Britain’s Phil Hanson is aiming to bring down the curtain on his 2019 European Le Mans Series campaign in style. The 20-year-old won the corresponding four-hour race at Portimão in Portugal for United Autosports with co-driver Filipe Abuquerque last year and is determined for further success this time around on 27 October.
Hanson heads to Portugal in top-form having won the last ELMS race (Spa-Francorchamps, 22 Sep) – also setting the fastest race lap – as well as scoring his maiden FIA World Endurance Championship career podium (Fuji, 6 Oct) in United’s new Oreca. Phil currently lies fifth in the LMP2 Driver’s standings, a position he claimed in the final 2018 table – a year which marked his first full ELMS campaign.
Phil Hanson (GB): Born: London, England. Aged 20.
“It was obviously fantastic to score my first-ever WEC podium at Fuji recently but now it’s all about finishing off the ELMS season on a high. Filipe and I arrived in Portugal last year having won the previous race at Spa and the scenario is exactly the same and we’re both hoping we can repeat our Portimão win again which is obviously Filipe’s ‘home’ race. Last year’s victory there was one of our strongest and toughest wins, I drove a near quadruple stint.
“This will only be my second time racing at Portimão and I like the track. It’ll be the first time that we’ve raced the Oreca there so it may take a little time to dial-in the car but I’m sure we’ll achieve a good set-up pretty quickly. The United team are doing a really good job and we’re learning with the new car every time we go out. With the track being similar to what we have seen at Spa, I am pretty confident that we can get it in a good window.
“Filipe and I aren’t fighting for the ELMS title but it is always nice to show what we could have done had we had the same variables that we now have which we also made the most of in Japan. Filipe and I claimed a front row place there, and we’re aiming to start the #22 from the front row for a fifth consecutive race in Portugal, and go on to achieve a third consecutive race podium finish.”
Source. Phil Hanson
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