The fourth round of the European Le Mans Series 2026 held it’s pre-race press conference this afternoon, where Mikkel Gaarde Pedersen was one of the six drivers attending.
The Danish LMP3 racer competes in both the Michelin Le Mans Cup and the European Le Mans Series this year for Rinaldi Racing, where he currently sits second in the LMC and leads the ELMS standings for LMP3 cars.
The press conference was led by Jeff Carter.
Q: Mikkel, turning to you, you’ve had a good leading the championship, the LMP3 championship after three races, especially with the win in Barcelona and a second place in Imola. Well, this impressive start. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you will take him forward to the next three races here in Spa, Silverstone, and Portimao ?
Mikkel:
Yeah, for sure. I’ve learned that you don’t win the championship in the first half. Obviously, right now in P3, it’s really close. I think we are three cars within nine points. So yeah, I have to stay consistent, me and the team, and that’s for sure the most important if we are going to win the championship.
Q:
LMP3 class has been going for ten years now, and it’s now recognized as a great starting point for drivers such as yourself making a move into prototype racing. Is this the reason why you joined ELMS Field this year, and how are you finding this level of competition?
Photo: JJ Media
Mikkel:
Yeah, for sure. I’ve always been wanting to join ELMS ever since I started in the single-seaters. My goal was always to go to endurance racing. So yeah, for sure. And also now the level is super close in the P3 this year. Everyone is really tight and it’s very competitive. So I like that.
Q:
Is that a Danish thing? Is it like every Dane has to be in endurance racing? You know, because…
Mikkel:
I don’t know, but it seems like it always ends up like that.
Q:
It does, it does. So, what are your thoughts on the track here at Spa? What’s your favorite corner?
Mikkel:
I think for everyone, it’s Eau Rouge. It’s the same for me. It’s always nice going up there. And yeah, it’s probably, I would say, on my top three list of my favorite tracks. So yeah, I’m never unhappy coming here.
European Le Mans Series will be doing a practice and qualifying tomorrow Saturday, while the Michelin Le Mans Cup will do both qualifying and race. LMC can be viewed for free from 15.18 CET at plus.fiawec.com, while the ELMS race will be on the same platform on Sunday from 12.20.
