Inter Europol Competition had every right to celebrate this evening at Circuit Paul Ricard as the Polish-based team secured its first European Le Mans Series LMP2 victory in style. The #43 trio of drivers – Sebastian Alvarez, Vlad Lomko and Tom Dillmann – performed magnificently all day long to bring home a famous win 14 seconds clear of its nearest rival and after four hours of gruelling competition.

The team ran first and second in the event’s closing stages, but sister #34 Oreca suffered a misfortune, stopping just 12 laps from home with a gearbox-related mechanical issue.
So, while Sebastian, Vlad and Tom headed to the podium’s top step, it was bittersweet for the other crew of Luca Ghiotto, Ollie Gray and Clement Novalak, who all deserved so much more than the eventual DNF—a tough break for them.

Having tested in the cold, biting wind mid-week, the sun finally broke through for the second round of the European Le Mans Series. Tom qualified the race-winning #43 P12, and on Sunday morning, few within the team thought we would be heading towards a race win.

It was a clean race start with Sebastian Alvarez and Luca Ghiotto on the move in the #43 and #34, respectively. The former gained eight positions to run P4, before handing the #43 to Vlad. Luca, meanwhile, had pushed through to the front of the pack, and all seemed well with the #34.

Vlad, who was confirmed as one of our three 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers on Friday, enjoyed an excellent mid-race run, also moving to the sharp end of the LMP2 field ahead of the final driver change to Tom Dillmann.

The ultimate showdown was sadly denied with the halt of the #34, but out front, Tom was able to manage the gap in the final laps and bring the car home for the race victory.
Inter Europol Competition now leads the LMP2 Pro championship with 33 points for the #43, while the #34 could and should have been up there as well. However, they are tenth in the standings with four points.

The #88 LMP3 Ligier had the pace the team believe for an easy podium position, but an oil pressure pol sensor brought their day to an early conclusion.

While the team has enjoyed multiple wins in LMP3, this marked the team’s first ELMS race win in LMP2. It could have been a one-two result, but we still leave Circuit Paul Ricard in a positive frame of mind as attention turns to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Sascha Fassbender, Team Manager
“It was an intensive week, with the testing and changing weather conditions. We expected better weather than we got for the collective test day, and we spent the week working on the race performance of the LMP2 and LMP3 cars and didn’t look to qualifying because Paul Ricard is so demanding on tyres.

“This was the key factor in winning the race in LMP2, and despite strong performance in the LMP3, an issue with an oil pressure sensor cost us the race. Alex and Kai showed good performance in the car, and we could have easily achieved a podium this weekend, so it is a shame. We will focus even more on Imola to be competitive.

“Saturday we started the weekend with a win in the Ligier Cup, then into Michelin Le Mans Cup where we had issues with car #43. We scored some points with car #34, but it was not really the weekend that we aimed for in that championship.

“Finally, we are now leading the championship in LMP2, and had a DNF with the other car. If not, we would have had a safe one-two. I am happy with the team to win the first ELMS LMP2 race, but on the other side, the result could have been much better, given the performance that we were able to deliver on the track. Of course, we aim to be stronger at the next event.”

Sebastian Alvarez
“We had a great race car and I was able to play it safe at the start and still make gains. In Barcelona, we had potential, but here we could finally show what we have, and I think we can do this for the rest of the season. A big thank you to the team for all of the effort. It’s fantastic to get such a great result! I wish we did not have to wait so long for the next race!”

Vlad Lomko
“We had good strategy, undercutting the rest of the pack a little, and it went smoothly. I could push when needed and then save the tyres as required. It’s a shame we couldn’t bring both cars home as they should have, but I am happy that we could achieve the race victory. We had great pace, and it was a great race. Everyone did an excellent job, and they should be proud of the gains since round one in Barcelona. A massive thank you to the team.”

Tom Dillmann
“It’s a great bounce-back after Barcelona. Amazing job from everyone; the car was a rocket, especially in the second stint! We were smart with the tyre management and made good strategy calls, and everything worked today. Thank you to the team, and I’m sorry that we couldn’t bring the one-two result because I think the team deserved it.”