 April at 11:50 and 22 April at 10:10.
In the afternoon, qualifying will be broadcast live on YouTube or Facebook. The LMP2 drivers will start at 3.05pm and will have 10 minutes to try and complete the 4.657km Spanish circuit as quickly as possible. The lap record is likely to be broken as a result of the change of track. As in F1, the drivers will no longer take the last chicane before the pit straight.
The start of the first race of the championship will be given on Sunday 23 April at 11.30am. The 4h of Barcelona will be broadcast live, free of charge and in its entirety.
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For 2023, IDEC SPORT is also returning to the Michelin Le Mans Cup with a LMP3 Ligier JSP320 driven by Patrice Lafargue and Dino Lunardi.
Testing for the start of the season will begin on Tuesday 18th. The two free practice sessions as well as the session reserved for Bronze drivers will be held on April 21. Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday 22 April, before the start of the two-hour race can be followed live at 5.30pm.
“It’s another great year ahead of us. We have the chance to compete in the highest level championships, to go to the most beautiful circuits and to do what we love. This year we also have new premises right next to the Castellet circuit. We want to do things right, without forgetting who we are. The whole team is looking forward to this season, whether it is the engineers, the mechanics or the drivers. The desire is there and it’s good to see,” explains owner/driver Patrice Lafargue.
“After a busy winter, we are looking forward to the championships. We did some good tests, we prepared ourselves as well as possible. It’s the restart of the IDEC SPORT machine. We’ve kept a lot of people from last year so the team is almost the same. We’ve had time to get back into the swing of things. Laurents (Hörr) has adapted well to the team and we’re ready to start the season together. It’s a big week ahead of us with a lot of riding. We’ll try to leave this weekend satisfied with ourselves,” says Nicolas Minassian, IDEC SPORT main team.
