Zoom Looking forward to the track that cannot be missed

Monza saw a thrilling battle a fortnight ago, and the Le Mans Series competitors are now heading for the third race of the season at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend. Like the Italian track, the circuit in the Ardennes is also a jewel of motorsport thanks to its rich history.

Moreover, 1000 km races have a big tradition there. The Charouz Racing System team will obviously not miss the event and, as in the previous two rounds, they will race with a brand-new Aston Martin-powered LMP1 prototype.

The relatively short break between the races at Monza and Spa was used by the team to carry out a complete rebuild of the prototype. Aston Martin Racing engineers and mechanics led by Technical Director George Howard-Chappell were quite busy with the car.

The history of the 1000 km Spa Francorchamps race started in the 1950s and the biggest popularity was enjoyed in the '80s during the era of the Group C sport prototypes. This track simply cannot be absent from the Le Mans Series calendar. The seven-kilometre long circuit is the longest track of the Le Mans Series.

"Spa Francorchamps is one of my favourites," declared Stefan Mucke. "I am always happy whenever I have an opportunity to race in the Ardennes. Monza was not the best race after some technical problems prevented us from repeating the performance from Barcelona and we hope that we will be able to fight in full strength on Sunday. It means fighting for a podium position. "

"I am looking forward to this weekend. I think that every driver who drives at Spa-Francorchamps must immediately fall in love with the track," stated Jan Charouz. "I am not an exception. The track is exceptionally long, over seven kilometres, and there is a chance that there will not be such a heavy traffic, so maybe we will be able to enjoy the racing more than on the shorter tracks."

"We were third on the grid at Spa last year, it was with Lola-Judd, and we were the best petrol car," remembered Team Principal Antonin Charouz. "Unfortunately, we were hit from the back and it dashed our hopes. I really wish that there would not be any repeat of the situation."

"I am pleased that our performances have been very well noticed," he added. "I received many calls from the people working in motorsport, like in DTM or F1, and they said that they had watched our team and they praised especially the job that we have done in competition with the factory teams with considerably bigger budgets."

© CAPSIS International