Following its return to the European Le Mans Series at the 4 Hours of Silverstone, the Sébastien Loeb Racing team is looking to reach the next level at the second round of the season. At Imola, the team will take another step toward the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with the no. 24 ORECA 03 to be driven by Jan Charouz and Vincent Capillaire.
« Prepare well for the 24 Hours of Le Mans… »
Sébastien Loeb Racing headed into the 4 Hours of Silverstone with humility, as the British event was the team’s first appearance in LM P2 since the 6 Hours of Donington in 2012. New parameters were set and drivers Jan Charouz and Vincent Capillaire finished the race in seventh position. As the 24 Hours of Le Mans approach, and notably the Test Day, scheduled for June 1st, the objective is now to gain momentum. In order to accomplish this, the past few weeks have been busy for the technical team, who have analysed the data gathered from Silverstone.
The team has decided to keep a two-man driver squad, with Jan Charouz and Vincent Capillaire driving the No. 24. It’s a decision that will allow the two drivers to accumulate as much time on the track as possible ahead of the twice around the clock classic in La Sarthe.
« Imola is a very important part of our path toward the 24 Hours of Le Mans » explains Dominique Heintz, Team Principal. « It’s the final opportunity to drive under race conditions with the ORECA 03 and so consequently we head into this round with two hopes. The first is to put everything together in a meticulous manner ahead of the Test Day, both for the team and the drivers. The second is to clearly take a step forward in outright performance. We need to progress and do better. This will be done with a quality performance on our part. Each person has an important role to play and must answer the call. Everyone is involved and motivated to get a good result. We must succeed, as the top goal is to prepare well for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. »
Before the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where they will be joined by René Rast, Jan Charouz and Vincent Capillaire will again drive the no. 24 ORECA 03 with Michelin tyres. For Vincent Capillaire, it’s « the final rehearsal before the 24 Hours of Le Mans and we have to take advantage of it to make sure all systems are go. We know that traffic will be complicated to deal with on this relatively short circuit, with a lot of entries on the track. It’s a unique place, with the old city next door, and historic because of Ayrton Senna’s sad accident. The respect for this place is obviously very different.
« I discovered Imola this past winter during a day of testing the ORECA 03 with the team. I like this circuit but I’m focused on Le Mans. Personally, I want to take the next step in a general way, but also more specifically in traffic management. The race is likely to be action-packed and we will have to avoid problems. »
Practice will start on Saturday (10:15). Qualifications will be on Sunday morning (10:15), before race start at 2:00 p.m.