Cornwall’s Tommy Foster is confident a race win could be on the cards as the Le Mans Cup roars into Imola for the second stop of the 2022 season, writes Tom Howe.
Last time out, in Le Castellet, the 20-year-old entered the RLR Msport prepared Ligier JS P320-Nissan with teammate Martin Rich having overtaken thrice to leave the team in seventh overall.
After a stunning drive, Foster ultimately finished the 110 minute race less than a second off the third placed car. However, a 16 second penalty handed to the IDEC Sport team later promoted RLR and he onto the podium.
Following a four-week break, the series visits the famous Imola Circuit where a challenging start to testing led Foster and RLR to make some finite but crucial changes that have completely changed their outlook.
“The target is to be at least in the top five,” Foster told Cornwall Sports Media from the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy.
“I think a podium is achievable and a race win is on the cards if we have a clean race.
“I am really looking forward to it. I have never been here before.”
Foster, raised in Newquay, went on to set the second fastest time in first practice, only to have his lap deleted for exceeding track limits.
“We have dropped the ride height and played around with the dampers,” he continued, before exclaiming: “It has turned the car into a rocket.”
Imola hosted round two back in 2016 when the competition just featured the GT3 category, meaning this will be the first time the LMP3 class has run the track in a Le Mans Cup race.
The grid will be four times as big as it was in 2016, with 40 cars across the two classes, plus the addition of a hydrogen powered H24 entry also taking part in the weekend.
There are 21 different nations represented on the LMP3 grid, which will be made up of some 33 cars. The other seven will make up the GT3 class.
• Round two of the 2022 Michelin Le Mans Cup will begin on Friday, May 13 with Free Practice. Qualifying and the 110-minute race follow on Saturday, May 14.
• For more information, including details on how you can partner with Tommy Foster Racing, visit https://www.tommyfoster.co.uk/
[Featured image: JBPhoto]