Optimum Motorsport Imola bound for Michelin Le Mans Cup second round

With four weeks having passed since their season opener at Paul Ricard, the team has regrouped and is looking forward to the second round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup this weekend (13-14 May) at Imola.

This May, the championship returns to the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari with a grid that is four times as big as it was in its inaugural race in Imola back in 2016, with 40 cars across the two classes.

It was a rocky start for Mark Crader and Alex Mortimer in the opening round of the championship, as both drivers received drive through penalties, with Mark’s gained whilst under the safety car during the 110-minute race for speeding infringements and the latter for track limit violations.

Amidst the preparations and testing in Monza, the Wakefield-based team hopes to have trouble-free runs this week and capitalise on their pace. Friday is given over to three free practice sessions, with qualifying and the race starting Saturday at 13:00 local time and 17:30 respectively.

Shaun Goff, Team Principal

“Paul Ricard was an eventful race, but good nonetheless for the team considering if was our first outing with an LMP3 car. This Friday’s practice sessions will be crucial as only Alex has raced here before, so we need to hit the ground running.

“We were really impressed with them at the last event, and they’ve also had some days of testing in Monza with the team before heading to Imola, getting lots of laps under their belt and becoming more accustomed to the car.”