Next stop Paul Ricard for the seconds rounds of the ELMS and LMC Series

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

After their Prologue tests and opening rounds to their 2025 season down at the Circuit de Catalunya back in early April, this weekend sees both the European Le Mans Series and supporting Michelin Le Mans Cup Series make that relatively short hop across the Pyrenees to the Paul Ricard circuit in southern France for their respective second rounds of the year.

Not that the teams have been encamped somewhere in Spain since those opening rounds of course, we again welcome a combined grid of over eighty mixed class cars for this next four-hour race of the ELMS season on Sunday as well as another extended two- hour race for the LMC grid earlier on Saturday.

Like Barcelona, we unfortunately only have one Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 within each of the two ACO rules series as the #59 Racing Spirit of Leman return with their all-French driver line up of birthday boy Clement Mateu, Erwan Bastard and Valentin Hasse-Clot whilst the LMC should see the #11 Code Racing Development Vantage GT3 of Rory Van Der Steur and Phillipp Sager.

Indeed, it was the last minute.com arrangements within the #11 Code Racing Development LMC entry that impressed so much last time out with it being the first time in Europe for the young American and the first time within an Aston Martin for Sager for them to deliver both a front row in class qualifying start to end in that position with a P2 finish first time out.

They will be competing this weekend amongst another grid of forty-two cars which will be made up of just eight GT class cars and thirty-four mixed class LMP3 entries.

We then have the #59 AMR Vantage LMGT3 entry from the Swiss based Racing Spirit of Leman team who also qualified well at the opening with Mateu bagging a second row P3 start in class, but they were unable to capitalise upon that the eventually finish P7 for at least some championship points.

They will be racing within a slightly larger grid size of thirteen GT runners alongside the same number in LMP2 cars and eighteen LMP3 entries.

Track action will begin on Thursday with collective test sessions for each series before the start of more formally timed sessions on Friday before both series move into Qualifying on Saturday with the start to the LMC race at 16:45hrs local. The ELMS race will start at midday (local) on Sunday.

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