ELMS Returns to Spa

The Spa-Francorchamps circuit is a firm favourite with all the drivers on the ELMS grid and the decision to return to Belgium with Europe’s premier sportscar series was widely applauded.  The 4 hour race is round 5 of the 6 race series with all of the six titles still to be decided and with a large 40 car grid there will be plenty of racing action to keep everyone entertained during the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

In LMP2 the no46 Thiret by TDS Racing Oreca-Nissan of Pierre Thiriet, Mathias Beche and Ryo Hirakawa has taken three wins in a row and will be looking to extend their lead with another victory at Spa.  Mike Conway replaced Hirakawa in the previous round at Le Castellet due to driving commitments at home, so the Japanese driver is 25 points behind his teammates.

The Thiriet by TDS Racing duo who are currently on 76 points hold a slim 8 point advantage over Silverstone race winners Giedo Van Der Garde, Harry Tincknell and Simon Dolan in the no38 G Drive Racing Gibson-Nissan and 15 points ahead of the no37 SMP Racing BR01 of Andreas Wirth, Julian Leal and Stefano Coletti.  With a maximum 52 points still to be won in Belgium and in Portugal, there is still all to play for in the LMP2 title race for both the drivers and the teams.

The LMP3 class has been the talk of the ELMS in 2016 with large grids and great racing.  The no2 United Autosports Ligier-Nissan of Alex Brundle, Christian England and Michael Guasch has been the dominant force in the class with four podium finishes, including three wins, from the first four races run so far in 2016.  The Anglo-American team are currently on 90 points in the championship, 30 points ahead of their nearest rivals, David Hallyday and Dino Lunardi in the no19 Duqueine Engineering Ligier JSP3 and need to finish ahead of them and the winners of the race in Le Castellet, the no9 Graff Racing Ligier, to secure the team and driver titles in Belgium with one race to go.

The battle for LMGTE class honours is just as tight as the LMP2 battle, with just 8 points separating the top 3 entries.  The class is led by double race winners Andrea Bertolini, Rob Smith and Rory Butcher in the no66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari.  The British team are currently on 68 points, just 5 points ahead of the no99 Aston Martin Racing crew of Andrew Howard, Alex MacDowall and Darren Turner and 8 points ahead of father and son duo Alexander Talkanitsa Senior and Junior in the no56 AT Racing Ferrari.

The 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps will provide a good indication of who will be the 2016 European Champions as the teams and drivers battle it out in the last but one race of the 2016 season.