All Set for High Speed ELMS Action at Monza

A huge 36 car grid is entered for the second race of the season.  Monza is also the last race before the big event on the endurance calendar, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, which many of the ELMS competitors will be taking part.

LMP2: New challenge for United Autosports

Twelve LMP2 cars will line up on the famous Monza grid on Sunday 14 May, with Silverstone race winners United Autosports looking forward to taking up the challenge once again against the rest of the competitive grid. Narrowly beaten at Silverstone, 2016 champions G-Drive Racing will be looking for revenge on the high-speed Italian track, while Danish team High Class Racing gave Dallara its first LMP2 podium on the team’s ELMS debut.

Local interest will focus on the all Italian team Cetilar Villorba Corse, with Roberto Lacorte, Giorgio Sernagiotto and Andrea Bellichi sharing the driving duties. The fourth Italian driver on the LMP2 grid is Andrea Roda in the no25 Algarve Pro Racing Ligier, racing with American Matt McMurry and French driver Andrea Pizzitola.

LMP3: 17 cars on the grid

LMP3 once again features a large, high class field of cars which is dominated by the Ligier JS P3.  Fifteen cars will run the Ligier, while Italian outfit Oregon Team and French team M.Racing-YMR will run the brand new Norma M 30.

At Silverstone United Autosports made ELMS history by becoming the first team to win two different LMP classes at the same event after John Falb and Sean Rayhall took the chequered flag in front a large British crowd in the opening round of the season.  The American crew are looking to add a second win but are under no illusions that it will be an easy task on the high speed Monza circuit.

Once again there will be plenty of interest on the LMP3 grid for Italian fans with six drivers and one team all flying the Italian flag.  Oregon Team will run Italian drivers Davide Roda and Dario Capitano in the no20 Norma M30 alongside Columbian Andreas Mendez. 

Andrea Dromedari, Giorio Mondini and Davide Uboldi will race for the US team Eurointernational with Mondini and Uboldi in the no21 Ligier and Dromedari in the no22 car.  Maurizio Mediani is racing for Austrian team AT Racing alongside Belarussian father and son Alexander Talkanitsa senior and junior.

LMGTE class starring 3 Ferraris

In LMGTE three of the seven entries will be Ferraris, which will be of obvious interest to the tifosi.  The grid might be the smallest of the three but with Ferrari v Porsche v Aston Martin v Chevrolet, a mouth-watering four hour of high class racing is on offer. 

The no51 Spirit of Race Ferrari F488 GTE will be driven by an all Italian crew with former 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner and Ferrari works driver Andrea Bertolini being joined by Gianluca and Giorgio Roda.

The final Italian driver is the highly talented Porsche driver Matteo Cairoli, who will drive the no77 Proton Competition Porsche.

The 4 Hours of Monza is Round 2 of the 2017 European Le Mans Series and will take place on Sunday 14 May.  The event will also feature the opening round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup, the TCR series and the Formula V8 3.5.

CLICK HERE for the entry list for the 4 Hours of Monza