DragonSpeed heads to Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy this weekend for the second round of the 2017 European Le Mans Series, as both its attack on the championship and preparations for its debut at the Le Mans 24 Hours next month continue.
The entry list for the 4 Hours of Monza features 36 of Europe’s best sportscar teams, with 12 of them entered in the hotly contested LMP2 class that will determine the overall winner. DragonSpeed will once again run a pair of ORECA 07 Gibson LMP2 coupes – the second car entered under the G-Drive Racing by DragonSpeed banner – and is looking to build on its successes at the 4 Hours of Silverstone last month.
At ‘The Home of British Motorsport’, British driver Ben Hanley scored pole position for the team in the number 21 ORECA and led the race handily in the opening stint, before the number 22 of Ryō Hirakawa, Memo Rojas and Léo Roussel narrowly missed out on the victory as the car’s tyres faded in the closing stages whilst the team held a healthy lead. The car eventually come home in second place overall.
“This weekend’s race in Monza will be a tough one, but we are ready for the challenge Monza presents,” DragonSpeed team principal Elton Julian said. “All of the teams have experience running the new LMP2 cars at the circuit after the Prologue Test earlier this year, so getting to grips with set-up shouldn’t be an issue. We’ll get some good information here on how the car will perform at Le Mans, it’s the ideal place for us to race going into the biggest race of the season.”
Since its opening in 1922, the world-famous Monza circuit has played host to the Italian Grand Prix each year (1980 aside) since the inaugural Formula One World Championship season in 1950. It also has a deep history in sportscar racing, with the Monza 1000km featuring as part of the World Sportscar Championship and Le Mans Series calendars from 1949. This weekend’s race will be the first trip to the circuit for the ELMS since 2008.
