DSC’s Daily Notebook (03/07/2023)

Pescarolo attends Le Mans Classic

Le Mans legend Henri Pescarolo was in attendance at the Le Mans Classic last weekend in France.

Une véritable légende a pris la piste. Henri Pescarolo incarne à lui seul l’esprit des 24 Heures du Mans et a participé, en tant que pilote ou patron d’écurie, à près de la moitié des éditions de la plus grande course d’endurance au monde. Merci, Henri. pic.twitter.com/tJSvWgM8S7

— Pierre Fillon (@fillon_pierre) July 2, 2023

The 80-year-old Frenchman was unable to attend the centenary edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours last month as a result of ill health. DSC was therefore delighted to read that he was well enough to take to the track for the historic event.

Dilano van ‘t Hoff passes

Saturday morning’s Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine race at Spa saw a serious accident on the Kemmel Straight that resulted in the death of 18-year-old Dutch racer Dilano van ‘t Hoff and serious injury to fellow competitor Adam Fitzgerald.

Rowe Racing’s Phillip Eng dedicates his third #Spa24h win to Dilano van ‘t Hoff, who sadly lost his life yesterday morning in the FRECA race at Spa #spa24h #crowdstrike #fanatecgt #gtworldcheu #igtc #thebiggestgtraceintheworld pic.twitter.com/XPvvUNsxLM

— CrowdStrike 24Hours of Spa (@24HoursofSpa) July 2, 2023

All pre-race grid ceremonials and entertainment for the Spa 24 Hours were cancelled in respect, with the race-winning ROWE Racing crew dedicating the victory yesterday to van ‘t Hoff’.

Fitzgerald meanwhile, is currently in a stable condition at a local hospital in Belgium, with broken bones.

Lambo LMDh launch imminent

The launch of Lamborghini’s new-for-2024 Ligier-chassied LMDh prototype that’s set to compete in IMSa and the FIA WEC will take place at Goodwood Festival of Speed later this month.

The initial plans to launch the car in June were shelved due to flooding in Italy.

More details will follow in the coming days…

Total renews SRO partnership

TotalEnergies will continue to supply industry-leading fuel to a host of SRO championships around the world with the renewal of the long-standing partnership between the two companies, which was revealed at the SRO annual conference last weekend at Spa.

The multi-energy firm will act as the official fuel supplier to the continental Fanatec GT World Challenge Powered by AWS series in Europe and Asia, as well as the Fanatec GT2 European Series, GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club, and FFSA French GT Championship. The agreement forms part of a shared strategy to decarbonise motorsport.

In line with this objective, TotalEnergies will introduce Excellium Racing 100, its certified 100 per cent sustainable racing fuel, to Fanatec GT Asia and Europe, the latter including the marquee 24 Hours of Spa.

Produced on the principle of the circular economy, Excellium Racing 100 draws its energy from recycling waste, particularly from wine growing, and offers a minimum 65 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions over its life cycle. TotalEnergies will also contribute to the reduction of emissions from SRO championships by supplying HVO100, a 100 per cent renewable fuel, to replace the use of diesel at circuits.

“TotalEnergies and SRO Motorsports Group have been partners for a long time and we are happy to support its energy transition. Supporting our partners and customers is at the heart of our company’s activities with the objective of net zero carbon neutrality, together with society, by 2050,” said Philippe Charleux, Director of lubricants and specialities at TotalEnergies.

“We salute the commitment of the SRO teams in terms of social and environmental responsibility, and we support with the introduction, from 2024, of our certified 100 per cent sustainable fuel: Excellium Racing 100.”

Kirby probation

LMP3 driver Alex Kirby has been placed on probation by IMSA for the next four IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races he enters for his responsibility in an incident during the WeatherTech Championship race at Watkins Glen International on Sunday, June 25.

The probation will also be in effect for all other IMSA series until Kirby’s WeatherTech Championship probation period is concluded.

Kirby, who was driving the No. 38 entry, was determined by IMSA Race Director Beaux Barfield, in conjunction with IMSA Supervisory Officials, to be responsible for a multiple-car incident that also included the No. 01, No. 42 and No. 63 cars.

IMSA will continue to monitor all on-track conduct and will act accordingly and consistently should there be a further deterioration of driving behavior.