Yelloly to Sub for Costa at Spa

Nick Yelloly will make his European Le Mans Series debut joining Nielsen Racing’s LMP2 Pro-Am lineup at the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

The BMW factory driver will race the No. 24 Oreca 07 Gibson, competing alongside John Falb and Colin Noble and standing in for Albert Costa.

It will mark the British racer’s first outing in ELMS. He currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

“I’m delighted to jump in and help out; I have bags of experience at this circuit, so I don’t need to learn the circuit, just the car a little bit,” said Yelloly.

“It’s an LMP2 Oreca, which is a downforce car, so I’m used to that!”

Yelloly hasn’t raced LMP2 machinery before, although he was originally meant to join JOTA’s 2015 ELMS effort as he looked to transition from single seaters before he was replaced by Harry Tincknell prior to the start of the season.

After a final season in GP2, he subsequently spent three years racing Porsche single-make machinery before signing on as a factory driver with BMW in 2019, where he has remained since.

“I am lucky enough to have driven a lot of race cars during my career, so honestly, adding a new one – LMP2 – shouldn’t be much of an issue,” Yelloly said.

“It’s all about pushing hard and finding those limits regardless of the car. 

“I’m sure that within five laps, I’ll find those levels of Oreca to get within a good level, then a little longer to find the nuances of the car.

“There are a lot of good people within the team. As for the drivers, we will all work together. I know Will Stevens in the sister car from our Renault 3.5 days!”