4H Spa-Francorchamps: Saturday Paddock Notes

Spotted in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock

DSC has spotted a handful of interesting personalities roaming the paddock this weekend.

Mark Lemmer and Chris Needell from the British GT3 team Barwell Motorsport are present, talking to various teams and getting a feel for potential opportunities for the team in the ACO sphere.

Mike Simpson and Freddie Tomlinson have also been in and out of meetings with teams, as Tomlinson looks to make the step up from the GT4 class of the British GT Championship to the European endurance scene.

“I think my driving style suits prototypes, having tested the Ginetta LMP3 and LMP1 car,” he told DSC. “I have the ultimate goal of competing at Le Mans, so taking a look at LMP3 and LMP2 here makes sense.”

LMP engines

As DSC has previously noted, a new Toyota-based twin-turbo V6 will debut in LMP3 from the 2025 season. The existing 2020-spec cars will require revised installation kits and bodywork to accommodate the new unit.

DSC believes that sample engines will be provided to the LMP3 chassis manufacturers, starting from December, in order for them to undertake the design, and engineering tasks involved.

In LMP2 meanwhile, the tendering process for the next-generation engine is nearly complete and DSC understands that the decision on the successful bidder is initially planned to be communicated next month.

Eurointernational truck incident

Eurointernartional had a dramatic start to its Spa weekend. Its primary transporter was involved in a serious road accident in Italy en route to Belgium. The truck was heavily damaged, with more minor damage to the trailer itself.

The driver, thankfully, was unhurt. It was an all-day hustle to find a replacement tractor unit and ensure the team made it in time for testing.

Heriau returns

Francois Heriau is making his return to a prototype race seat this weekend, for the first time since sustaining an injury during the IMSA meeting at Laguna Seca earlier this year.

The experienced gentlemen driver undertook a GT race in France last weekend after being cleared to return to a driving seat at the start of the month. He joins the #10 Ligier crew and will race alongside Glenn Van Berlo at Spa.

Motorsport licence revoked for Le Mans Cup driver

A national motorsport authority has revealed to DSC that an attempted deception by a driver looking to compete this weekend in the Michelin Le Mans Cup has been discovered and acted on.

An amended race licence, adjusted to include an international qualification not possessed by the driver, was spotted by championship officials and confirmed with the national sporting body.

The driver concerned has been heavily fined and has received a long-term race ban. His licence has also been revoked.

Testing drivers fined

Three ELMS drivers have received fines this weekend for missing the Driver’s Briefing on-site at Spa, due to testing commitments elsewhere.

Algarve Pro Racing’s Alex Lynn was in Imola for a Cadillac test and Alessio Rovera and Nicklas Nielsen, here with AF Corse in LMP2 and Formula Racing in GTE respectively, were in Bahrain for a Ferrari test.

Each driver was fined €250 and granted an additional individual driver ́s briefing with the race director, Eduardo Freitas.

Event preview

Graham Goodwin and Steph Wentworth look ahead to this weekend’s ELMS action at Spa on the ELMS YouTube channel.

Bronze test times

The Bronze test yesterday for the ELMS teams after FP1 was topped by the Racing Team Turkey ORECA, Salih Yoluc setting a 2:06.415, the only sub-2:07 time in the session.

Torsten Kratz set the pace in LMP3 with a 2:14.096 in the WTM by Rinaldi Duqueine while TF Sport’s #72 Aston Martin topped GTE with a 2:19.294 from Arnold Robin.

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