ELMS Title on the Line as DragonSpeed Heads to Portimão

With just four hours of racing left in the season – and a maximum of 26 points available from qualifying and the race – the team's full-season pairing of Memo Rojas and Léo Roussel (who will be joined by Ryo Hirakawa for his fourth ELMS run this year) hold an 18-point lead in the standings after finishing ahead of their rivals in three of the last four rounds. 
 
To secure the titles they’ll have to negotiate the notoriously tricky 4.6 km Autódromo Internacional do Algarve circuit. This weekend’s meeting in Portimão will be the series’ first visit since 2010, meaning only a few drivers on this year's grid were competing the last time it was on the ELMS calendar. 
 
One of those is Nicolas Lapierre – winner of that 2010 ELMS race – who will share the number 21 10Star DragonSpeed ORECA 07-Gibson with Ben Hanley and Henrik Hedman. The trio are still searching for their first victory in 2017, after earning three pole positions so far this season. A win could see them climb as high as third in the overall standings.
 
The number 22 crew will be aiming to run a fast yet calculating race. They can be crowned champions by scoring nine points or simply finishing ahead of their title rivals at United Autosports. Finishing fifth, or sixth after taking pole, would be enough to claim DragonSpeed’s maiden international championship. 
 
“It feels like we’re been building up to this weekend since the first race,” team principal Elton Julian said. “The G-Drive Racing by DragonSpeed crew have performed at such a high level all year, allowing us to bring a healthy lead into the final round. We’re quietly confident we can seal the deal. We also want to end the number 21 squad’s season on a high note. Their effort has been tremendous throughout this year, and they're overdue for a top result.”
 
Léo Roussel, one of the revelations of the 2017 ELMS season, added: “We’re so excited to get going this weekend. I can’t wait to see what the number 22 car can do on the Algarve circuit. We have a solid lead but no guarantees, so we will be working harder than ever to finish the job. Memo, Ryo and I will give it everything we have.”