Pierre Ragues and Nelson Panciatici: back together behind the wheel

Q: Five year after your title, you team up again this season with Nelson Panciatici, this might bring back a lot of memories?

Of course the title won in 2013 with Alpine and Nelson is a really nice memory. First of all, we had an amazing 2013 season with a great victory in Hungary. It was also a real pleasure to win with Alpine for the return of the brand in Endurance Racing after 35 years. When you are from Normandie to have in your record a title with such a manufacturer is very special and it’s an important part of my career.

Q: The ELMs have changed a lot since 2013, what do you think of the 2018 version of the championship?

I like the format of the championship and now there is one more race compared to 2013. The level in ELMS is really high and the race at the circuit Paul Ricard proved it. I’m very happy to be back in this championship that as in WEC is well organized and here the LMP2 fight for the overall win!

Q: This season you will race with Duqueine Engineering, how did your integration go in the team?

Really good, the first contact was really natural and professional. That is a team on a human scale with a good atmosphere. They tackle the new challenge with lot of humility and do not hesitate to use the drivers’ experience to improve their performance, and they also move step by step. I knew Yann Belhomme from the time of the Formula Master et we always stayed in touch.

I didn’t know Gilles Duqueine, but I have to say that it was really nice to meet him, this is a person as humble as passionate. His enthusiasm is really infectious.

Q: What do you think of the car?

The feeling is really positive. I knew the car before thanks to my programme with Alpine last season and it’s a great tool to work with. The only novelty for me this season are the tyres as we are working with Michelin. The balance of the car is interesting, and we were able to give a strong performance in Le Castellet last month. The team worked hard, we have an interesting base and the tyres were also an important asset for this first race.

Pierre Ragues and Nelson Panciatici will drive alongside Nicolas Jamin for the second race of the European Le Mans Series on the 13^th of May at Monza.