The fourth round of the 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup sees the series head to Motorland Aragón for the first time, with 40 cars across the two classes on the grid for the 110-minute race on Friday 25 August.
The 40-car grid will feature 80 drivers and 25 teams from 21 different nations all competing to be the first winners in MLMC history to win in Aragón.
The 29-car strong LMP3 field features four Spanish drivers for the local fans to cheer, with Spanish team CD Sport also entering two cars.
Championship leaders Team Virage head back to Spain with two wins in Barcelona and Le Castellet to their credit. Spain’s Julien Gerbi and his young French teammate Gillian Henrion are currently 18 points ahead on 54 points, with Icelandic outfit Team Thor and drivers Colin Noble and Audunn Gudmundsson on 36 points.
A fine second place finish from pole position in Le Castellet has put the no87 COOL Racing of Adrien Chila and Cedric Oltramare in third overall on 29 points, two points ahead of Terrence Woodward and Tommy Foster in the no26 360 Racing Ligier.
Road to Le Mans race winners Matt Bell and John Melsom will be back in the hunt for the podium in Spain in the no4 Nielsen Racing Duqueine, while the winners of the second Road to Le Mans encounter David Droux and Luis Sanjuan will also be looking for a return to the podium in the no97 COOL Racing Ligier in Aragón.
Spain’s Belen Garcia Espinar will join her British teammate Mark Richards behind the wheel of the no25 360 Racing Ligier. James Sweetnam will be looking to his new Spanish teammate Xavier Lloveras to secure some useful championship points for the no39 Graff Racing Ligier.
Santiago Concepcion Serrano is the fourth Spanish driver on the grid and will be racing with Ben Stone in the no13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier.
Spanish team CD Sport will once again enter two Ligier JS P320-Nissans, with Kirill Smal and Fabien Michal looking for their third podium finish of the season in the no2 Ligier to lift them up the table from 6th after Round 3 in Le Castellet. The Spanish team will also run the no11 Ligier-Nissan for Lebanese driver Shahan Haig Sarkissian and his French teammate Franck Chappard.
The GT3 grid will once again feature six manufacturers run by six different teams as they battle to become the 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup GT3 Champions. With three podium finishes, including a win in the opening round in Barcelona, the no10 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin Vantage of Arnold Robin and Valentin Hasse Clot heads to Aragón with a 10-point advantage at the head of the leader board.
The French duo are currently on 54 points, with the no86 HCR With CaffeineSix Porsche 911 GT3 R of Tim Creswick and Anders Fjordbach on 44 points thanks to taking maximum points in both Road to Le Mans Races in June as the highest finishing MLMC full season entry.
Le Castellet race winners Gabriel Rindone and Patrick Kujala leapt up the standings to 3rd overall in the no19 Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán, tied on 34-points with the no51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 of Japanese duo Koizumi Hiroshi and Kei Cozzolino. The no18 Team Parker Racing Porsche Nick Jones and Scott Malvern are 5th overall with 31-points, a fine second place finish in Barcelona their best result so far.
Reigning MLMC GT3 Team Champions GMB Motorsport are 6th overall with 28 points, with the no88 Honda NSX of Lars Engelbrecht Pedersen and Jan Magnussen the best of the Danish team’s two entries.
Mark Cole will join Sennan Fielding in the no42 Steller Motorsport Audi R8 LMS, with Cole replacing James Wood in Spain.
CLICK HERE for the provisional entry list for the Aragón Round of the 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup.
