For the penultimate round of the ELMS season, the drivers were in England at the legendary Silverstone circuit. Among them, the Grassois driver Théo Pourchaire once again shone.
Before flying off to the World Endurance Championship, the WEC, where he will end his season at the occasion of the 8 Hours of Bahrain, Théo Pourchaire went to Silverstone for the continuation of the ELMS championship. Following a major disappointment at Spa-Francorchamps after receiving a penalty at the end of the race, he wanted to achieve a good result.
From the start of the weekend, despite the very cool conditions, car No. 25 of Algarve Pro Racing showed impressive performance. Thanks to constant improvements between the different practice sessions, the Portuguese team could aim for a second row start. With Théo Pourchaire at the wheel, the car qualified in 4th position half a second from the pole position.
A good result that promises a great race. In the hands of Matthias Kaiser, car No. 25 managed to take third place in a race once again interrupted by Virtual Safety Cars (VSC). Just before the first restart of the race, the team decided to call the car into the pit for a strategic pit stop. The car re-emerged from the pits in ninth position on a strategic deviation. The Swiss driver was overtaken on track and lost positions before the red flag appeared.
The race interruptions kept coming and in the strategy game, Théo Pourchaire’s crew found themselves in third position after the first hour of racing. After another Safety Car, the Algarve Pro Racing team decided to change drivers like all the other competitors and handed the wheel over to Lorenzo Fluxà. In this strategic shuffle, No. 25 regrouped. The APR in the hands of the Spanish driver managed to climb back up gradually thanks to a strategic deviation. By mid-race, the crew found themselves back in their starting position, 4th.
A long stint in the rain for Théo Pourchaire
An hour and a half from the end, rain started. It was then that his team decided to hand the wheel to Théo Pourchaire, who returned to the track on rain tires in 6th place. In tricky conditions, the Grassois driver, who had taken a tour in the commentary booth before the race, remained cautious in these difficult conditions. The Maralpin took advantage of a spin in front of him to gain a position on the track before having a major scare himself. Battling with a competitor from United Autosports, he made a mistake and lost three positions. Dropping back to ninth position, the Frenchman was not intimidated and fought back in worsening conditions. Returning to the pits after recovering third place in the strategy game, the Frenchman found himself 7th.
In the final minutes, the Portuguese prototype climbed to 5th place before a red flag brought the race to an end due to the too complicated weather conditions.
In the ELMS championship standings, Théo Pourchaire’s team found themselves in 6th place thanks to this good team result.
We will see the Maralpin driver again in a month behind the wheel of the Algarve Pro Racing car at the Portimao circuit in Portugal, where he will compete on home soil for the final round of the season. He will then conclude his program with Peugeot for the 8 Hours of Bahrain in WEC at the beginning of November.
