Two strong performances at Barcelona and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans has given Paul Loup Chatin and the rest of the IDEC Sport team a boost ahead of the team’s home race at Le Castellet in two weeks time.
After a problem on the installation lap forced IDEC Sport to start the 4 Hours of Barcelona one lap down from the pitlane.The fightback to a podium finish in LMP2 by Paul Lafargue, Laurents Hörr and Paul Loup Chatin had the team wondering what could’ve been but for the issue that put them a lap down.
“It was a difficult but good race for us,” Paul Loup Chatin said. “As we had a mechanic failure on the installation lap, we had to start the race one lap down which was a huge handicap for a 4-hour race. Thanks to a great team effort, a great car and a great strategy we have been able to come back third with a strong pace which was a good result for the first ELMS race of the year.”
The no28 IDEC Sport Oreca finished sixth overall, with three Pro-Am cars ahead of them.Was this a bit of a surprise?“Not at all, we know that bronze drivers are really good now and that with a good strategy pro-am teams are able to fight for the top. It will maybe be harder for them to be regularly in the overall fight, but we can be sure that they will have other opportunities to fight for a good overall result. As Paul Lafargue is a real silver driver, I am proud of our result.”
The IDEC Sport team fielded a strong car for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Paul Loup Chatin taking the LMP2 pole position with a 3m32.923 lap around the 13.6km La Sarthe circuit. That must’ve been an incredible feeling? “Thanks, yes it was a really good feeling during a mythic event,” Chatin said. “The team gave me an incredible car and I am really happy to have been able to use the entire potential of the car on one lap. With IDEC Sport it’s our second pole position at Le Mans in LMP2 in the last six years and I think that’s unique in such a strong category as LMP2.”
The 24 Hours of Le Mans finished with a 6thin class for IDEC Sport. Was the result a bit of a disappointment after the pace shown in qualifying? “We knew before the race that to be able to fight for the podium, first we had to finish and it’s what we accomplished. All the team, and Paul, Laurents and I made zero mistakes during the entire race, which was complicated with the weather, especially for Paul who was in the car during the two heavy rainstorms.
“Unfortunately, while we were P3 less than 2 hours before the end, we had a puncture exiting the pit and it cost us the podium. We finished P6 which is already a good result but not the result we deserved this year. Apart the puncture, we did a magnificent week, and it gives us a lot of motivation for the ELMS. We know that together we can achieve strong results.”
Le Mans and Le Castellet have similar layouts, long straights, fast flowing corners, and technical sections. So, what are Paul Loup Chatin’s thoughts on the two French tracks? “Even if the layouts of the tracks can be close, Le Mans is unique so it’s always difficult to compare,” he said. “Moreover, we don’t have the same amount of power in ELMS compare to Le Mans, so we will have to work hard to find the good set up.”
It's been three months since the first ELMS race in Barcelona, so how are the team keeping in race trim for the upcoming second round at Le Castellet? “The break is long but it’s the same for all the teams. Since the team moved to Paul Ricard at the beginning of the year, it’s now our home race and I would be really happy to give a good result, a win if possible, to the team after the amazing job they did since the beginning of the year. The fight will be hard, but we are ready for that.”
The 4 Hours of Le Castellet will take place on the 14-16 July and is Round 2 of the 2023 European Le Mans Series.
