(English) June 2024 news roundup
28 czerwca 2024
Inter Europol Competition has enjoyed a good month of competition, continuing to show race-winning pace in multiple sportscar categories and notching up some historic results in the process.
As the 92nd edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours race moves towards very fond memories, the team are now fully focused on the upcoming challenges, starting with the 4 Hours of Imola.
• 24 Hours of Le Mans silverware
• IMSA podium confirmed at Watkins Glen
• Ligier European Series at Le Mans
• Imola European Le Mans schedule
• IEC Merch now available for the Polish market!
• All about ELMS Imola with Tom Dillmann
24 Hours of Le Mans silverware
The 24 Hours of Le Mans gets bigger and more challenging by the year. As defending champions in the LMP2 class, Inter Europol Competition underlined its performance a year ago by leading significant portions of the rain-hit race again this year before finishing in second position, just 18 seconds behind the class leader.
It was another phenomenal performance from the team and drivers in what is the only round of the FIA World Endurance Championship the LMP2 class is eligible for in 2024. Read more >>
IMSA podium confirmed at Watkins Glen
The third round of the Michelin Endurance Cup at Watkins Glen saw Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports qualify fourth, move to the front of the field and lead more laps than any other LMP2 team, before finishing third.
It was a race of two halves, with the #52 trio dominating the opening segment, and as the weather turned for the worse, it was a case of survival for periods before the final dash to the flag following a race stoppage. Read more >>
Ligier European Series at Le Mans
In the Ligier European Series, Romain Favre has remained very much at the sharp end, claiming pole position for the Le Mans Round, only for his quickest lap to be deleted. Still, from fifth on the grid, he enjoyed spells at the front and, despite some fairly significant damage, brought the Ligier JS P4 home in third position.
Despite a penalty in Barcelona and a DNF at Paul Ricard, Romain is an impressive fourth in the championship standings at the mid-season point.
European Le Mans Series
With the Michelin Le Mans Cup and Ligier European Series taking a short break, our three European Le Mans Series cars and nine drivers are en route to Imola for the third round of the championship.
Last time out at Circuit Paul Ricard, we were all set for a historic one-two result, only for the #34 to falter with a mechanical issue in the closing stages. The #43 duly took our first ELMS LMP2 race win and now leads the championship with 33 points from the two starts.
There remains just one aim at this: the first of two Italian rounds of the championship.
Imola Schedule*
Thursday 4 July
09:00 – 13:00 – Collective test session 1
14:00 – 17:00 – Collective test session 2
Friday 5 July
10:40 – 12:10 – Free practice 1
15:40 – 16:10 – Bronze driver test
Saturday 6 July
10:05 – 11:35 – Free practice 2
15:00 – 15:15 – LMP3 qualifying
15:50 – 16:05 – LMP2 qualifying
Sunday 7 July
09:45 – 10:15 – Pit walks and autograph session
11:30 – 15:30 – 4 Hours of Imola
*All times CEST, full detail here>>
IEC Merch now available for the Polish market
Inter Europol Competition has been planning its merchandise line for some time, and this month, the store went live with a selective range for – at this time – the Polish market exclusively.
All about ELMS Imola with Tom Dillmann
Q) Tom, we’re heading to Imola this week for round three of the European Le Mans Series; tell us about the circuit and its unique characteristics.
„It is always special to race in Imola because it has a lot of history. The track is challenging, being narrow and with no runoffs. I found you always need to push really hard to find hundredths of seconds in every corner. It can be very rewarding and a good shot of adrenaline in qualifying.”
Q) With Sebastian and Vlad, you won the last race at Paul Ricard and now lead the LMP2 championship. Tell us if and how the race win alters the approach for this race here in Italy.
„It doesn’t change anything really; we go race by race trying to maximise everything on our side. The level is high, and many cars could win, so it is important to be consistent and score the best possible result on the day.”
Q) It’s a beautiful circuit but passing remains an issue at these more traditional venues. Does this place a greater emphasis on qualifying than normal?
„I think that qualifying in Imola is probably the most important of the calendar.”
Q) There are plenty of strong teams in this series, it gets more competitive by the year. Tell us about the level of detail that the team must delve into to ensure that the car is in the optimal performance window heading into race day.
„I won’t give away any secrets (ah-ah), but in general, I think you need to do the work on and off the track with the sole objective of being at the top at the end of the 4 hours. Sometimes, you will compromise qualifying because you work on your race set-up as a priority, for example. These cars are extremely sensitive to track conditions, and you must adapt them and try to be in front of the conditions rather than behind them.”