Fraga to Make Series Debut in DKR Oreca at Silverstone

Felipe Fraga will make his European Le Mans Series debut in this weekend’s 4 Hours of Silverstone, joining DKR Engineering’s LMP2 Pro-Am lineup.

Confirmed as part of the 44-car entry list issued for the event, the Brazilian joins the lineup for the No. 3 Oreca 07 Gibson in place of Thomas Laurent, teaming up alongside Georgios Kolovos and Laurents Hoerr.

It will mark the first time Fraga has competed in ELMS, although he has experience racing in ACO-rules racing through stints in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and the Asian Le Mans Series.

The remainder of the LMP2 field for the series’ first race at Silverstone since 2019 features few changes.

Of note, Manuel Espirito Santo looks set to return to the cockpit of the No. 47 CLX Motorsport Oreca after missing the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps with a fractured wrist, where he was replaced by Sebastian Alvarez.

The Nicolas Lapierre-led squad will continue with a two-driver lineup aboard the entry in the wake of Pipo Derani’s departure, with Espirito Santo partnering up with Enzo Fittipaldi.

Benjamin Pedersen will remain part of the lineup for the No. 30 Duqueine Team Oreca after replacing Francesco Simonazzi at Spa.

John Falb, meanwhile, will continue to form part of Nielsen Racing’s Pro-Am-entered No. 27 Oreca lineup, teaming up with James Allen and Sergio Sette Camara. The American Bronze-rated driver replaced Tony Wells at Spa.

In the LMGT3 class, Daniel Serra returns to the No. 57 Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, driving alongside Takeshi Kimura and Ben Tuck.

Serra was first replaced by James Calado for the 4 Hours of Le Castellet due to the Brazilian’s clashing commitments with the Stock Car Pro Series, but Calado subsequently also stayed on at Spa as Serra competed in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round at VIR.

Proton Competition, meanwhile, has overhauled the lineup for its No. 60 Porsche 911 GT3 R as team principal Christian Ried and Porsche Hypercar driver Julien Andlauer replace Antares Au and Alessio Picariello, respectively.

Both Au and Picariello are competing in the Intercontinental GT Challenge’s Suzuka 1000km this weekend, although the former’s ELMS appearance at Spa is understood to have been a one-off.