After one month away and two races completed, the European Le Mans Series returns to the Circuit Paul Ricard for round 3 of the 2020 season.
The differentiate the race from Round 1, the four-hour race will be known as the Le Castellet 240, with the 240 referring to the number of minutes the race will last.It will also be the first night race of the year, with the teams and drivers racing past sunset to get many of them ready for the 24 Hours of Le Mans next month.
Here is a quick guide to the Round 3 of the 2020 season.
WHAT’S RACING AT LE CASTELLET?
SCHEDULE
CLICK HERE for the timetable
ENTRY LIST
CLICK HERE to see the entry list for the Le Castellet 240
CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS
CLICK HERE to see the Championship Standings after Round 2
WHERE TO WATCH THE LE CASTELLET 240
Round 3 of the 2020 season will be held behind closed doors but fans of the ELMS around the world can watch qualifying and the race for free on the official website, on our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
The ELMS is also available to watch online and on your TV around the world either live or highlights of the race.
A WORD FROM THE RACE DIRECTOR
Race Director Eduardo Freitas will be watching and controlling the proceedings from Race Control.We asked him about this second ELMS race at Le Castellet in less than six weeks.
“The circuit is a challenging circuit, with a magnificent long straight where cars can be pushed to the limit of engine speed and aero dynamics. It’s an excellent place to train for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, so from that sense it’s a good option.This event will have the added element of driving during the night, which is also good preparation for Le Mans.
“I think being at Le Castellet only last month makes everyone’s job a little bit easier.The teams already know the set ups for their cars and the weather should be pretty similar, which will enable them to optimise the experience of running at Le Castellet.
“Racing at night makes my job a little bit harder, it is more difficult to pinpoint debris on track and things like that; again, we are replicating Le Mans. Not in the true sense of a 13km track with the mysteries that Le Mans brings.We don’t have much gravel in Le Castellet but racing at night is a challenge and so is directing at night.But I am looking forward to it.”
WHAT THE DRIVERS SAY…
Wayne Boyd – no2 United Autosports Ligier JS P320-Nissan
LMP3 championship leader Wayne Boyd heads back to Le Castellet with maximum points after scoring pole position and victory at Round 1 in France and Round 2 in Belgium.
“We’re happy to go back to Le Castellet after what we achieved there the last time, so, obviously, we are aiming for the same again. We left there with a very good set up on our car.A few things in that race didn’t go our way strategy wise but we still managed to come away with the win. So hopefully we will be able to improve but we will see.”
David Perel – no74 Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GTE Evo
LMGTE Championship leader David Perel finished second at Le Castellet last month after the car started on pole position.The 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps winner talks about going back to take the top spot he missed out on in July.
“We were missing something in race pace at Le Castellet last time but this time it will be an evening race, so that changes a lot of things.Michael (Broniszewski) and I have done a lot of laps of Paul Ricard, we’ve done so much testing it’s like a home race for us.So, let’s see how it goes.”
LAP RECORDS
LMP2: Nyck De Vries1m40.139Oreca 07-Gibson19/07/2020
LMP3: Tom Gamble1m49.683Ligier JS P320-Nissan19/07/2020
LMGTE: Andrea Piccini1m52.098Ferrari 488 GTE Evo19/07/2020
