Preview: 6 Hours of France
The two U.S. Americans Aaron DePoy from Arkansas and Nathan Manning from Indiana will share driving duties for the team. Manning, who usually drives in the services of Graphite Racing, will support DePoy to complete the race distance in an effort to get an even better result than a sixth place finish two weeks ago.
Pascal Theis, Manuel Mayer and Benjamin Fischer meanwhile will not arrive to Le Mans until Tuesday, as the three are at the Nürburgring this weekend, for Round 4 of the iRacing Nürburgring Endurance Championship.
For DePoy, this does not lower expectations on Saturday night's race, however.
"Obviously, it would have been awesome to have the guys here and to have both cars run. But that's how the racing calendar falls this year. We knew there was a clash with the NEC this weekend. That's just the way it is.", explains DePoy.
"But to be honest, I'm quite optimistic, that this doesn't hold us back at all. Nathan is a great addition to the team and we have a strong setup. If we can stay out of the usual trouble at the start and stay clear of any silly duels in the opening hour, we should be right there."
For Manning, of course, it is a premiere with the team, bevor he makes his guest start with Fischer Motorsport in next week's iRacing 24 Hours of Le Mans.
"The team needed another driver and since Graphite Racing doesn't run this year, I've got the green light. That worked out really good for everybody. I'm excited about tomorrow. I think we're well prepared.", Manning said about his experience this weekend.
Race start for the opener of the new iRacing ELMS season is Saturday 20:15 CEST / 2:15 pm EDT. The six hour race will go deep into the night and finish around 3:30 am local time.