European Le Mans Series race calendar 2012 announced

Written by Justin Clarke Wednesday, 30 November 2011 00:00

For the 2012 season the European Le Mans Series has announced a provisional schedule of 5 six hour races featuring an interesting selection of circuits, with only one circuit carried over from this year’s calendar.

The season kicks off with two days of testing at the Paul Ricard HTTT (High Tech Test Track) on 9th and 10th March. The teams will then be back on 30th March and 1st April for the 6 Hours of Le Castellet which opens the seasons’ racing on the 5.8km circuit layout, including the Mistral straight.

The series then moves to the Zolder circuit in Belgium on the 18th to 20th May. This will be the first time the European Le Mans Series has visited this circuit, renowned for its combination of long straights and tight turns.
After a ‘break’ for 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, the action moves to the UK on 13th to 15th July for the 6 Hours of Donington in the UK, back at this very fast 4km track for the first time since 2006.

At the end of the summer the 4th round will be held at the Brno Circuit in the Czech Republic on 7th to 9th September. It’s the first time the series has visited this circuit, one of the tightest of the season, with 13 corners precise driving and set up will be key here.

And the season closes over the weekend of 2nd to 4th November back at the Portimao Circuit in Portugal’s Algarve. Previous rounds here in 2009 and 2010 were night races, the organisers have yet to decide whether to repeat the same schedule for 2012.

Importantly, at the end of the season invitations to the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans will be offered to each of the 6 category winners.