Alvarez Gets Late CLX Motorsport Call-Up for Spa

Sebastian Alvarez has been drafted in to drive CLX Motorsport’s No. 47 LMP2 entry in this week’s Spa-Francorchamps round of the European Le Mans Series after regular driver Manuel Espirito Santo was injured in a testing crash.

Mexican driver Alvarez will share driving duties with Enzo Fittipaldi for the fourth round of the season in what marks his first ELMS outing of the year.

It follows Espirito Santo suffering what CLX described as a “high-speed off-track incident” aboard the No. 47 Oreca 07 Gibson during testing on Wednesday, which left the Portuguese driver with a fractured wrist and with no option but to withdraw.

“We wish Manuel a quick recovery and sincerely thank the team for their outstanding work in getting the car fully repaired and making it ready to race again,” a statement from the team posted on social media added.

Alvarez was an LMP2 title contender in the ELMS last year for Inter Europol Competition, finishing second overall alongside Tom Dillmann and Vlad Lomko.

Despite no longer being full-time in the ELMS, the Silver-rated 23-year-old has kept sharp in LMP2 competition with an IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup program for Tower Motorsports, and a one-off outing for IDEC Sport in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

He also took part in the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa for the Comtoyou Racing team in an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo.

Alvarez and Fittipaldi will race in this weekend’s 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps as a duo, with CLX electing not to replace Pipo Derani after he quit the team mid-season owing to his increasing Genesis LMDh testing commitments.