Sean Gelael is excited about his debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and says that the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe lives up to the hype surrounding him.
The Indonesian former Formula 2 racing driver will have his first appearance at the French endurance classic with the British top prototype team JOTA as part of a line-up with Tom Blomqvist and Stoffel Vandoorne.
After several years in Formula 2 and a time as a test driver at Toro Rosso, Gelael has now made the complete transition to sports car racing.
His first outings with JOTA were in the Asian Le Mans Series at the beginning of the year, before he started a full FIA World Endurance Championship, which so far has resulted in podium finishes at both Spa-Francorchamps and Portimao.
Now the fourth round of the series brings Gelael to the 89th edition of the French endurance classic in Le Mans.
“It’s a great man,” Gelael told MotorsportWeek.com about his Le Mans experience so far. “To be honest, it was an experience. I was really excited. People just tell you how good Le Mans is, but you’ve never really seen it, you never know how good it is until you’ve seen it. “
“Now when I was here for the first time, I was excited about the groundwork, the sim, the videos and everything, and then the first time I’ve actually driven it – it lives up to the hype.”
“It’s really amazing how fast and with the road, the bumps and everything that happens. It is very nice.”
Despite his Le Mans debut, Gelael is not entirely new to endurance racing. In 2016 he started together with his current partner Blomqvist and Alfa Romeo F1 driver Antonio Giovinazzi for three laps with Extreme Speed Motorsports in the WEC and came second in Shanghai in particular in the LMP2 class.
Gelael says the experience will be beneficial for his debut, although he says he will get more from his Asian Le Mans Series program earlier this year.
“I think you understand a little more about the strategy. For example, what you are preparing for. “
“To be fair, it was 2016 too. It was like five years ago. After that, of course, I didn’t drive any endurance races, but to be honest, you just learn a little more over the weekend, for example how to prepare. “
“I think I learned more from doing the Asian Le Mans Series earlier this year, just to prepare for this year again and get back to that groove that the weekend is approaching.”
“It’s not this one lap or the first three laps, you have a lot of time and there is room for minor mistakes,” he continued, comparing the WEC with the F2. “When you are not in the pace at the beginning, as if you still have time, things like that.”
“Even in free practice, you simply have time to get yourself into a rhythm. Your first lap doesn’t have to be your best lap. Where usually in F2 or on an F1 weekend, because of the tires and the short driving time [is], you have to be there immediately. “
The post “Amazing” Le Mans lives up to the hype – Motorsport Week first appeared on monter-une-startup.
