A month after the opening round in Spain, the European Le Mans Series heads to France for the 4 Hours of Le Castellet. IDEC SPORT arrives in front of its home crowd as championship leader, thanks to the victory of the #18 driven by Jamie Chadwick, Dani Juncadella, and Mathys Jaubert.
IDEC SPORT is eager to deliver a strong result at Paul Ricard, especially after securing pole position in 2024 with Job Van Uitert and missing out on victory in 2023 due to a puncture. Hopes are high. All three drivers of the #28 — Paul Lafargue, Job Van Uitert, and Paul-Loup Chatin — have strong motivations to take their revenge on the 5.840km French track.
“I’m really looking forward to returning to Paul Ricard. It was intense to take pole position last year, both for me and for the team, especially since it’s in France and IDEC SPORT’s base is located near by. We were also very competitive in the race; we crossed the finish line in second position but received a penalty that dropped us to fourth. I’m curious to see what adding the chicane in the Mistral straight will bring. The main novelty will be the new tires. We’ll need to work hard to get the most out of them. Our crew is eager to show what we’re capable of, especially at home,” said Dutch driver Job Van Uitert.
Free Practice 1 will take place on Friday. Free Practice 2 is scheduled for Saturday morning, followed by qualifying (3:35 PM for LMP2), which will be broadcast live (https://www.youtube.com/live/3sf7jM9xzxA?si=YMX4OeRRtbSgN-du).
The start of the 4 Hours of Le Castellet will be given on Sunday, May 4th, at 12:00 PM. The race will be streamed live and in full for free (https://www.youtube.com/live/UHyQLyiDnck?si=_cN8Rndl45ll0yRX).
“The first race is behind us; we are now fully focused on the next one. The 4 Hours of Le Castellet is our home race. It brings good pressure. It’s a track that is dear to us, that we know well, and where we manage to perform. What I can say for sure is that the team is arriving with a lot of motivation. These past three weeks have allowed us to fine-tune some details. We remain humble, even though we are leading the championship. Each race is a reset. We stick to our usual methods, doing what we know best, while always trying to improve. Both crews are highly motivated, and we are determined to stay in the top 5,” said Nicolas Minassian, IDEC SPORT’s Team Principal.
Note that this year, the ELMS will use the Paul Ricard layout with the chicane in the middle of the Mistral straight, as in Formula 1.
Stay up to date with all the latest IDEC SPORT news through the team’s social media
