The European Le Mans Series returns to Austria on Sunday 22 July for the third round of the 2018 season.
This round will be the sixth event for Europe’s leading endurance series at the magnificent surroundings of the Red Bull Ring, which nestles in the foothills of the Styrian Alps. After the long high-speed straights and fast flowing corners of Le Castellet and Monza, the 4.218km track near Spielberg will provide a very different challenge for the drivers and teams from 26 different nations taking part in the 4 Hours of Red Bull Ring.
Once again LMP2 will feature a large grid of 18 cars, with Monza race winners G-Drive Racing, currently, on 37 points, just one point ahead of double podium finishers TDS Racing and two points ahead of Le Castellet race winners Racing Engineering.
G-Drive’s Andrea Pizzitola and Roman Rusinov lead the drivers’ championship also on 37 points, with their teammate Jean-Eric Vergne on 25 points, due to the fact the French driver missed the opening race of the season.
2017 4 Hours of Red Bull Ring race winners Filipe Albuquerque, Will Owen and Hugo de Sadeleer return to competition for American team United Autosports. Albuquerque will be this year in the #22 Ligier alongside Phil Hanson, and Owen and de Sadeleer team up with Wayne Boyd in the Gibson powered #32 JSP217.
Reigning ELMS Champion Memo Rojas has teamed up with Paul Lafarge and 2015 LMP2 Champion Paul-Loup Chatin in the #28 IDEC Sport Oreca-Gibson.
Another sizeable LMP3 grid will start the 4 Hours of Red Bull Ring, underlining the incredible popularity of the young prototype category.
Monza race winners Giorgio Mondini and Kay Van Berlo have a ten-point lead in the #11 Eurointernational Ligier JS P3-Nissan over the #6 360 Racing Ligier of Terrance Woodward and Ross Kaiser.
The Austrian flag will be flying above the garage of the #9 AT Racing Ligier-Nissan with father and son duo Alexander Talkanitsa senior and junior, who will race alongside Dane Mikkel Jensen.
Reigning LMP3 champions Sean Rayhall and John Falb will be looking for their first podium of the ELMS season to get their title defence back on track after two fifth-place finishes in the races at Le Castellet and Monza in the #2 United Autosports Ligier-Nissan.
Reigning LMGTE Champions JMW Motorsport got their 2018 campaign off to a good start with a win in France and lead the championship on 37 points, 6 points ahead of the #80 Ebimotors Porsche after the Italian team returned two podium finishes from the first two races.
Monza race winners, Duncan Cameron, Matt Griffin and Aaron Scott, will be looking for another win in the #55 Spirit of Race Ferrari F488. The Anglo-Irish trio secured their second win of the 2017 season at the Red Bull Ring.
The 4 Hours of Red Bull Ring promises to be a weekend of action and drama with track action beginning on Friday 20 July and concluding on Sunday 22 July with the third race of the 2018 season.
