Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Selected Driver Yifei Ye and Absolute Racing will both be looking to end the 2022 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) campaign on a high at the final round in Portimao this weekend.
21-year-old Ye has had a positive season at the wheel of COOL Racing’s #37 Oreca 07, taking two podiums and securing a scintillating pole position last time out at Spa-Francorchamps. The Chinese driver will again be joined by four-time Le Mans 24 Hours LMP2 winner Nicolas Lapierre and German teenager Niklas Krütten as the trio aim to break into the top three in the standings.
Absolute Racing also enjoyed success last month in Belgium, earning their first podium finish in the series with third. Indonesian racer Andrew Haryanto, former Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Selected Driver Alessio Picariello and Estonian Martin Rump will be looking to continue the strong form that has seen them finish in the top five in each of the last three events in the #18 Porsche 911 RSR.
The Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, more commonly referred to as Portimao Circuit, has hosted the final round of the season ever since the series returned to the Portuguese track in 2017. The undulating 4.653-kilometre layout provides a unique challenge for the drivers and teams, with tricky braking zones and fast, flowing corners.
The China Endurance Championship returns this weekend, with two Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport taking to the Ningbo International Circuit. Wang Xiang, Li Lichao and Ye Sichao will share the #28 GAHA Racing by Climax entry, while Ye Pengcheng and Pang Changyuan are set to compete for Winmax Blackjack Racing in the #911 car.
Yifei Ye, #37 COOL Racing Oreca 07: “It’s the season finale this weekend and I’m hoping for a strong end to the campaign. We’ve proven several times this year that we have the pace to fight for the win, particularly last time out with pole at Spa. We didn’t have the race we wanted but we moved forwards as a team and our focus is on another good qualifying and a clean race. We’re still in the fight for a top-three finish in the championship so we’ll aim for that.”
Andrew Haryanto, #18 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 RSR: “I’m looking forward to the final round of the ELMS season and I hope we can finish the year with a positive performance. Portimao looks to be a difficult track, so I’ll focus on learning the circuit in practice and give my all throughout the weekend.”
Alessio Picariello, #18 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 RSR: “The season has flown by and I think we are in a good position with the car, following our deserved podium at Spa in the last round. I’m looking forward to taking on Portimao, it’s a track I like and one I have good memories of. It’s a very technical and difficult circuit, but I’m confident we can end our season on a high.”
Martin Rump, #18 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 RSR: “Portimao looks like a really cool track with plenty of interesting sections, so it’s a great place to secure a strong finish to the season. It won’t be easy, but we’ve got a great driver line-up and team behind us so I’m sure we can get a good result.”
Alexandre Gibot, Managing Director Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Ltd.: “The European Le Mans Series campaign has gone by so quickly and I’m delighted that both Yifei and Absolute Racing are coming into the final round of the championship in good form. Yifei was really impressive last time out at Spa, with an incredible lap to take pole and it was also amazing to see Absolute up on the podium for the first time, so we’re hoping for a strong end to the year for both.
“We’ve also got the China Endurance Championship this weekend in Ningbo with two GT4 entries, so we wish all the best to the drivers and teams for the event this weekend.”
Source. Pole/Photo. Paula Depalmas
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