Kai Askey is a familiar face within the Inter Europol Competition squad, having raced with the team in the Asian Le Mans Series and then the European Le Mans Series last year. He returns for 2024 in the #88 Ligier JS P320 alongside new teammates Alex Bukhantsov and Pedro Perino.
Q) Welcome back, Kai. Tell us about the strong driver line-up in the LMP3 car this year.
"Thank you! We do indeed have a very strong driver line-up this year, with Pedro looking good last year and at the first round in Barcelona, Alex strong in the Asian Le Mans Series results, and a podium in the first round of LMC! I'm very confident that we can prove ourselves this season and show them how it's done."
Q) The car sustained some damage in the opening round in Barcelona, making a fight for the podium all but impossible. Sixth position is not what you wanted, but tell us about the race from your perspective?
"The race was looking undeniably strong until the damage, with an impressive start from Alex getting the car up to second place before handing me the car in P4. We were on for a podium at that race, but it's a shame how this kind of thing happens in multi-class racing.
"The damage affected both mine and Pedro's stints, leaving us with nothing to do but to bring the car home to score as many points as possible, which is very important for the championship. All we can do now is take the many positives from Barcelona and add to them at Paul Ricard. We know our pace is strong, more than enough for a podium."
Q) Next up is Paul Ricard, a venue that is usually kind to Inter Europol Competition. What is your plan heading into testing and what area of the car are you aiming to improve most?
"My teammates have carried out extensive testing at Paul Ricard in the past few months so that we will have a strong baseline, but the main thing to improve on will be the qualifying pace. We were extremely fast at Paul Ricard last year, so I'm looking forward to keeping the pace up while showing our true potential overall in qualifying and race pace."
Q) After the 24 Hours of Le Mans summer break, we have four further races in the ELMS. Imola and Mugello are new to the series this year. Tell us about the circuits ahead and which ones you are looking forward to most.
"I'll need to check if I can go to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but It's on my list of races to attend! We had some running/testing in Imola a few months back, and I really enjoyed the track. It is a tight but twisty circuit with many tricky corners, especially with the elevation. I'm also very excited to go to Mugello, as I've never been there before and have heard great comments about it. Honestly, I'm just looking forward to the rest of the season!"
