40 Cars for Spa; G-Drive Aiming to Clinch LMP2 Title

A total of 40 cars will head to Spa-Francorchamps this weekend for the penultimate round of the European Le Mans Series, where G-Drive Racing can seal the LMP2 drivers’ and teams’ titles.

The number is one down from Silverstone which saw an additional entry in the LMGTE category for Gulf Racing, while other absentees have been replaced by returning teams.

LMP2 once again features 16 entries with IDEC Sport’s Ligier JS P217 Gibson back after missing the previous round.

Aurelien Panis, Patrice Lafargue and Erik Maris will line up for the French team, which also fields an Oreca 07 Gibson in the top prototype category.

Their presence cancels out the omission of SMP Racing’s Dallara P217 Gibson which won’t travel to Belgium having taken part in all ELMS races so far this year.

Championship leaders Andrea Pizzitola and Roman Rusinov head to Spa with a 34-point cushion over Olivier Pla, Paul Petit and Norman Nato, following three consecutive wins for the No. 26 TDS-run G-Drive Racing  Oreca.

The G-Drive pair, who are joined by Jean-Eric Vergne, can wrap up the LMP2 title this weekend with a second-place finish if the No. 24 Racing Engineering Oreca doesn’t win from pole.

In LMP3, DKR Engineering returns to action with its Norma M30 Nissan after skipping Silverstone, filling the place left vacant by the Team Virage Ligier JS P3 Nissan which joined for the British round only.

One of Virage’s drivers at Silverstone, Henning Enqvist, will step up to the LMP2 class this weekend in the Graff-run No. 40 G-Drive Racing Oreca alongside team regular James Allena and GP3 racer Julien Falchero, who is making his ELMS debut.