ELMS debut awaits Louis as he prepares for battle at Barcelona
It’s the return of the European Le Mans Series, which starts the 2021 season this weekend (17-18 April) and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will host the first round of what is set to be an exciting opening race where Switzerland’s Louis Delétraz will make his debut with the ORLEN Team WRT.
A new and exciting chapter waits for Louis as he begins with a 4-Hour endurance race, where he will partner ex-Formula 1 GP winner / Formula Renault 3.5 champion Robert Kubica, and with the Asian Le Mans Series champion Yifei Ye.
Earlier this year the REMUS-supported driver signed with Team WRT for a full season in the European Le Mans Series ready driving the #41 Oreca 07 Gibson machine. The trio will also be ready to the start the Le Mans 24 Hours, which will be staged later on in the year with 21-22 August looking likely.
”I’m really glad to join Team WRT for the 2021 ELMS season. We have a very strong line-up with Robert and Yifei, and I am sure we are going to be competitive straight away as a team” Louis said.
This marks an important milestone in Team WRT’s history, after enjoying much success in GT and Touring Car racing and conquering many championship titles since the squad’s inception in 2010, now entering the top level of sportscar endurance racing and embarking on a new long-term project.
The 23-year-old made his debut last year at the Le Mans 24 Hours driving the LMP1 car with Rebellion Racing, where he finished in P4. Louis set the second fastest top speed in FIA WEC history, after spending just under 11 hours in the cockpit.
“After my extended single-seater and LMP1 experiences, this is going to be a new challenge that I’m really looking forward to. There is no doubt that Team WRT is one of the most successful squads out there” The Geneva-born driver said.
The ambition, this year, will be to fight for top honours. Louis and the team were extremely satisfied with the preparation work done during the two-day official pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
“It’s the first race of the ELMS season for Team WRT and myself so I am very excited. Everything is new for me, so there’s a lot to learn. In Barcelona we had done a few days of testing and I think we are relatively ready now. I never know what to expect and don’t want to make any predictions ahead of the race weekend. The weather and new tyre compounds means there are many new factors that can make the race unpredictable, so we have to be focused and ready to race, do everything perfectly and see where we end up. There are no targets, but for sure we will aim for victory, as always”, Louis said.
The weekend’s season opener will feature Free Practice 1 on Friday and then Free Practice 2 and Qualifying on Saturday. The first race of the season gets underway on Sunday at 11:00 am CET.
