Mathias Beche is one of the most familiar names and faces on any endurance racing grid, with the 36-year-old driver winning at every level of the sport. He won the ELMS LMP2 category with Thiret by TDS Racing in 2012, finishing second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMP2 that same year and he won the FIA World Endurance Trophy for LMP1 Private Team Drivers in 2014.
Last season Mathias Beche was teammed with Philippe Cimadomo and Tijmem Van Der Helm at TDS Racing x Vaillante, with the Swiss driver taking the overall pole position in the opening round at Paul Ricard and at Monza for Round 3.
The Swiss driver moves to Nielsen Racing for the 2023 season, joining Britain’s Ben Hanley and American Rodrigo Sales in the no24 Oreca-Gibson.
Like a lot of drivers, Mathias Beche started his career in single seaters but switched to sportscars after a couple of seasons.Beche explains why he likes ACO rules racing, “There’s a lot I like about endurance racing,” he said. “First of all, sharing the car with teammates, creating a good atmosphere being all together in a sport that is normally quite centered around the driver, I think is very nice. “
I also really like LMP2 and LMP1 cars,” he continued. “I think it’s one of the best cars you can drive in the world. Going through traffic with those cars at high speed it’s a really great challenge, and it's really fun to drive those cars under those conditions.”
Mathias Beche, Ben Hanley and Rodrigo Sales competed together in the four race Asian Le Mans Series at the start of the year, giving them the perfect opportunity to gell with the Nielsen team ahead of the ELMS season. They scored one podium in Dubai and finished sixth overall in the points table.
So how well did he know his new teammates ahead of the Asian Le Mans Series? “Ben is well known in endurance racing, we’ve been racing against each other in LMP1 and LMP2 for years but we’ve never been teammates before! I think he’s a great driver and we get on well, I’m really pleased to be lining up with him.”
“Rodrigo is one of the best bronze drivers you could race with at the moment, we haven’t shown his true performance yet but I think the ELMS season will reveal his potential.
So how important was it to drive together in Dubai and Abu Dhabi? “In the Asian Le Mans we had a great line-up, we know we can perform in the championship but we still need to work on the car to deliver and show what we’re capable of.”
Last year Mathias Beche scored two overall podiums in a LMP2 Pro/Am car, but this season the rules have changed in the category with the bronze driver taking over the qualifying duties. So what does the Swiss driver think of this change? “I am definitely going to miss qualifying,” he said. “One of the most intense moments as a driver is when you have to deliver performance in just one lap and the pressure is at its max, it’s always a challenge and it’s always nice to overcome, being able to do a perfect lap is a great feeling that I definitely going to miss.
“However, I am really pleased to help the bronze driver to get to that state and to guide him to perform under those conditions. I think it’s going to be a big challenge for them because they will now have to focus on both, the qualifying and the racing, but it’s a nice moment for any driver and thanks to the bronzes we can have this great championship.”
With eleven cars in the LMP2 Pro/Am how hard will the challenge bethis season? “This year is going to be one of the hardest battles on track in the ProAm category, so I am really looking forward to watching their fights and to help Rodrigo to get the results in both qualifying and the race, while hoping pro qualifying makes a return in some shape in the future.”
The ELMS will visit six of the most challenging circuits in Europe and Mathias Beche has plenty of experience on all of them, so which is his favourite?“I have italian roots and I love old-school tracks so it has to be Imola,” Beche enthused.“I think it’s such a beautiful track, very challenging in traffic, very challenging as a driver and it doesn't allow mistakes. I really like it, there’s a real feeling for speed there so I am looking forward to visiting Imola, it’s going to be my favorite for this year.”
The LMP2 category in the ELMS is the largest gathering of LMP2 cars outside of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and with eleven cars in the Pro/Am category Beche is under no illusions of the challenge ahead. “I think the biggest challenge will come from us, being our best and making another step forward as Nielsen Racing, and I'm here to help,” he said. “I don’t really want to focus on other teams, there are plenty of very strong teams, very strong lineups, many teams with two pros and a bronze, everything is very close.
“If we just focus on us, being the best version of what we can be this year, we will definitely be in contention to win the (European Le Mans) championship and win Le Mans. Our main thing is to focus on us and not on others, and that will be the key to succeeding.”
The 2023 European Le Mans Series will begin on April 23rd with the 4 Hours of Barcelona.
