Louis Deletraz has become one of the top stars of endurance racing with two ELMS titles and setting records to his name. It is sometimes hard to believe that 2024 is only the Swiss driver’s fourth season in the European Le Mans Series.
Deletraz made his mark straight away, taking a win on his ELMS debut in 2021 alongside his current teammate Robert Kubica and FIA WEC AF Corse Hypercar driver Yifei Yi in Barcelona for Team WRT.The trio went on to win the ELMS LMP2 crown at the end of that season with two further wins in Austria and Belgium.
In 2022 Louis Deletraz returned with Prema Racing, taking his second LMP2 title in two years alongside Austrias Ferdinand Habsburg. The Austro-Swiss pairing took four wins from the six races, with assistance from Lorenzo Colombo in Le Castellet, Imola and Barcelona and Juan Manuel Correa in Portimao.
For the 2023 season Deletraz switched to LMP2 Pro/Am, racing alongside Salih Yoluc and Charlie Eastwood for Racing Team Turkey, which was run by TF Sport.The first ever overall ELMS victory for an LMP2 Pro/Am entrant was secured in the opening race in Spain with a class win at the next race in Le Castellet.
This season Louis Deletraz is back in the LMP2 category with the no14 AO by TF Oreca-Gibson alongside his fellow 2021 ELMS champion Robert Kubica and former ADAC F4 Germany Champion Jonny Edgar.
The trio have scored two podium finishes from three races and were classified in first place at the end of the 4 Hours of Imola after race winners Panis Racing received a penalty after the chequered flag.
It looked like Louis Deletraz had set another new ELMS milestone by becoming the first driver to secure overall victories in four different seasons for four different teams. However, the decision to penalise Panis Racing was later overturned following an appeal (Stewards Decision no31), and AO by TF reverted to the second-place finish.
At the halfway point of the 2024 European Le Mans Series, we caught up with Louis Deletraz for his thoughts his fourth ELMS season so far.
Q: How would you sum up the first half of the 2024 ELMS from your perspective?
Louis Deletraz: “So much happened in the first three races already. Barcelona was a difficult start with an unlucky safety car timing that ruined our race and hope for points, but since then we have been strong, with a podium at Paul Ricard and at Imola. We are fighting back and not planning to stop here.”
Q: Are there any special memories from the four years you’ve competed in the ELMS?
LD: “I have a lot of special memories last four years; I would say the one that stands out are of course the two overall championships in 2021 and 2022 as well as the first ever overall win of a Pro Am car at Barcelona 2023.”
Q: The next race is at Spa-Francorchamps. You’ve taken three podiums on the previous three visits, winning with your current teammate Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye in 2021.What is it that you like about Spa as a driver and what is your favourite part of the track?
LD: “I love Spa! Such a great track with the LMP2 cars. I really enjoy the elevation changes and all sector 2 as that’s where you can make a difference as a driver. The new tarmac will also be a challenge for teams so I’m excited to see.”
Q: What are your thoughts ahead of the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps as you look ahead to the second half of the season?
LD: “The thoughts for the second part of the season are to keep having great races, hopefully win some of them and win the championship. Sounds simple in words but the level is so high in ELMS that we just need to approach it race by race and focus on ourselves. No mistakes. A third title would really mean a lot to me!”
Round 4 of the 2024 European Le Mans Series will be the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on the 23-25 August. CLICK HERE for more details.
