Boulle: More Seat Time Paying Dividends in LMP2 Title Fight

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

Nick Boulle said this year’s LMP2 campaign with Inter Eurpol with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports has provided him with the “most driving” he’s done in ten years, which has allowed him to hone in his racecraft amid a tightening championship battle.

The Bronze-rated pilot and co-driver Tom Dillmann head into the final stretch of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races with a 27-point lead over Riley’s Gar Robinson and Felipe Fraga, in the fight for the coveted title and auto-invite to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Boulle, who was originally confirmed in the team’s Oreca 07 Gibson only for a partial schedule, stepped up to his first full season of WeatherTech Championship competition, which has been paying dividends.

“Candidly, the whole year’s been a dream come true,” he said. “In terms of driving, this is probably the most driving I’ve done in ten years.

“Probably the most rewarding part of it has been to see the car and the team progress.

“We seem to make headway in terms of just how quickly we find a setup, how well we work together and communicate. Working with Kuba [Smiechowski] and working with Tom has been fun. We seem to all desire really similar things in the car.

“And being in a position to develop that and the ability to go further and further has been really just pure fun.

“I think heading into the last two races of the year, it’s also motivating for me because in previous years, I’ve been lucky to run one or two races.

“To be able to run seven this year and do some testing, I’ve been able to see progress not only in myself and in the car and be able to take that forward into the final two races, where in the past it was kind of bittersweet walking away from a good or bad situation and not being able to see kind of where it went.

“But yeah, it’s been an actual dream come true.”

Boulle, who along with Dillmann won the LMP2 headline race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, said the mentality for the final two races, which are both Michelin Endurance Cup rounds, remains the same.

“We made some mistakes at the last round and for us, it’s been tight the whole year,” he said. “I think the level of competition is really high in the category especially compared to some of the previous years.

“It’s just on an upward trajectory, which is great.

“I think the short laps make for certainly more physical racing and I love that side of the sport.

“Indy should suit us well. I like the short, tight circuit, and it’s somewhere I’ve been and I’m comfortable. So looking forward to getting back out there.”

The 35-year-old Texas-based jeweler, who has two previous LMP2 starts at Le Mans in 2018/19, said he isn’t thinking too much about the prospects of winning the Jim Trueman Award, which would provide an auto-invite to next year’s French endurance classic.

“To me, racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the greatest spectacles of sport, much less motorsport, in the world,” Boulle said.

“It’s definitely in the back of my mind, but I’m trying not to think about it too much because I know if we do a good job and can maybe extend that lead [and] give us a bit more of a relaxed entry into the final race, that would be great.

“Of course it means a lot, but the focus is to win the championship.”

Davey Euwema contributed to this report

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John