Christmas came early for Alex as he realised a long-term dream in December.
When a chance introduction earlier in the season led to Alex being asked if he could fly out to Barcelona to test with CD Sport in their Norma LMP3 car, there was only one answer, Yes!
One of Alex’s dreams is to race in the Le Mans 24 Hours and, over the years, he has been working on ways to make this dream come true.
CD Sport was attending a routine test day with a number of other LMP3 teams to run a number of drivers with their eye on 2020. The test also saw Norma and Ligier run their new for 2020 LMP3 cars, with additional aero, driver aids and a boost in power. Alex would share the car on the test day with another driver and, between them, they would do a number of test runs.
The test also saw Alex catch up with an old friend and somebody who, as a small boy, he watched race in the Peugeot 908 LMP1 car. Ex-Peugeot Sport factory driver Nicolas Minassian was also at the test to drive the new Norma LMP3 car and catch up with members of the CD Sport team.
“It was watching Nic and the rest of the Peugeot Sport team where my dream of becoming a racing driver was born. Now, ten years later, I was on track in an LMP3 car at the same test!,” reflected Alex.
This was the first time Alex had driven an LMP3 car and the first time he had visited or driven the Barcelona circuit. However, as Alex took to the track to do a quick couple of familiarisation laps, in just three laps he set a time which was less than a second off the fastest time recorded and faster than a number of the established LMP3 drivers.
A break for lunch and then Alex hit the track again for a number of individual runs and, as his session finished, he ended up setting a time which was less than two-tenths of a second off the fastest time set by the 2019 Le Mans Cup-winning car.
Not bad for a first drive in an LMP3 car on a track he had never driven!
“Driving the LMP3 car was a dream come true and the car was amazing. Having spent the last couple of years in a stock car with low grip, getting into a car with aero was a big adjustment, but a lot of fun. The car was really good to drive, very fast and it moved around a lot but was super controllable. I would love to have the chance to race it,” commented Alex.
The team were all very impressed with Alex’s performance in the car and could not believe this was his first drive in an LMP3 car.
It was a great way to end the decade, there are lots of opportunities in the works for 2020 and, Alex is hoping that it will be a year to remember!