Viscaal in 24 Hours of Le Mans with Prema: "Real Italian passion"

Bent Viscaal will be at the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the second time this weekend. The 23-year-old driver made his debut in the legendary race for ARC Bratislava in 2022 and is defending Prema's colours in the LMP2 class this season. Speaking to GPblog, Viscaal revealed that he is ready to get a good result. Top-five should be the goal, said the Dutchman.

In preparation for qualifying, scheduled for Wednesday evening, and the race with free practice, Viscaal already drove the necessary kilometres on the French circuit. The feeling is good. "Very, very good. On Sunday, we went onto the track for the first time. The circuit was still very 'green' then, lots of dust and dirt on the track. From the first moment I feel quite at home, I also drove here last year of course."

Focus on Saturday's race

The focus was mainly on tuning the car, with Juan Manuel Correa and Filip Ugran helping with track knowledge. For the teammates for Viscaal, it will be in their first participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. "We have been very productive. I'm quite happy with how it went." How things are looking now towards Sunday's race. "Yes, that's a bit tricky. We are mainly preparing for the race and the track is going to evolve a lot more. Everyone is planning a bit with the set-up. It's hard to say. I do think there is a bit more to it than that."

In qualifying, teams can get themselves a good starting position for the start of the race, but Viscaal and consort are not really concerned with that. The focus is mainly on finding race pace. "Qualifying does matter, but in 24 hours, whether you start fourth or 12th, I don't think it matters very much. It's really about race speed, that's what you really focus on in terms of set-up. You are working on the track evolution, there will be more grip on the track and with that your set-up also changes," he explained.

Viscaal finished sixth in the LMP2 class last year after the twenty-four hour race. He is happy to be back at the track, which is more than 13 kilometres long. The Prema driver explained why the event is so fantastic. "First of all, it's the whole atmosphere. If you look that with a test day like this, it's already packed along the side. If I look at what is already going on with the first free practice, in terms of events. Apart from that, the circuit itself. It is also a half street circuit, which is special for an endurance race. 24-hour racing is the ultimate test for man and machine. All those factors together make it very special."

Viscaal in his place at Prema

Viscaal drove a race with Correa and Ugran earlier this season and he thinks that's a big advantage, where other teams are racing more with occasional trios that don't know each other as well. "Absolutely, it's very nice that I've driven with the line-up I'm racing with now. It's a very nice team to work with. I also feel completely ready for the race."

With Prema, the former Formula 2 driver is with an Italian team and it shows. In the positive, because in terms of temperament it is all good. "It is Italian, and there is still Italian in it. Of course there is a cultural difference with the Netherlands, Germany, but it is really well organised. But there is real Italian passion in it," he elaborated.

Goal for 24 Hours of Le Mans

And then finally, the key question: what is possible for the trio of Viscaal, Correa and Ugran? "I think we can compete nicely at the front. It's a team sport. For me personally, the [goal is to] get the best out of the car and out of myself. I want to compete at the front. I don't control what happens to my teammates, I don't focus on that either. But I think we should go for the top five."