Belén Garcia: “I always dreamed of driving a car at Le Mans”

A dream come true for Belén Garcia. The 23-year-old from Barcelona is playing in Michelin Le Mans Cup this season with 360 Racing. It was therefore in the LM P3 category of Road to Le Mans, the support race for the Sarthe event, that the Catalan discovered the Sarthe circuit.

« It's a very important moment for me, because it's a historic circuit during a historic weekend, that of the Centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, explains the pilot. Just being here, learning the circuit and racing there, even though it's not the main race, was awesome. I've always dreamed of this and now the dream has come true, which is amazing. »

Associated with Mark Richards, Belén Garcia took 17th and 13th places two races Thursday then Friday. The Spaniard started only 30th in the first race after complicated qualifying. “ Qualifying in 30th position was difficult and we are not really satisfied, testifies Belén Garcia. I didn't manage to maximize my track time during free practice, but on the other hand, this qualifying session, it gave us useful information that we applied during the race. »

Close to a podium

Second during the second race, Belén Garcia was fighting for a podium in the Sarthe, but poor Safety Car timing cost the 360 ​​Racing duo a place on the box.

« Unfortunately we lost all the advantage we had gained because of the safety car and afterwards it was difficult to maintain positions », deplores Garcia.

After this first discovery of Le Mans, the Barcelona native hopes to one day participate in the double clock tour. To do this, she will continue her season in Michelin Le Mans with the Paul-Ricard round on July 16.

ALSO READ > Belén Garcia: “The main objective is to do the 24 Hours of Le Mans”