Caandian driver Zacharie Robichon was back in Europe last weekend to compete in the 4 Hours of Barcelona, ??in the European Le Mans series (ELMS). As usual in this series, LMP2 and LMP3 prototypes, in addition to the GTE class, were on the track.

In this category, the Proton Competition (Porsche) and Iron Lynx (Ferrari) teams, with a 100% female crew, are the favourites. But while Zach is part of the Proton Competition's 911 crew along with Irish actor Michael Fassbender and Austrian driver Richard Lietz, it was not an easy start to the season.

Finishing in 8th place in his category would not be an ideal result, but for the resident driver of Mont-Tremblant, it was a small victory since these 4 Hours of Barcelona, ??the first of Zach's career, went well. unfolded despite some obstacles. "The tests went relatively well, we were never the fastest, but we had a good pace on the long runs" explains Zach, who adds: "We were also better than our direct opponents in tire management" . The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is notorious for rapid tire degradation, which of course adds an extra challenge to drivers and teams in an Endurance race.

As required by the regulations, it is an amateur pilot (Bronze license) who sets the time determining the starting place of the crew. In this exercise, Michael Fassbender is starting to be more experienced and he posted the 6th time during the qualifying session. "He was competitive compared to the others around him," said Zach. "He had a great start in the race. We were in 2nd position for the first 45 minutes, and at one point he was the fastest on the track. However, the tires deteriorated and we slowed down a bit," he added.

However, the Ferrari 488 GTE of JMW Motorsport came to slow down the progress of the Porsche No.93 of Proton Competition. "The Ferrari was faster at this point and hit Michael who spun. The spoiler as well as the front apron were damaged, so our aerodynamics were compromised" explains Robichon. He goes on to say that, "these cars are very sensitive, so we were okay in the first 10 laps of a stint, but our tires were degrading faster since the car was damaged. For a few laps we had moved up to 5th place, but we had to make our last pit stop later than planned".

The team had also saved fuel at the start of the stint, but this proved useless for Zach, who was finishing the race, as a yellow flag slowed down the peloton. "Our last stint was difficult, the tape holding the broken wing came off, so it was very long. 8th position is not the result that we should have seen our speed" underlines the former champion of the Canadian Porsche GT3 Cup.

On the other hand, Zacharie Robichon gives a positive assessment of this event: "It was a good race morally for Michael. It was difficult the last events, so driving 2nd was good for him, he deserved to drive at this level". Fassbender had indeed been involved in collisions or loss of control which led to the abandonment of the crew during the last three races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Robichon concludes by stating: "We have two ELMS races left this season, at Spa-Francorchamps and Portimao. Even though the results are not there, the confidence in the team is higher than it was a few months ago, so I think the weekend in Barcelona was a success".