The pace was there, and things were looking promising for Sebastian Gravlund as he made his debut in the European Le Mans Series this weekend with the Eurointernational team. Unfortunately, a puncture and a technical failure prevented the team from converting the strong potential into a top result at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in the 4 Hours of Barcelona.

“It’s really unfortunate to start the season this way. Leading up to the race, things were looking good – the pace was great, and we were all happy with the setup,” says Sebastian Gravlund after the race in Barcelona.

Gravlund’s Mexican co-driver, Ian Aguilera, secured a strong starting position for the four-hour race. The Eurointernational car started from third place in the LMP3 class with the team’s bronze-rated driver, Fabien Michal, behind the wheel.

“Fabien drove a solid stint. He had a great start and maintained a good pace, which kept us in the top three,” says Sebastian Gravlund.

When it was Gravlund’s turn to take over from Fabien Michal, the team quickly ran into the first setback.

“I got into the car, and a few laps into my stint I suffered a puncture. I had to limp the car back to the pit, which put us an entire lap behind the leading car,” he explains. “We had to switch to an old test tire that had already done over 250 km. The tire was completely worn out, and it wasn’t possible for me to maximize my stint under those conditions. But aside from that, I got through my stint without any issues.”

Ian Aguilera was the final driver in the car but had to stop the car out on track when a technical failure struck. As a result, Eurointernational was forced to retire from the race.

“Even though we were hit hard by bad luck, it was still an amazing experience to debut in the European Le Mans Series. It was great to finally be part of the big stage I’ve been watching closely during my Le Mans Cup weekends last year. We gained a lot of valuable experience and learned a great deal about the new Ligier car and the race format,” Sebastian Gravlund concludes.

Focus now shifts to preparations for the second round of the European Le Mans Series, which takes place in less than a month from May 2–4 at Circuit Paul Ricard in France.