3H Hungaroring : A « technical » weekend awaits Team Endurance Challenge
After Great Britain, Italy and Austria, Team Endurance Challenge heads to Hungary for the fourth and penultimate round of the European Le Mans Series. At Budapest, the French team will enter two ORECA-FLM 09 in the LM PC class: the No.49 of Paul-Loup Chatin and Gary Hirsch, current leaders, and the No.48 of Soheil Ayari and Anthony Pons, second in the classification. At the Hungaroring, a winding and rhythmic circuit, an enriching weekend awaits these four drivers, three of which are discovering endurance racing with a Le Mans Prototype this year. Known as a technical track, Budapest is also tough on the body. In addition to performance, winning will require the combination of a number of elements.
#49 – Paul-Loup Chatin/Gary Hirsch
After winning at the Red Bull Ring driving the No.49 ORECA-FLM 09, finishing second at Silverstone and winning at Imola, Paul-Loup Chatin and Gary Hirsch padded their championship lead, taking their lead to 15 points. The two young drivers will be looking to confirm their successes as well as mathematically assure themselves of the title in LM PC. The pair will rely on Paul-Loup’s experience, who has raced at the Hungaroring previously. « I know the circuit at Budapest, because I won there in Formula Renault 2.0 in 2011. » he explains « It’s a track that suits me. Slow corners, heavy braking areas, it’s technical and quite rhythmic. It will be a little more complicated in a prototype but the challenge should be interesting. With Gary, we have a slight advantage in the championship but we’ll have to go in search of pure performance while taking the least amount of risks. We form a good duo but each race is different. »
#48 – Soheil Ayari/Anthony Pons
Currently second in the Drivers points, Soheil Ayari and Anthony Pons were unlucky during the previous round in Austria. In a position to take a third podium finish in a row, the drivers of the No.48 ORECA-FLM 09 fell victim to a tire puncture, costing them precious points. Coming from GT, where he was crowned ELMS champion in the LM GTE-Am class last year, Anthony Pons will continue his learning at Budapest alongside the experienced Soheil Ayari. « The Hungaroring is a tight circuit, certainly the slowest of the year » said Soheil, who drove on the track in F3000. « This track requires true technical skills and that’s what makes it an interesting track, even though it’s not the most exciting. The race will be complicated : there is a lot of dust off the racing line and passing isn’t easy, especially because there are no long straights. In a way, this difficulty level adds to the competition. For Anthony, it will be an enriching weekend in a technical point of view. He’s coming from a difference background than the rest of us and it’s to his credit that he’s battling so well against young upcoming talents. The primary objective will be to win in order to stay in the race for the championship all the way to the finale. It’s an important step. »
Another ORECA-FLM 09 will be entered in LM PC, under the name Algarve Pro Racing Team for Nicky Catsburg and C.O Jones.
Running alongside the World Series by Renault, the Hungarian meeting will begin with two practice sessions on Friday, September 13 (11am and 3:40pm). After qualifying on Saturday, September 14 at 9:35am, the start will be given at 3:45pm for a race lasting three hours.
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