The European Le Mans Series Championship started this Monday with two days test on the “Circuit Paul Ricard”.

Alessio Picariello is part of the Absolute Racing Porsche 911 RSR #18 lineup with Andrew Haryanto and Martin Rump. The team is supported by Proton Racing with whom Alessio won the 2020 LM GTE European Le Mans Championship.

We spoke with Alessio this morning to discuss about his start in the ELMS season. Here is the full interview:

CRR: How has the two-days test gone for your team?

Alessio: it was first of all really busy; there was a lot of track time which is very nice because our gentleman driver Andrew has not driven since quite a long time, so it was all about getting up to speed, to get him used to everything again. We also have a new silver driver on board, Martin Rump, who I know from Asia where we drove a lot together. I know he has a really good potential but he’s also new to the car, new to the championship so there was a lot to learn. We went through everything we wanted and so far, it went well; no major issues and we could maximize the track time. Of course, there is still some work to do but so far it’s been two good days.

CRR: How long were the sessions?

Alessio: It was up to 8 hours on day one and seven hours yesterday so it’s huge, very few red flags, so it was a lot of driving

CRR: What is your team position, agglomerating all the sessions?

Alessio: To be honest when you look at lap times it’s difficult to say because the track is evolving a lot and not necessarily in the right way, sometimes going up, sometimes it’s going down and it really depends on when you do the lap time as it were pretty long sessions. So, we are not really looking deep into times because we don’t know what the others do in terms of fuel, tires and so; we focus on our performance. So far, I felt very good in the car nearly every time; even when the car is not perfect, we can adapt to it and if it’s really an issue we make a small setup adjustment and it works which means we are in a sweet spot. If you look a little bit deeper, I will say Ferrari and Aston are a bit stronger than the Porsche on one lap with new tires and it looks like on long runs we are a little bit better but it’s hard to say like I said because we don’t exactly know what the other are doing. The most important was to work on ourselves.

CRR: Is there a big difference in lap time between the three of you?

Alessio: My teammates are getting closer to my lap time. At the end of yesterday, the silver (Martin Rump) was about seven tenth off compared to me and the gentleman driver (Andrew Haryanto) is about 2 ½ seconds off which is still alright when you look at the other bronzes but let’s say if you can gain five seconds then it will be in the top bronzes. What is essential is to be consistent. As Andrew didn’t drive for a long time he need a little bit time to get comfortable but I know he’s a very good driver and he was really good already so I’m not too worried; I’m sure he will be there.

📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 24 Hours of Le Mans 2021

CRR: There is quite a difference between all the teams participating in your class with drivers like Bruni or Ried who are running since years.

Alessio: Exactly! It’s good to have them because it’s perfect reference. Jimmy (Bruni) knows the RSR inside out so it’s very good to have him and compare myself to him. For Andrew, our gentleman driver, to have Christian (Ried) who is driving so much as well is perfect in the team and to be honest last year Andrew was beating Christian at Le Mans so I’m not too worried as he’s already close to Christian. Like I said it’s good to have these guys in the team as it’s the perfect reference we can have.

CRR: The fact that you have two Protons Competition and one Absolute Racing Porsche doesn’t mean that you are really separated?

Alessio: It’s like one team basically, it is really the name changing but we are all together, we share everything and and that’s a nice part of it.

CRR: How did things come together to bring you in this new team?

Alessio: Well it became last year because in 2020 I was racing with Proton and Absolute Racing is the team I was racing in Asia. The goal for them was always to be in Le Mans and the idea was to go to Le Mans together. When COVID came, it was not ideal to bring their stuff. So, they couldn’t make it really happen. Then I had the idea to put them in contact with Proton and that’s basically how it got together last year. It’s a very nice story that I could bring the two teams together and we did Le Mans last year. This year, the plan was to do full WEC championship again plus Le Mans but unfortunately the team didn’t get the entry; we are on the reserve list. As we wanted to do something we went onto to do the European Le Mans Series Championship.

CRR: I guess it is a perfect ramp up to participate to the WEC next year?

Alessio: Yes, ELMS is at the same level in GTE with more or less the same lineups so it’s a perfect practice. It is the only thing we could do anyway with the car so it’s a good way to maximize the time this year.

CRR: What are your ambitions for Sunday and the full season?

Alessio: Well, it’s hard to say, we need to see really where we stand but obviously we are here to fight for the championship. I won it two years ago so, of course, I come back to win but it’s a package of course; I’m sure Andrew’s capable of it and our silver also will be up to speed pretty quickly. We need to be careful and see how it goes this weekend and I’m pretty sure we will be able to fight for top positions and then the goal here is clearly to fight for the ELMS GTE title.

CRR: Could you explain us how the driving time is split between the 3 drivers during the 4 Hours race?

Alessio: It really depends on the championship because there are different regulations but in ELMS, basically, the bronze drivers, our gentleman driver, has to do minimum one hour and a half and the other two drivers (silver and gold or platinum) has to drive minimum 40 minutes. The gold has a maximum time of one hour 15’ which does not apply to the silver which means, with me, we are quite limited; I will maybe do one stint then the silver is kind of the guy that we can a little bit play with so it makes it a bit annoying for me because I cannot drive so much. A normal strategy would be to put the bronze first because there is a higher risk of safety cars anyway and at least we are more flexible in strategy and then we need to see how the race goes if it’s better to put me in the middle or at the end. Normally we always put the quickest driver at the end but since I have a minimum driving time this might not work so we may have to shift me in the middle. We need to see how the race goes with safety car and full course yellows.

CRR: how long is a normal stint for the car?

Alessio: With a full tank, it depends on racetracks, I will say it’s around 55 minutes on this track and you may change tires. You don’t have to but, usually we do a full service. The regulation is that the tires change can only happen after refueling which means if you don’t change tires you gain like 17 seconds so it’s something you can do but then you need to see how much you lose on track with used tires in a double stint. There are many ways to play even though it is only a four hour race there is many small stuff to take here and there. Now it’s still a little bit of unknown so the guy who is managing the timing is quite important. If you have a good strategy, it's more valuable than having the fastest car on track. Everybody follow more or less on the same strategy, and it is then about luck if you are in the right spot on track when a full course yellow happen to go for a splash.

CRR: Is there anything you want to share with our readers about your stay in Le Castellet?

Alessio: well, nothing special I’m just looking forward for the race really, I’m happy to be back in ELMS, I’m happy to to drive the RSR again ‘cause it’s the car that I love and it’s a lot different than the cheeky RSR which I drive on the Nürburgring. I’m really enjoying the week here and just looking forward for Sunday.

ELMS @ 4 Hours of Le Castellet: Alessio Picariello and Absolute Racing Porsche #18

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