Oregon Team had an extraordinary season start, the best in the team’s European Le Mans Series history. But it eventually turned out below expectations in terms of results. The first three events of the European championship were double-faced: on one hand, the performance of the team-car-driver combination; on the other hand, the fact of not having scored a better result than the fourth place grabbed in last April’s Paul Ricard opener.
In qualifying the results have been impressive: an LMP3 class pole in France with young and quick Damiano Fioravanti, P3 at Monza one month later and one more front row in Barcelona. Now the team managed by Jerry Canevisio and Giorgio Testa is aiming for a podium finish. And that result is clearly within the reach of the team’s Norma M30, shared by Fioravanti with 16-year-old Lithuanian Gustas Grinbergas, a true revelation in his maiden car racing season, and experienced Lorenzo Bontempelli.
Teams and drivers will be back on track this coming weekend (30th and 31st August) at Silverstone, returning to the scene after the summer break and starting the second stint of 2019 which will also lead to rounds at Spa-Francorchamps and Portimão. Oregon Team will thus have another good chance to impress. In Spain, a gearbox problem and a contact triggered by another car deprived the Italian squad of a positive result. In the home race at Monza, an unsettled nose had obstructed the flow of air causing a brake issue.
Now it’s time to turn the page. The weekend will kick-off on Friday with two free practice sessions. Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday morning, with the race starting at 14.30 and ending 240 minutes later. A live streaming service will be available on europeanlemansseries.com.
