The 3 Hours of Imola has provided non stop action for the first half of the race and rain has been reported on parts of the track to add another element into who will prove to be victorious at the end of the second round of 2013 European Le Mans Series. 

The lead of the race is being held by the nr1 Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca Nissan of Pierre Thiriet but is closely followed by the nr38 Jota Sport Zytek Nissan of Simon Dolan, which had started on pole position. 

The LMPC leader is the nr49 Team Endurance Challenge FLM Oreca of Paul Loup Chatin which has led from the start of the race.

The GTC Category has been growing since first round at Silverstone. Four additional cars will be running at Imola, increasing the GTC grid to seven cars for the second round of the 2013 European Le Mans Series, the 3 Hours of Imola.

Championship leaders Jota Sport scored their second pole position in two races when Oliver Turvey lapped the 4.9km Imola circuit in 1m34.343 in the team's Zytek-Nissan, nearly half a second ahead of 2012 Champions Thiriet by TDS Racing.  Jota will now start the 3 Hours of Imola this afternoon at the head of the 28 car field.

The first qualifying session of the weekend for the LMGTE and GTC competitors taking part in the 3 Hours of Imola produced a pole position for the two famous Italian manufacturers Ferrari and Lamborghini at their home circuit. 

Today is the second round of the 2013 European Le Mans Series from Imola and the sun is shining on the Italian circuit as the teams prepare for qualifying and the race.

The opening day of the 3 Hours of Imola weekend ended under sunny skies with the nr36 Signatech Alpine finish with the fastest lap of the day around the 4.9km Imola circuit.  Nelson Panciatici posted a 1m36.214 time, 0.6 seconds quicker than the nearest rival, the nr18 Murphy Prototypes Oreca-Nissan of Brendon Hartley and Mark Patterson.    Panciatici's lap was over three seconds faster than the best LMP2 time set during the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) 6 hour race held in July 2011.

All British team EcurieEcosse won at home in Round 1 at Silverstone last month and will start in Imola at the head of the GTC Category which boasts a seven car grid for round 2 in Italy.

2012 ELMS Champions Thiriet by TDS Racing were fastest during the opening session of the 3 Hours of Imola weekend in Italy with Mathias Beche setting a 1m42.026 lap at the end of the 60-minute Free Practice session. 

TeamRelease

Some four weeks ago the MOMO-Megatron DF1 Team finished the first race in the ELMS (European Le Mans Series), held on the English Silverstone circuit, in a successful third place in the GTC class.

Team Release

- The second round of the 2013 European Le Mans Series will take teams to Imola, some 40 kilometres from Bologna, Italy, on May 17-18.

Team Release

HVM Status GP has signed Canada's Tony Burgess and Switzerland's Jonathan Hirschi to compete in the European Le Mans Series race at Imola and the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Set up is in progress, the teams are settling in, and the paddocks are taking shape at Imola.

Team Release

The second round of the European Le Mans Series takes place this coming weekend at the Italian circuit at Imola near Bologna, home of the former San Marino F1 Grand Prix. Planning to feature strongly among the nine Ferrari 458 Italias due to race at the 3 Hours of Imola are Ram Racing's two gleaming white entries.

The second round of the European Le Mans Series will take place at the Imola circuit this week end and, amongst the 68 drivers entered for this event, ten of them will be able to call it a home event. In addition, the only Italian team present – AF Corse – will compete in two categories: LMGTE and GTC.

Team Release

After victory at Silverstone in the LM PC class for Soheil Ayari and Anthony Pons,Team Endurance Challenge heads to Enzo and Dino Ferrari d'Imola Circuit. Forthe second round of the European Le Mans Series, three ORECA-FLM 09 will beon track : the No. 47 in the hands of Andorran driver Alex Loan and FrenchmanMatthieu Lecuyer, the No. 48 driven by Soheil Ayari and Anthony Pons, as wellas the No. 49 shared by Paul-Loup Chatain and Gary Hirsch. It's another step forTeam Endurance Challenge allowing five of its six drivers to discover thediscipline with a future participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans as the primarytarget. The team's mentor, Nicolas Minassian, will also be present.