Wakefield's Optimum Motorsport team heads to Paul Ricard for Le Mans Cup debut

The Michelin Le Mans Cup Championship starts this weekend with teams heading to Circuit Paul Ricard. Picture: Optimum MotorsportThe Michelin Le Mans Cup Championship starts this weekend with teams heading to Circuit Paul Ricard. Picture: Optimum Motorsport
The Michelin Le Mans Cup Championship starts this weekend with teams heading to Circuit Paul Ricard. Picture: Optimum Motorsport
The 2022 Michelin Le Mans Cup Championship kick starts this weekend (April 16) as teams head to Circuit Paul Ricard, France for the collective test and round one.

Mark Crader and Alex Mortimer join the British-based team with a wealth of experience, having raced together in the championship since 2019. However, for Optimum Motorsport, it is their first foray into LMP3 following many years of success in both GT4 and GT3 machinery.

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Wednesday is dedicated to testing, and the first official practice session will take place on Friday. Qualifying takes place on Saturday morning 11:35, with the race start at 15:30 GMT.

As we venture into new championship territory, here’s a few things you need to know before lights go out at Paul Ricard.

The Michelin Le Mans Cup takes place over six rounds, with drivers and teams competing for the honour to become champion.

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Five of the events will be a 2-hour race on the same weekend as the European Le Mans Series, with a special event, the Road to Le Mans, as the curtain raiser of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The Road to Le Mans is the flagship round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup. The event will be made up of two 55-minutes races, with the green flag of the second in front of thousands of race fans just hours before the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.