ELMS – Hugo completes the Paul Ricard first official test day in third place

Back on the legendary Le Castellet circuit, where they had experienced mixed fortunes during the previous exercise, Hugo and the United Autosports team got back behind the wheel for the first free test days of the 2018 season.

Disrupted by rain, the opening of the European Le Mans Series saw Hugo single-handedly carry his team forward. By gaining the third fastest time of the tests, Hugo has shown that he will need to be relied on this year too.

Thanks to his performance, the United Autosports team’s No. 32 Ligier moves up into the top three, and is two places ahead of the single-seater of Bruno Senna and his ex-teammate Felipe Albuquerque!

The fastest time is awarded to Tristan Gommendy and his Graff Racing Oreca 07 No. 39. Meanwhile, Victor Shaitar’s SMP Racing Dallara P217 # 35 outdistanced Hugo by half a second.

A few hours before taking the wheel, Hugo had confided: “It’s amazing to be back with United Autosports in 2018 and I’m overjoyed to be sharing my seat with Will again. We achieved so much in our rookie year and now that we have that experience, we can keep progressing and minimize our mistakes. Wayne is a logical addition to our LMP2 programme, not only is he an amazing character, he’s one of the quickest LMP3 drivers out there and no stranger to the team. I was there for his initial test at Aragon and he got on well, so I’m really pleased to have him as my teammate. Finally, with the addition of a second car, United has given us even more potential to perform and I’m super excited to start the season.”