[22-10-2018]
PIERRE RAGUES PREPARES TO END 2018 ELMS SEASON ON A HIGH IN PORTIMÃO
 The 2018 European Le Mans Series draws to a close this weekend with the 4 Hours of Portimão in Portugal, as Pierre Ragues aims to end the season on a positive note.
The French racer will be targeting a podium finish to conclude a competitive, but luckless year. Pierre, along with his Duqueine Engineering teammates, has demonstrated front-running pace at every event but missed the fortune required to capitalise on their speed and potential.
Having started the season with a podium result at Le Castellet, Pierre will now look to return to the top-three at the 4.684km Portimão track alongside Nelson Panciatici and Nicolas Jamin. The trio have worked well together throughout the season with a string of impressive performances in Michelin-equipped #29 Oreca 07 LMP2 car.
Pierre himself is no stranger to the Portuguese track, having competed there previously in other endurance categories. He has also had a taste of podium success at the track, which will give him plenty of cause for optimism ahead of this weekend’s ELMS season finale.
15 LMP2 entries will compete for glory in Portimão in a field of 39 cars from all classes, ensuring an exciting battle right to the end of the championship.
Pierre commented: “It’s hard to believe we are already facing the final round of the season. Our podium result from Le Castellet is still fresh in my mind as we aim to repeat that sort of result in Portimão, where I have been on the podium in the past. This season has been characterised by misfortune for our team. Nelson, Nicolas and I have worked really well together during the year, and we’ve set some competitive lap times and been in contention for much better results than the standings show. Unfortunately, luck hasn’t gone our way. I am hoping we can put that right this weekend, and stand together on the podium Thanks, as always, to my partners at GroupAuto, Sparco, Yacco and Ellip6, as well as everyone in Duqueine Engineering for their support this year. Let’s finish it on a high!”
4 Hours of Portimão
Schedule
Friday 26 September
11:35-13:05 Free Practice 1
Saturday 27 September
09:25-10:55 Free Practice 2
15:05-15:15 LMP2 Qualifying
Sunday 28 September
12:30-16:30 4 Hours of Portimão
Teams’ Classification
1. G-Drive Racing – 88.25 points
2. Racing Engineering - 56 points
3. IDEC Sport – 56 points
4. DragonSpeed – 50 points
5. TDS Racing – 38 points
6. Duqueine Engineering – 34 points
Drivers’ Classification
1. A Pizzitola / R Rusinov – 88.25 points
2. J-E Vergne – 76.25 points
3. N Nato / P Petit – 56 points
4. O Pla – 56 points
5. M Rojas / P-L Chatin – 56 points
6. B Hanley / H Hedman / N Lapierre - 50 points
7. P Lafargue – 50 points
8. M Vaxiviere – 38 points
9. F Perrodo / L Duval – 38 points
10. P Ragues / N Panciatici / N Jamin – 34 points
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