The 2021 4 Hours of Barcelona was where Louis Deletraz made his European Le Mans Series debut, and the Swiss racer will make his tenth ELMS start on Sunday at the same track where it all began just over 16-months ago.
In that time the reigning ELMS LMP2 Drivers Champion has notched up seven podiums, including five wins, from nine race starts.
In addition, Louis Deletraz has enjoyed heartbreak and success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In 2021 Deletraz, along with teammates Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye, was cruelly denied a debut LMP2 victory when the Orlen Team WRT Oreca stopped on the very last lap of the race. In 2022 Deletraz was able to stand on the most famous podium in endurance racing, alongside Robert Kubica and Lorenzo Colombo, when Prema Orlen Racing finished second in the LMP2 category.
Currently leading the championship by 13 points along with his Prema Racing teammates Lorenzo Colombo and Ferdinand Habsburg, we caught up with Louis Deletraz as he prepares for this weekend’s 4 Hours of Barcelona, Round 4 of the 2022 European Le Mans Series.
Q: You made your ELMS debut in 2021 at Barcelona, which you took the victory alongside Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye.This weekend in Spain marks your tenth ELMS race start, what are your best memories from the races you’ve competed in so far?
Louis Deletraz: “I have many very nice memories of LMP2 and ELMS. I came from Formula Two, where you have not achieved the Formula One dream, and there's much more politics and money involved, with less opportunities.
“It was a hard time in my carrier and when I made the switch to sportscars with the ELMS, I found my joy of racing again. So, I really enjoy endurance racing and being here, and I think when you enjoy what you're doing, it is a lot easier.
“Then with the success, my best memories, I would say is my first win here in Barcelona with WRT and with Robert and Yifei.We received the ELMS championship last year, there were many victories, many podiums, so I have many good memories of the ELMS.”
Q: Of the nine ELMS races you’ve competed in; you’ve won five and finished on the podium in two of the others.LMP2 is ultra-competitive, so you must be extremely pleased with this record?What are the main reasons for this success?
LD: “LMP2 is very, very competitive. So obviously, I'm very happy with the situation with winning the championship last year. We're also leading it now, so hopefully we can do the double, but time will tell.
“I think the reason for this is I've been in good teams.As you know, it's not only down to the drivers, but you also have to be in the best package possible. I've had amazing teammates, who I can also call friends. With WRT we were a new team to the championship and Prema are a new team. So, I think it’s down to hard work.I want to think I put a lot of effort in and also working together to win.”
Q: What are your thoughts about this track here in Barcelona, which corner is your favourite and why?
LD: “Barcelona is a very nice track; I think especially for testing cars. I think for racing, it's hard to overtake because you have a lot of washout behind a downforce car, so you lose downforce when you follow someone closely. But anyhow, I think with tyre degradation it will be super interesting. My favourite corners on this track are Turn 3 and Turn 9, two high speed corners.”
Q: Looking forward to Sunday’s race, what are your thoughts on how the race will go for you and Prema this weekend?
LD: How it will go? I don’t really know. I hope it will be good! I hope we can stay away from the stewards.They're very friendly, but we don't want to be there. We've had a few penalties in Monza but then that happens and that's what cost us a podium. We are fighting for a championship, so we will aim for victory but if we take second or third we'll be happy with that too.”
