SEE YOU AT THE 6 HOURS OF PAUL RICARD! (5 - 6 JULY 2024)

After the opening of the V de V Sports season celebrated in Spain on the Navarra circuit last May, amateur competitors in endurance races reserved for Historic Competition Cars will meet up on 5 – 6 July at the Le Castellet circuit to race in the 6 Hours of Paul Ricard.

Around twenty crews are expected at the second meeting of the year which will be the final preparation for the 2 Tours d’Horloge, the highlight of V de V Sports season, scheduled for 1-2-3 November on the legendary Provencal circuit, the theatre of the French Formula 1 Grand Prix just two years ago.

Among the entrants, the duo Damien Kohler/José Da Rocha, current leaders of the Endurance VHC classification at the wheel of the Team BERSI Porsche 911 3.0 RS, will try to maintain their advantage over Romain Belleteste/Christophe Gadais, winners of the 6 Hours of Navarra in their Chevron B16 Bi-Rotor prepared by the Atlantic Racing squad. Dead-heating for third in the Endurance VHC hierarchy with its two BMWs, a 323i for Eric Wassermann/Olivier Huez and an M3 E30 for Guy Burnichon, the Wassermann Racing team will also be at the start with Jean-Michel Villot as backup in the 323i. Among the other BMWs expected, we should also mention the 635 Super Production entered by Atlantic Racing for Jean-Marie Belleteste/Pierre Aviron-Violet/José Oliveira, the 530 ius from the Carrefour Location team for Patrick Bourguignon/Jorge Vargas-Clement/Pierre Laversanne/Malivai Castelli, as well as an authentic Group A BMW 635 that raced in the European Touring Car Championship and the 24 Hours of Spa in the hands of former Belgian Formula 1 driver, Thierry Boutsen, now prepared by Equipe Europe who will entrust it to Jeanne Mille and Hervé Ordioni. Yvan Mahé’s team will also field a Jaguar Type E for Armand Mille – Jeanne’s brother – and Yves Scemama.

*Damien Kohler/José Da Rocha (Porsche 911 3.0 RS/Team BERSI).*

*Romain Belleteste/Christophe Gadais (Chevron B16 Bi-Rotor/Atlantic Racing).*

*Eric Wassermann/Olivier Huez (BMW 323i/Wassermann Racing).*

A 100% WOMAN’S CREW

The Belgian team HYRACING will enter its Ford GT 40 for Brice Pineau and Olivier Muytjens. Team WKMR will be present with an Elva MK8 driven by Marc Alloend – Bessand/Yann Le Calvez and a Ford Mustang for Stéphane and Baptiste Guyot-Sionnest/Kilian Noël. Pascalou Racing has entered two cars prepared by Crubile Sport: a 930 Turbo for Pascal Duhamel/Sébastien Crubile and a 964 for the 100% woman’s crew comprising Michaela Etcheverry/Charlotte Lacoste/Cathy Briffa. Another car prepared by Crubile Sport at the start of the 6 Hours of Paul Ricard will be the Chevron B8 GT driven by the “Mister John of B”/“Le Commandeur”/“Son of B” trio.

Eric Van de Vyver, the man behind the 2 Tours d’Horloge and the concept of endurance races reserved for Historic Competition Cars, will be at the start with Patrick Brossard and Thierry Mathez at the wheel of the Team V de V’s TVR Griffith 200. The last English car on the entry list is the Triumph TR8 IMSA driven by Bernard Ladebese/Eric Gasperini.

The team managed by Alain Cudini, former French Touring Car champion with thirteen participations in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, has entered a Porsche 944 S2 for the father/son lineup of Arnold and Christian Noret. The Swiss Mansfeld team will defend its colors with a Porsche 911 3.0 driven by Serge Libens/Marc and Christine de Siebenthal/Henrique Gemperle. GT Classic will bring along a 911 3.0 SC for Philippe Baert/Stéphane Morea and the AM25 team is running a 944 Turbo for Philippe, Arnaud and Edouard Martin. The crew Philippe and Arnaud Achard associated with Jean-Yves Grandidier in a 911 3.0 SC should not be forgotten either.

The programme for the 6 Hours of Paul Ricard includes a one-hour private test session which will take place on Friday 5th July from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., a one-hour qualifying session on Saturday 6th July from 2:35 p.m. to 3:35 p.m. and then the race itself that will start at 6:55 p.m. and finish in the middle of the night at 12:55 a.m. It will be an ideal opportunity for the crews to prepare for the conditions they will encounter in the 2 Tours d’Horloge this coming November.

The 6 Hours of Paul Ricard will be run as part of a meeting that will include the Spanish F4 championship, the Radical Cup and the Eurocup-3 in which Emerson Fittipaldi Jr, son of the two-time Brazilian F1 world champion, is racing.