Less than three weeks after launching her European Le Mans Series campaign, Belén García will be back in the DKR Engineering #4 Duqueine at Circuit Paul Ricard this weekend. After finishing in the top five in a spirited opening round, the Spanish driver and teammates Wyatt Brichacek and Alexander Mattschull seek a more straightforward meeting to get closer to the top.
Although Belén García's first European Le Mans Series race didn't go exactly to plan, the native of L'Ametlla del Vallès showed her resilience to overcome setbacks and fire to score her first top-five finish with her teammates in a highly competitive field.
Following this home debut, the Spaniard heads to Circuit Paul Ricard, a track she knows well, having excelled on several times. After a top ten result in the Spanish Formula 4 Championship, she returned to the French track two years later in FRECA. In 2022, she scored her maiden LMP3 victory in the Ultimate Cup Series and a podium finish in the W Series before getting back behind the wheel of an LMP3 last year in the Michelin Le Mans Cup.
"I think Circuit Paul Ricard is the track I have driven the most on, and I have fantastic memories from there”, says Belén. “I won my first LMP3 race there with Graff Racing in 2022 and finished on the podium in second place in the W Series race. It was more difficult last year, as I had a different teammate than the rest of the campaign. We struggled a bit before starting our points streak in the following race in Motorland. I look forward to regaining the feeling of driving there. Let's see what happens!"
With the challenges of the first race behind them, Belén García, Wyatt Brichacek, Alexander Mattschull and the Kendy Janclaes-led team will aim for a smoother weekend. The three-week gap between the two races has been put to good use by the 24-year-old Catalan and her teammates.
"We’ve had time to analyse everything that happened to improve and we’re now focused on these things to come back stronger at Paul Ricard," adds Belén. “It will be terrific to start over this weekend and work as we should have, but we could not for many reasons in Barcelona. We can improve a lot in areas such as procedures, pit stops, and working on the car as well.”
The RACC Mobility Club-supported driver also highlights several reasons to gather momentum in the coming days: "After assessing and learning from the first race, we will work in a more tidy and organised manner to push for better positions. As for me, I didn’t test a lot in Barcelona and the only valuable laps I did were actually during the race. The first part of my stint felt like free practice, and, in a way, it was. I look forward to getting back in the car to properly prepare for the race. The good thing is Wyatt and I provide very similar feedback. Alex’s is a bit different, but he really can drive! Everything is in line to head in the right direction, but we must keep working and have a little luck to get a strong result.”
Alongside her LMP3 programme, Belén García has also received some good news: she has been selected for the second time by the Real Federación Española de Automovilismo to represent Spain at the FIA Motorsport Games. After a superb comeback that saw her finish just two seconds short of the bronze medal in the F4 event at the inaugural edition in Vallelunga in 2019, she will again compete for her country from 23 to 27 October in Valencia.
She will race in Karting Endurance with José Manuel Pérez-Aicart, silver medallist in the discipline in 2022, and Germán Sánchez, well-known in karting circles and 2008 Spanish F3 Champion.
“It will be so cool to compete again in the FIA Motorsport Games”, concludes Belén, who will prepare for the event with the Centre d'Alt Rendiment in Sant Cugat del Vallès. “It’s such an amazing event, and it will be big as it's in Spain this year. It’s so special. There's no race like it. Returning to karting is exciting as I have strong ties to this category. It's like returning to my roots, so I am delighted and proud to have been selected. I can’t wait to be there with a strong line-up, with two excellent drivers as teammates. We can do good things on home soil, so I am thrilled about it!”
