THE 6 HOURS OF PAUL RICARD (JUNE 20 - 21) : ONLY 2 DAYS TO GO!

Enthusiastic competitors in endurance races reserved for historic competition cars will meet up this weekend on the Le Castellet track to compete in the 6 Hours of Paul Ricard.

Around twenty crews are expected at the meeting which will be the final opportunity to prepare for the 2 Tours d’Horloge, the highlight of V de V Sports’ season, scheduled for October 31, November 1 and 2 on the legendary Provençal circuit, the scene of the French Formula 1 Grand Prix just three years ago.

Among the competitors, Didier and Julien Gruau/Armand Mille at the wheel of the Chevron B16 prepared by Equipe Europe, will be in their rivals’ sights after Mille’s first victory in the 6 Hours of Magny-Cours. The British sports prototype will face opposition in the form of the Wassermann Racing team’s BMW 323i driven by Eric Wassermann/Charles Veillard, second in the Nièvre round. Franck Thybaud/Patrick Brossard/Sébastien Chardonnet, third on the first podium of the season at the wheel of a Jaguar E-Type prepared by AB Sport Auto, will also be determined to mix it with the front-runners. A reminder: Sébastien Chardonnet is the grandson of the famous eponymous importer of Lancia (among other brands) into France, and founder in the 1970s/1980s of the Chardonnet Compétition team which helped Bernard Darniche to victory in the Tour de Corse in 1979 and 1981. Sébastien Chardonnet who began his career on the circuits before he opted for rallying, scoring numerous category wins and a WRC-3 world champion title.

Also among the favorites is the winning duo of the 2024 VHC Endurance Challenge, Damien Kohler and José Da Rocha, driving their Porsche 911 3.0 RS prepared by Team Bersi, as well as the Pascalou Racing team ready to do battle with two Porsches: a 930 Turbo for Pascal Duhamel/Sébastien Crubile and a 2.8 RSR for Philippe Duhamel/Sylvie Duhamel/Cathy Briffa.

The Philippe Baert/Stéphane Moreau/Sébastien Morales crew in the Porsche 911 3.0 SC entered by GT Classic who finished just shy of the podium at Magny-Cours will be keen to take their revenge. As will the Caterham Super Seven from Garage Delarche for the quartet Vincent Delarche/Laurent Trichet/ Thierry Lortal/Nicolas Grue who, on their first outing in a VHC endurance race in the Nièvre, revealed the competitiveness and reliability of a car run on a very reasonable budget. It is also entered for the 2 Tours d’Horloge.

Among the Porsches, let’s also mention the AM25 team’s 944 Turbo for Philippe Achard/Philippe and Edouard Martin, the CAS Racing 944 S2for Dimitri and Boris Bouic/Anthony Bellina, the Moderne Racing Team’s 964 for Fabio Spirgi/Guido Gri/Mikael Lambotte as well as the 944 S2 driven by Arnold Noret/Jacques Colibet/Philippe Vigneron and prepared by the Cudini Racing Team, which has also entered a Jaguar E-Type for Jean-Paul Petit/Jacques Roucolle/Xavier Cazabon.

HIGH-PROFILE DRIVERS

As proof of the wide-ranging diversity of the 6 Hours of Paul Ricard field, other English cars will be on the starting grid. They include the JPS Racing Lotus Elan 26 R entrusted to three drivers of international renown: former multidisciplinary professional driver (F3000, IndyCar, Touring cars, Endurance, Dakar, etc.), Philippe Gache will join his teammates including Monegasque rally driver Jean-Pierre Richelmi, and his son Stéphane Richelmi (LMP2 champion in the World Endurance Championship in 2016 and LMP2 winner in the 24 Hours of Le Mans the same year, LMP2 runner-up in the WEC in 2018 and 2019, LMP2 champion in the Asian Le Mans Series in 2017-2018)

Italian and American brands have not been forgotten eitherwith an Alfa Romeo 1750 GTAM prepared by Team Giglio Racing for Paul and Maurizio Giglio, and the WKMR team’s Ford Mustang for Stéphane and Baptiste Guyot-Sionnest/Georges Rocchietta.

Finally, among the Sport Prototypes, the presence of a rare Elva MK8 for Yann Le Calvez/Marc Alloend – Bessand. a Lola T492 driven by the duo Eric Baumard/Thierry Mathez and a Tiga SC 82 for Eric Di Trento deserves to be highlighted.

The 6 Hours of Paul Ricard programme includes a 70-minute free practice session on Friday June 20 from 10:15 to 11:25, a one-hour qualifying session on Friday June 20 from 15:00 to 16:00 and then the race on Saturday June 21, which will start at 14:25 The 6 Hours of Paul Ricard will be held as part of a meeting that also includes the Spanish F4 Championship and the Eurocup-3.