We’re busy preparing for the biggest race of the season, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which takes place Saturday 15 to Sunday 16 June.

May brought success in the European Le Mans Series, where at Circuit Paul Ricard Inter Europol Competition secured its first outright victory in the championship. In addition, Romain Favre continued his impressive form in the Ligier European Series, winning his first official race in the category.

Eyes forward now to Le Mans, where the team aims to repeat its winning feat from 2023, once again with the #34 LMP2 Oreca. Read more >>

First LMP2 win in the European Le Mans Series
With the team running a fantastic first and second, it was a case of cruel misfortune for Ollie Gray, Clement Novalak and Luca Ghiotto at Paul Ricard as a certain victory was denied in the closing laps due to a gearbox issue on the #34 Oreca.

While no consolation for those three disappointed drivers and their crew, as the #43 of Sebastian Alvarez, Vlad Lomko and Tom Dillmann – who had been holding station – swooped by and took the race win, the first for Inter Europol Competition in the ELMS. A tremendous performance!

Following the break for Le Mans, the series resumes at Imola on 7 July, with the #43 leading the championship standings with 33 points. Read more >>

Victory in the Ligier European Series
The week at Le Castellet was bookended with excellent results. In the Ligier series, Romain Favre got his first official race win completed in the first race of the weekend, making up for the disappointment of Barcelona.

Again, his race was flawless, from third on the grid to the race lead and chequered flag. The second race was going the same way, as he moved second to first and controlled the pace at the front, only for a drivetrain issue to sideline him for a near-certain second win. Still, it was another impressive performance from the young Frenchman in the #7 Ligier.

“Barcelona was a good start to my season – we won on track but not for the results,” Romain stated. “At Paul Ricard, we won properly and were on target to win the second, but then we had a technical issue with the car. So, unfortunately, we couldn’t get the two wins at Le Castellet, but we have shown our potential, and that’s the most important thing, and we all look forward to Le Mans.”

24 Hours of Le Mans schedule
Following last year’s victory in the Centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, expectations will be high next month at Circuit de la Sarthe.

The team’s challenge remains the same: making the event as trouble-free as possible, extracting the best from the package, and then seeing if things go our way. It’s always down to excellent driving, top-end engineering, and a slice of luck at Circuit de la Sarthe.

Official duties kick off on Friday, June 7, with Scrutineering at Place de la Republique and conclude at the circuit at 16:00 on Sunday, June 16, with the chequered flag.

Friday 7 June
10:00 – 19:00 Scrutineering (10:40 for the #34)

Sunday 9 June
10:00 – 13:00 Testing
15:00 0 18:30 Testing

Tuesday 11 June
14:00 – 18:00 Pit walk
14:00 – 15:00 Autograph session
15:15 – 16:30 Pit stop challenge

Wednesday 12 June
14:00 – 17:00 Free practice 1
19:00 – 20:00 Qualifying practice
22:00 – 24:00 Free practice 2

Thursday 13 June
15:00 – 18:00 Free practice 3
20:00 – 20:30 Hyperpole
22:00 – 23:00 – Free practice 4

Friday 14 June
16:00 – 19:00 Drivers’ parade

Saturday 15 June
12:00 – 12:15 Warm-up
16:00 – 92nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

More information >>  
WEC App >>

Vlad Lomko on Le Castellet victory and heading to Le Mans!
Friday ahead of the Le Castellet round of the European Le Mans Series, Vlad was confirmed as race driver, alongside Kuba Śmiechowski and Clem Novalak, for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Two days later, he and #43 teammates Sebastian Alverez and Tom Dillmann were celebrating victory at circuit Paul Ricard. An exciting summer for Vlad!

Q) Vlad, first of all, congratulations on you and the #43 team’s success at Circuit Paul Ricard. Ahead of the race, it was unclear that you would have such a rapid Oreca in race conditions.
“Yes, it was quite a positive surprise indeed. During the free practice I was quite confident about our race pace, but I didn’t expect us to be that strong. It was all about the right call for the level of downforce and it worked out well.”

Q) It’s the third LMP2 victory for Inter Europol Competition (Asian Le Mans Series and Le Mans), and the first in the European Le Mans Series, that must feel pretty special.
“Yes for sure, it is also a first victory for me in LMP2 so it is special for everyone. I felt very happy for everyone when it happened, for the team, the other drivers and for myself for sure! It happened at the right moment as well, so my confidence going to Le Mans is pretty high!”

Q) We have a few weeks to prepare for Le Mans. You will race alongside Kuba and Clem in the #34, so how do you prepare for such a big race?
“Definitely a lot of simulator. I already know the track really well since I did the race last year and a lot of sim work to prepare for it, but It can always be better I guess, so I am planning to keep improving until everything becomes automatic. I am also planning to do quite a bit of cycling to make sure that my physical form is on point too.”

Q) Kuba, Albert Costa and Fabio Scherer won last year, this will bring higher expectations to the team than normal. For the driver, and team, there are lots of activities and distraction in the build-up, how will you approach the race and – beyond bragging rights – how important is qualifying?
“I think the race is so long that the qualifying and first stints don’t really matter. The most important is not to make a mistake and that is what matter the most. Nevertheless, I would still like to do a good qualifying result to boost everyone’s confidence and to make sure that there are no doubts about our pace before the race start.”

Q) You and Clem are both Gold rated by the FIA, Kuba Silver; how does this affect the race structure in terms of drive times and stint choices?
“I think we will try to maximise our driving time with Clem in order to gain the maximum amount of time. The minimum driving time is six hours, so I think me and clem are going to share the rest of the time.”