{"id":10232,"date":"2026-04-23T11:16:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T09:16:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.r-ace-gp.com\/?p=10232"},"modified":"2026-04-23T11:22:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T09:22:30","slug":"pole-position-and-podium-on-elms-debut-for-r-ace-gp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.r-ace-gp.com\/en\/2026\/04\/23\/pole-position-and-podium-on-elms-debut-for-r-ace-gp\/","title":{"rendered":"Pole Position and Podium on ELMS Debut for R-ace GP!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"r-ace<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

April 13, 2026 \u2013 This past weekend, R-ace GP kicked off its European endurance season in Barcelona and made its debut in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS). Despite its rookie status, the Vend\u00e9e-based team immediately showed its potential by claiming pole position and finishing second in the 4 Hours of Barcelona. A look back at a highly successful start.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After several weeks of preparation, R-ace GP returned to the track for the opening round of the 2026 ELMS<\/a> and Michelin Le Mans Cup seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For its first-ever ELMS campaign, the team is fielding the Duqueine D09 #85, driven by Germany\u2019s Hugo Schwarze (reigning Michelin Le Mans Cup champion with R-ace GP), Luxembourg\u2019s Pierre-Alexandre Provost, and French Bronze driver Fabien Michal (2024 Michelin Le Mans Cup vice-champion with R-ace GP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prologue<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ahead of the official race weekend, teams and drivers took part in the traditional pre-season official tests, held over two days with two sessions per day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The #85 finished P6 and P1 on the first day, then P4 and P1 on the second\u2014very encouraging results for a rookie team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"r-ace<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Free Practice<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, the #85 made a strong start by finishing second in FP1. In the afternoon, Fabien Michal finished P6 in the Bronze drivers\u2019 collective test session. On Saturday morning, results were more moderate, with the crew finishing P7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Qualifying<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On Saturday afternoon, Hugo Schwarze, reigning Michelin Le Mans Cup Champion, delivered an outstanding performance and clinched pole position. The young German set the fastest lap in the LMP3 category with a lap in 1:36.524.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThe team worked extremely hard during testing, and I\u2019m happy to reward that effort with this pole position\u2014especially with a half-second margin over the rest of the field.\u201d Hugo Schwarze.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"r-ace<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Race<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The start of the race was given at midday on Sunday. Several incidents occurred, but despite the chaotic conditions, Fabien Michal managed to pick his way through and retain the lead in the LMP3 category. After a 30-minute red flag period, the race resumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At mid-race, after a flawless stint, Fabien Michal pitted for the driver change. At the same time, two competitors collided on track, triggering a yellow flag followed by a Virtual Safety Car (VSC). Pierre-Alexandre Provost rejoined in second position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cI spent my entire stint behind the leader\u2014it was very frustrating. We had great pace, but it\u2019s very difficult to overtake in dirty air. We know it\u2019s often an issue at this circuit.\u201d Pierre-Alexandre Provost.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Hugo Schwarze took over the #85 in the final hour. The German managed to close the gap to the leader by around fifteen seconds, but despite his efforts, the #85 crossed the finish line in second place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cWe\u2019re obviously a bit disappointed with second place, as we had the pace to win the race. We were unlucky with the VSC, which was deployed just as we exited the pits and cost us a lot of time. But overall, the weekend remains very positive. Our drivers were highly competitive and we\u2019ve secured valuable championship points. It\u2019s a very strong ELMS debut for the team.\u201d Fabien Lavergne, Team Manager.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"r-ace<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The team will return in a few weeks\u2019 time for the second round of the ELMS at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To rewatch the 4 Hours of Barcelona, click here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo credit: Jules Beaumont<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April 13, 2026 \u2013 This past weekend, R-ace GP kicked off its European endurance season in Barcelona and made its debut in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS). Despite its rookie status, the Vend\u00e9e-based team immediately showed its potential by claiming pole position and finishing second in the 4 Hours of Barcelona. A look back […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,1],"class_list":["post-10232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elms","category-non-classifiee"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.r-ace-gp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.r-ace-gp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.r-ace-gp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.r-ace-gp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.r-ace-gp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10232"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.r-ace-gp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10233,"href":"https:\/\/www.r-ace-gp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10232\/revisions\/10233"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.r-ace-gp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.r-ace-gp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.r-ace-gp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}