GEBHARDT Motorsport is travelling to Le Castellet in the south of France for the second round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup at the Circuit Paul Ricard.
Around a month after the season opener in Barcelona, the second race weekend of the Michelin Le Mans Cup is coming up for GEBHARDT Motorsport. The team from Sinsheim will be competing at the Circuit Paul Ricard in the south of France. Reigning Prototype Cup Germany champion Valentino Catalano will drive the team's brand-new DuqueineD09 with Oscar Tunjo from Colombia.
At the season opener in Spain, the German team put in a strong performance on its debut in the international series. Oscar Tunjo was on course for a podium in the first half of the race before he had to park his car after contact with a GT3 car. This was a remarkable achievement for GEBHARDT Motorsport, as the team initially lost a lot of practice time in the official test sessions on the technically demanding circuit due to technical problems.
The team aims to strike back at the picturesque Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region - the village was awarded the title of ‘The most beautiful villages in France’ in 2022. The track is characterised by the ultra-fast ‘Mistral’ straight, which is interrupted by a chicane in the Michelin Le Mans Cup, and the following ‘Signes’ corner, which is also driven at high speed.
Another special feature are the run-off areas, which largely dispense with gravel beds. Large parts of the run-off area are asphalted and feature colourful lines. Thanks to an ingenious system, the coloured elements have different coefficients of friction so that the vehicles can be slowed down and prevent impacts.
‘We are travelling to Le Castellet with great confidence,’ emphasises Fritz Gebhardt. ‘At the season opener in Barcelona, we proved that we can keep up with the top of the Michelin Le Mans Cup, which makes us proud, because some of the world's best LMP3 drivers and teams are competing here. The Circuit Paul Ricard traditionally suits the Duqueine cars very well.Our big goal is to achieve our first podium result in the Michelin Le Mans Cup here and establish ourselves internationally as one of the best LMP3 teams!"
After the teams and drivers have three hours of additional testing time on Thursday, 1 May, the race weekend at the Circuit Paul Ricard officially begins on Friday with two one-hour practice sessions. Qualifying will take place at 11:50 on Saturday, before the two-hour race starts at 16:45. Both qualifying and the race can be followed via livestream on the series' official YouTube channel.
