- French track hosts round two of GTWC Europe campaign
- All three crews aiming to build on challenging opening round
- Six-hour endurance event one of the standout races of the year
Safenwil (Switzerland), Mai 31st 2022
After a break of over a month in the Endurance Cup, Emil Frey Racing returns to action in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS for round two of the year at Paul Ricard.
The 5.842km circuit, which holds the French Grand Prix, is a known quantity for Emil Frey Racing, having raced there many times in various championships over the years. Most notably, the circuit was the venue for the team’s first race with Jaguar machinery in 2012 as well as its first GTWC victory in 2017.
As well as being the second round of the Endurance Cup season, the six-hour race is also an important preparation for the jewel-in-the-crown race of the season, the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa, which takes place at the end of July.
Emil Frey Racing’s Endurance Cup line-up remains unchanged for the 1000km of Le Castellet – which will run over six hours on Saturday June 4th – with Lamborghini Factory Drivers Mirko Bortolotti and Albert Costa Balboa joining Jack Aitken in the #63 car.
Arthur Rougier and Léo Roussel will be competing on home soil alongside Factory Driver Giacomo Altoè in the #19 Huracán while Konsta Lappalainen, Tuomas Tujula and Stuart White line up in the #14 Silver Cup entry.
The team will arrive at the circuit this weekend already having gathered some valuable information with regards to setup and car handling at the official pre-season test days in March. Track and ambient temperatures are expected to be higher for the race, despite running much later in the day.
All three crews will also be keen to improve on the opening Endurance Cup weekend of the year at Imola, where bad luck and full course yellow periods affected the final finishing positions. Therefore, building a solid baseline setup during practice will play a crucial role ahead of qualifying, while strategy and patience remain keys for the six-hour race.
The weekend begins with a bronze test on Friday morning, followed by free practice and pre-qualifying later in the day. The three-part grid-setting qualifying session takes place on Saturday morning at 11:30, before the race itself begins at 18:00.