Léo Roussel relishes his return to competition

Between his accident at Monza in ELMS and the start of the season in GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup this weekend in Magny-Cours, almost two years passed before seeing Leo Roussel on a major motorsport program.

Forced into a long convalescence after his spinal injury, the 2017 ELMS champion had not found a seat since his Italian misadventure, but was able to bounce back this year with the help of Saintéloc Racing, alongside his coaching activity.

A return which will take the form of a presence in the five rounds of the Sprint Cup in the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo from Saint-Etienne shared with Christopher Haase.

“It was starting to take a long time, admitted Léo Roussel in the paddock. The first months were hard, because it was the first big crash with hospitalization. This is a blow to morale, because I didn't know if I was going to be able to come back and be 100% in a car.

I was lucky to be well surrounded and that was very important. But you must never give up and always fight.

I had opportunities in LM P2, but with budgets difficult to raise for me. I turned to GT through my former engineer with whom I won in LM P2 in 2017, and who told me of a possibility at Saintéloc.

I only wanted one thing: to get back behind the wheel because I remain passionate. Whether it’s a prototype, a GT… it’s the car above all else. So I seized this opportunity, with tests very quickly in Valencia in Spain.

I was thus able to get to know the team and the world of GT, which is a total discovery. I was thus able to deconstruct prejudices about the category, where we imagine a heavy car, which does not brake. It's a real racing car.

I felt comfortable very quickly, although I had to work on braking and using the new Pirelli tires. I'm in good school with Christopher Haase, a bit like with Nicolas lapierre in proto. He shares information and lays his cards on the table. »

Léo Roussel will have the advantage of knowing the Magny-Cours track well, as well as the night race, one of the specificities of the Nivernais meeting in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, in a sprint series considered as one one of the toughest, and quite far from the endurance events that the native of Marcoussis (Essonne) knows well.

Endurance could be part of the future for Léo Roussel, who does not hide his desires for the future. “This remains a first approach, and the rest will not necessarily involve the proto. Why not Le Mans, why not Spa, why not the championship Endurance Cup?

I understand that the proto has evolved, and that budgets have increased, but I can't bring that together currently. If I am offered a place, I will look, because it remains prototypical and what I have always done since my early years. »