Portimao, the revenge of Le Mans

The Algarve event of the Le Mans Series will take place at the end of the week, a 1000 km race which sees the return of the prototypes, seven weeks after the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Tiago Monteiro, called the day after the Sarthe race to race on the Oreca prototype at Portimao, will team up with Bruno Senna. Unconvincing in Sarthe, the Brazilian was sent back for the Portuguese race. Stéphane Ortelli is not one of the four drivers selected by Oreca. The second crew remains unchanged, with the duo Nicolas lapierre ? Olivier Panis.

The two prototypes will notably be opposed, in LMP1, to the Aston Martin n°007 and n°009, at the wheel of which is the former Pescarolo driver, Harold Primat. During the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Aston Martin saw its No. 007 car finish in fourth place in the general classification, positioning itself as the first "petrol", ahead of the No. 11 Oreca prototype. Pescarolo arrives at Portimao with its only “petrol” prototype, which finished eighth in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. As expected, Jean-Christophe Bouillon and Christophe Tinseau will take turns at the wheel. There Peugeot 908 HDi FAP in Pescarolo colors, damaged at Le Mans, is obviously absent.

In total, ten cars will be entered in LM P1. In addition to the Aston Martin, Oreca and Pescarolo, we find the Courage-Oreca-Judd from the French team Signature Plus. The Kolles team will field two Audi R10s, cars which performed well at Le Mans with a 7th and 9th place. Speedy Racing Team Sebah will field a Lola Aston Martin b08/60, notably with Nicolas Cheers behind the wheel, and Strakka Racing a Ginetta-Zytek.

The LM P2 category is the most extensive, with fourteen prototypes on track. In LM GT1, the desert is even more obvious than at Le Mans. Two “French” cars will compete: the Saleen from Larbre Compétition and the Corvette from Luc Alphand Aventures. In LM GT2, eleven cars are there: six Ferrari 430 contre trois Porsche 997, une Aston Martin Vantage et une Spyker-Laviolette.