With two rounds of the Michelin Le Mans Cup complete, Nielsen Racing has already secured two podium positions with Tony Wells and Colin Noble and head to Circuit de la Sarthe for the Road to Le Mans, determined to take to the top step of the podium.
With no less than four entries into the 50-car field, the British-based team are no strangers to the demands of Le Mans; having first competed there in 2017 with Tony and Colin before expanding the programme to encompass the European Le Mans Series, as well as the Michelin Le Mans Cup.
The #7 Norma entry of Tony and Colin looked set to take the victory at the last round in Monza, only for a heavy storm to interrupt proceedings, consigning the duo to a disappointed third. Combined with the same result in the opening round of the season, they are now third in the standings with 30 points.
Teammates Mark Crader and Alex Mortimer have also shown a great turn of speed, recording an especially satisfying fourth place result at Monza. The 12-points gained, move them fifth in the championship heading to Le Mans in the #20 Grainmarket entry.
ELMS regulars Nobu Yamanaka and James Littlejohn compete together at the famous French venue for the first time as a driver pairing. The former is new to European competition, having made his debut at Paul Ricard earlier this year, and then sampled Monza for the first time while latter is making his second visit to Le Mans in the #18 Ligier.
Nielsen Racing already enjoys a close relationship with Red River Sport headed up by Johnny Mowlem. The British racer will be coaching his two gentlemen drivers – Bonamy Grimes and Ivor Dunbar – in the #17 Norma.
The Road to Le Mans consists of two rounds, the first taking place Thursday 13 June, the second Saturday 15 June.
Johnny Mowlem, #17 Norma
“Ivor and Bon are looking to learn Le Mans some more as it’s such an iconic track, in preparation for hopefully one day competing in the Le Mans 24 itself. But most important of all, they are looking to have fun.”
Alex Mortimer, #20 Norma
“I can’t wait to return back to Le Mans and this time race a prototype car. Our season so far has been extremely promising for our first year in LMP3 in the Michelin Cup, but we go to Le Mans with realistic expectations as FP1 will be the first time Mark has ever been on the track so we are treating the whole event as a learning curve and preparation for a more competitive attack in 2020.
“That doesn’t mean we won’t be trying hard for the best result we can achieve but with such limited testing time and such long lap we know that the second-and third-year drivers will go into the event with an advantage.”
Stuart Moseley, MLMC Team Manager #2, #20
“Everybody at Nielsen Racing is looking forward to Le Mans. It’s such a special event. Tony and Colin have both experienced the challenges that RTLM brings and will put that knowledge to good use chasing victory! For Mark this will be his first visit but with Alex’s experience from competing in the Le Mans 24hrs I’m sure this will help them along the way after a strong showing in Monza.”
Source. BAM Motorsports
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