First race weekend in Europe for over a year for Théo Pourchaire. Competing in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS), the first round of the championship took place in Barcelona. How did he fare?
Théo Pourchaire returned to European tracks in the ELMS aboard the number 25 car with Algarve Pro Racing (APR). After initial testing earlier in the week, the first of six calendar rounds was held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Since ELMS is an endurance race, three drivers take turns in the same car for a four-hour race. 44 cars competed on the track simultaneously, except during qualifications where only cars of the same category compete for the best time. Four different categories were in contention this weekend, with the driver from Grasse competing in LMP2.
Getting Back on Track
In free practice 1, APR placed eleventh, clocking at 1:30.609. They improved in free practice 2, with a time of 1:29.979, placing them eighth. During the qualifications, thirteen cars were present in LMP2 and the drivers had fifteen minutes to achieve the best time. For this first round, Théo Pourchaire took the wheel. He set the first reference time in his first lap, with 1:35.605. The Frenchman maintained this provisional first place against the thirteen other drivers until the second flying lap. Some drivers improved their times, Théo Pourchaire among them, and he reclaimed third place on worn tires. Eleven drivers were within less than a second of each other, so any mistake would be costly. Everyone hit the pits to put on new tires in the last five minutes. The Portuguese team chose to pit earlier to avoid potential incidents but it didn’t pay off. The track improved in the final moments but Théo Pourchaire had already completed his lap, improving by only a tenth. Thus, he placed his team seventh on the starting grid for the race.
A Late Entry
His teammate, Matthias Kaiser, started the race and took the first stint. He made an excellent start by immediately taking fourth place. A first yellow flag emerged with 2h38 remaining in the race due to a Ferrari in the gravel. APR pitted directly and timed it well before the virtual safety car, losing very little time. They rejoined in eighth with only a tire change. He lost two positions upon restart but quickly regained them.
A second yellow flag appeared almost an hour later. APR pitted for the third stint and took the opportunity to change drivers. Lorenzo Fluxá took the wheel and rejoined in ninth. A brilliant double overtake brought the car to sixth place. A new yellow flag led to the return of the safety car due to a WTM By Rinaldi Racing car stuck in the final corner.
Théo Pourchaire finally entered the car for the final stints. There was 1h10 left on the clock. Due to various changes, he rejoined the race in fourth place. An overtaking maneuver at turn 13 caused chaos. Théo Pourchaire got caught in the traffic and lost two places. He overtook Pietro Fittipaldi on the next lap to reclaim fifth place. A battle ensued between the two. A “full course yellow” (a race stop due to an incident without a safety car, ed.) appeared with 48 minutes remaining due to a car stopped on the track because of an issue.
After a somewhat missed restart, a three-car battle allowed the driver from Grasse to catch up. A yellow flag returned a few minutes later due to a mechanical issue on an LMP2 Pro/AM. Different strategies came into play twenty minutes before the end of the race and the Frenchman in car 25 took the lead. However, he pitted a lap after the others to refuel and change his tires. He rejoined in sixth. A new safety car came out with a car stalled at the pit exit, thus giving an advantage to drivers who had changed tires. With less than three minutes left on the clock, the race resumed. He slightly faltered on the restart and finished fifth in the LMP2 category and sixth overall.
The next meeting for the Frenchman, who will once again be at the wheel, is on May 6 at home at Castellet.