LUCK WAS NOT ON FONTES´ SIDE IN IMOLA

The second round of the European Le Mans Series would come to an abrupt early end for Álvaro Fontes. Lady Luck unfortunately wasn´t on Fontes´ side once again. The Malaga-born driver headed to the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari highly motivated despite the fact that he was stepping into the unknown at the historic Italian venue. Fontes had a quick adaptation to the track combining his experience and natural speed and went through famous chicanes such as Acque Minerali at the wheel of his by Speed Factoryentered Ligier-Nissan JSP3 LMP3 shared with Jesús Fuster and Tom Jackson. In the first free practice session, Spain´s Fontes posted laps under the 1:43 barrier, which amongst the fastest drivers in LMP3 class. Jackson took qualifying honors on Saturday setting 12th quickest lap time in class with more than 20 cars entered. On Sunday, Fuster made a double stint in the first half of the four-hour race running in the top-ten. Shortly before pitting to hand over the Ligier to Jackson ­ Fontes would take the wheel at the end-, the car headed into the pit box with mechanical problems. Álvaro Fontes: “It was a pity. We were unlucky at Silverstone and again at Imola. In Great Britain was a clash with a GT car, in Italy an unexpected mechanical issue. On the personal, I am pleased with my performance. It was a new track, very demanding and managing traffic was a priority. My lap times were competitive since the beginning. It was a shame we couldn´t finish. After the double-stint that Jesús put in, we were in the top-ten. I will have another chance at Paul Ricard next weekend, where I will contest the V de V.”