Cornwall’s Tommy Foster and his 360 Racing team go into Round Three of the 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup series boasting an enviable record over the rest of the field, writes Tom Howe.
In his debut season with the Silverstone based outfit, the 21-year-old Newquay native has combined with Terrence Woodward to steer the #26 Ligier JS P320 LMP3 to a points finish in all three endurance races thus far.
Fifth place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya curtain-raiser was followed by respective ninth and sixth spots in a double-header at Circuit de la Sarthe, held in support of centenary celebrations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Their 19-point haul sees them occupy sixth in the standings, just one shy of the top five and ten off the championship leading Team Virage of Poland. The series’ third stop is Circuit Paul Ricard this week (July 13-15), with a driven Foster confident of another favourable outcome.
“Preparations for the race have been really good,” he told Cornwall Sports Media from the South of France.
“I know this track well so I am very comfortable going into the weekend.
“We are almost at the halfway stage of the championship and being the only car that has scored points in every race is encouraging for me and the team.
“Our targets for this weekend are the same as always – to win.”
Proceedings began with back-to-back test sessions when the blue and black liveried Le Mans Prototype finished well inside the top ten ahead of Friday’s two practice sessions and bronze driver test.
During such time, each of the 27 teams will finesse set-ups for Saturday’s qualifying (11.25 BST) and the subsequent 110-minute race (16.10 BST), with full coverage of both free to view via www.lemanscup.com
Track Details: Circuit Paul Ricard
5.8km layout
13 turns
12m track width
Schedule: Friday, July 14
Free Practice One (9.30 BST)
Bronze Driver Test (14.00 BST)
Free Practice Two (17.00 BST)
Schedule: Saturday, July 15
GT3 Qualifying Session (11.25 BST)
LMP3 Qualifying Session (11.50 BST)
Race (16.10 BST)