Thursday Paddock Notes – 2022 Calendar Tomorrow

2022 Calendar Due Tomorrow With Changes Afoot

The 2022 ELMS calendar will be released tomorrow morning and promises to turn some heads with changes afoot to a calendar that has been remarkably stable in recent years.

DSC believes there are set to be two changes to the 2021 line-up with one returning circuit and one understood to feature on the calendar for the first time!

Grasping the other current nettle, a return to a UK round looks very unlikely for 2022.

H24 Prototype Plans

The H24 Hydrogen electric technology demonstrator prototype is set to run in Free Practice 1 for the Michelin Le Mans Cup tomorrow, only the second time that the new and much upgraded car has run in public after several outings during Le Mans week last month.

There is a possibility that the Adess-LMP3 chased car might also run in the second Free Practice session but there are no prospects of a race start here – no news yet of when or if the car might eventually be seen in competition.

Test Day Times

Highly unusually for the European Le Mans Series their test day prior to a race weekend took place on Wednesday, rather than Thursday, this because local rules at Spa do not permit four continuous days of running.

That means no track action here today, with rather better weather than the ELMS and Michelin Le Mans Cup runners got yesterday with heavy rain through most of the day.

03_Classification_Morning Test

03_Classification_Afternoon Test

Graff LMP2 A Spa No-Show

The entry has seen little by way of changes beyond those documented by DSC on Monday, other than the confirmed withdrawal of the #39 Graff Oreca, the all Sartheoise crew that competed in the #39 unlikely return this year but the team actively looking for new drivers for Portimao.

They join the #17 IDEC Sport crew on the sidelines, the squad opting to miss Spa after their withdrawal from the Le Mans 24 Hours – no decision as yet on whether they will return for the Series finale next month in Portugal.