ELMS – 4 Hours of Le Castellet

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Charlie Eastwood (LMP2 – Racing Team Turkey)
Sebastian Alvarez (LMP3 – DKR Engineering)‍

After keeping their racing skills sharp during the Winter Season in the Middle East, where they took part in the Asian Le Mans Series. Charlie Eastwood and Sebastian Alvarez took to the grid for the opening round of the European Le Mans Series at Paul Ricard. 

Graduating from single-seaters, Sebastian made his debut in the series teaming up with DKR Engineering aboard their LMP3 machine. Having enjoyed success in his first foray into endurance racing earlier this year, Seb certainly showed great strides as he made his first turn of the wheel in the super-competitive ELMS category on the Le Castellet track. With the team’s qualifying hopes laying firmly on his shoulders, he pulled out a strong lap to score 4th place on the LMP3 grid. As is the way with racing, an unfortunate incident in the race meant they finished a disappointing 9th in class. 

Commenting on a strong debut round, Infinity Director Gary Catt stated:

“Seb had a strong first round and his qualifying lap was impressive against such a tight field in LMP3. The potential is clear to see and we’re sure to see him and his teammates fighting back in the next round”

Back in the paddock for his second season with the Racing Team Turkey outfit, Charlie Eastwood lined up alongside his teammates Salih Yoluc and Jack Aitken in the LMP2 Pro-am Class. Topping the timings throughout free practice sessions was the ideal start to the season for Charlie and the TF Sport-run squad as they geared up for qualifying. With teammate Aitken taking the wheel, the #34 car was firmly running for pole position, but unfortunately the session was red flagged on their flying lap causing them to settle for P4 on the grid. 

Putting themselves to work on Sunday morning, the squad managed to battle their way through various safety car periods to be leading the Pro-am class by the halfway stage. With Aitken passing the reins onto Charlie to bring the car home. Getting the jump on the #88 AF Corse in the pits, Charlie fought his way through the traffic and held off the challenge from behind as best he could. Despite the #88 getting ahead initially, the team’s strategy played out to see them take the position as their rivals pulled in for a last minute splash and dash. Crossing the line to take victory, Charlie and his teammates certainly earned their champagne, celebrating the perfect start to the season and the Pro-Am Championship Lead. 

“Charlie did an amazing job and we’re delighted to see him back on top with the Racing Team Turkey and TF Sport squad. Their pace and strategy was strong all weekend, we’re looking forward to see him continue the momentum into the rest of the season.” Infinity Director Harry Soden concluded.

Champions Of The Future Euro Series: Round 2 – Zuera, Spain

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Kean Nakamura-Berta (OK Senior Class)‍

The Zuera International Circuit played host to the 2nd round of the Champions of the Future Euro Series last weekend. Where in sensational form, the reigning FIA-CIK OKJ Champion Kean Nakamura-Berta battled his way to his maiden victory in the OK Senior category. 

Placing in the Top 6 in qualifying, Kean was on track for a strong weekend, his pace only improving to be within the Top 2 in Sunday’s warm-ups ahead of the finals. 
Confident in his ability and the machinery beneath him, Kean fired off the grid to make up positions with every lap, fighting his way through to take the lead from Lap 6. Managing the race from there, he managed to improve his advantage lap-by-lap to cross the line 1.4s ahead of his nearest rival. Raising the trophy to claim his first ever victory in OK. 

Reflecting on the weekends racing Gary stated: “It was good to see Kean take his first win in the OK category in Zuera. It was a weekend where Kean and his team had to work hard to find the pace to achieve that result. The weekend was perfect preparation for the European Championship race there later this month.” 

The season really ramps up as we head into a bumper weekend of racing this week, from Formula 1, Formula 2 and Formula 3 at Imola, to season openers in BTCC, British F4, Formula Regional and Euroformula Open respectively. We’re looking forward to seeing our talented roster of drivers back on track.