Oregon Team is ready to kick the season off in France, as the first of the six events of the European Le Mans Seriescalendar will be held this weekend (April 14th and 15th) at Circuit Paul Ricard. The team led by Jerry Canevisioand Giorgio Testawill enter the European championship with a Norma M30 LMP3car for the second straight time. The Oregon Team colors will be represented by a brand-new combination highlighted by two new additions, Riccardo Ponzioand Clément Mateu, plus the returning Colombian Andrés Méndez, who is also the team’s only driver with previous ELMS experience.
Looking forward to the upcoming season debut, the formation based in Cremosano, northern Italy, entered the series’ collective two-day test that took place yesterday and Monday, with the three drivers running at Le Castellet. The session provided useful benchmarks and references, with some absolutely valuable feedback in both dry and wet conditions.
With his best lap time of 1’52 “719, Ponzio (born in 1997 and coming from single-seater competition where he won the 2017 F2 Italian Trophy) was quickly able to join the frontrunners by finishing sixth in the own class. Méndez performed too and ended up fourth in the rain on Tuesday.
“We are happy with how things went”, said Canevisio, “The car was perfect and I think there are all the right ingredients to aim for some good satisfaction this year. Méndez became familiar with the wet, while Ponzio and Mateu, although they are making their LMP3, showed that they adapted well to the car.”
The 4 Hours of Le Castellet will come alive on Friday with the first practice session, plus the specific test for the “Bronze” drivers in which Mateu will take part. The second free practice will start on Saturday morning, followed by the 10-minute qualifying session scheduled at 14.00. The race will start on Sunday at 12.00 noon.
