Paul Lanchere is on the brink of bringing home his second consecutive European Le Mans Series title with CLX Motorsport. Being described as a key figure by last year’s teammates Theodor Jensen and Adrien Closmenil, the 35‑year‑old French driver is once again the experienced leader within the team as he heads into the final race with a lead of nine points together with 18‑year‑old Louis Iglesias and 17‑year‑old Alexander Jacoby in the #17 LMP3.
Last year, CLX was unstoppable in LMP3 with Lanchere, now 20‑year‑old LMP2 Danish driver Theodor Jensen, and 19‑year‑old fellow Frenchman Adrien Closmenil scoring five wins and pole positions out of six races that season.
This year, the story is different. “It’s more difficult because the first part of the season was not easy to manage as we started in Barcelona with a crash in the first corner,” he says to GT REPORT, as they scored only four points in the end.
The French‑based Swiss team continued by finishing fifth at Paul Ricard before the real breakthrough came in Imola, starting the weekend by scoring pole position led by the French debutant Louis Iglesias, who replaced 18‑year‑old Brazilian Bruno Ribeiro.
“Coming to the line‑up, we are directly updating the performance. His feedback is very consistent, very appreciated. We work a lot with him on that to have, in the end, a better setup, practice after practice.”
Having the fast youngster on board certainly helped the team as they went on to score back‑to‑back victories in Imola and Spa‑Francorchamps. In Silverstone, they continued the podium streak by finishing second after starting from pole.
Despite that recent strong form, the current LMP3 champion doesn’t feel they performed any better than closest rival R‑ace GP, who are just trailing by nine points.
“We are lucky to be in front this weekend in Portimão. We don’t win the championship at this moment.”
Continuing about what is key this weekend with two youngsters next to him, he says:
“It’s very important to stay focused on the title, to not calculate the points before the race. Just go flat out, make a comfortable gap, and cross the line in front of our rivals.”
Last year, securing the title was done one round before the end of the season, but this time it will be a straightforward fight against 48‑year‑old French driver Fabian Michel and 20‑year‑olds Luxembourger Pierre‑Alexander Provost and German Hugo Schwarze in the #85 LMP3.
Sitting in third is Rinaldi Racing with their #5 LMP3, but as they trail CLX by 25 points, only problems for their rivals could see them coming out on top. Despite all these factors, the approach is clear and unchanged.
“We need to be clear on track and be consistent.”
