Ireland’s Charlie Eastwood has enjoyed plenty of success in Le Mans Prototypes over the years winning the ELMS LMP2 Pro/Am title in 2022 and the Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 drivers crown in 2023.
This season Eastwood has switched back to GTs with TF Sport and Corvette.However, this isn’t a new chapter in the 29-year-olds racing career, rather a resumption of the path that saw him finish the 2020 FIA WEC season as LMGTE Am Vice Champion and GT World Challenge Pro/Am champion in 2019.
A difficult start to the ELMS season in Barcelona and Le Castellet came good in Round 3 in Imola. Eastwood, along with teammates Rui Andrade and Hiroshi Koizumi, stood on the top step of the ELMS podium for the first time since 2023, marking a historic first ELMS win for Corvette.
As the next race in Belgium is less than a month away, we caught up with Charlie Eastwood to discuss the first half of the season and his hopes for the final three races at Spa-Francorchamps, Silverstone and Portimao.
Q1: The win in Imola was the first ever for Corvette in the ELMS.How did it feel returning to the top step of the ELMS podium for the first time since Le Castellet 2023 (LMP2 Pro/Am) and what did it mean to do it in a Corvette with TF Sport?
Charlie Eastwood: “It meant a lot. It's my first year in GT3 in the ELMS as I've only ever done ELMS in LMP2 for three years. So, it's quite a different dynamic from the LMP2 class to the GT3 class. Ultimately, it hasn't been the easiest of starts of the year, but we knew we were executing some really solid races, and once we had a bit more pace, we'd be right in the hunt.
“Like any ELMS race, it was a bit chaotic, a lot of mistakes and crashes throughout the field, and we just put a solid race together.
“It means a lot to get firstly, my first Corvette win since joining at the start of 2024 and then the first in the ELMS is another great stepping stone and hopefully the start of a certain momentum shift until the end of the year.”
Q2: The first two races in Barcelona and Le Castellet were challenging to say the least, with a 6th in Spain and a DNF in France. What happened in those races and what were the positives that you and the team took away that resulted in the win in Italy?
CE: “It was a tricky start, for sure.In Spain, we just ultimately didn't have the pace of the others. We were very good on tyre degradation, as we normally are, but lost too much at the start of the stints. We actually put a solid race together, but we just didn't have the pace to go forward.
“It was a similar story in Paul Ricard, but it was heightened by having a DNF with 10 minutes to go. But ultimately, we were still only P7 with not enough pace.
“The positives that we took were that both, you know, Hiro and Rui in their categories were really strong versus the pace of the car, and we knew if we got a little bit more pace, we would have the chance to win, or at least fight for a podium position. We showed that once we were in the hunt in terms of pace in Imola. So hopefully that place stays with us.”
Q3: The win in Imola puts you second in the championship just six points off the leader. The LMGT3 category this season is super competitive, what are your thoughts on the opposition this season?
CE: “ELMS is a strange one. It always seems that the points tally throughout the year is never that high. I think it's predominantly based on even though they're only four hour events, they seem very chaotic with the multi class racing, and it’s hard to stay out of trouble and not have damage.
“I think that shows, that after one win, a DNF and a P6, we're back in the championship in P2. We saw that last year also, I believe there were six cars that went into the last race with the chance to win the championship.I believe the average finishing position was around P4 throughout the year consistently that actually helped you win the championship.
“So, from our side, we're just trying to get solid races and make no mistakes. I think it's letting everyone else make the mistakes, both in pit lane and on track with the LMP3 and LMP2 traffic and staying out of that trouble.
“It's amazing to be P2 in the championship and I think the momentum is with us now that we can keep pushing on. I've no doubt we can win every race until the end of the year.”
Q4: Looking ahead to the next race in Belgium. What are your thoughts on the track, and do you have a favourite corner or sequence?
CE: “Spa, it’s pretty cliche, but it is my favourite track in the world. Of course, Eau Rouge is a very famous corner, but for me, it's actually the whole lap; it is the nice bit about driving Spa. You have every speed range, all different types of twists and turns. And there's something very satisfying about braking late into the last Bus Stop chicane and finishing a very strong lap.
“So I think actually, this sequence, for me is from T5, Les Combes. Once you feel like you've got the grip there, then you can really push on for the rest of the middle sector and put a strong lap together.”
Q5: What would you consider to be a good result for you and the team in Spa?
CE: “I want to win every race from this point onwards. We showed it in Imola that all three drivers and the car is super strong, and I think sitting on the grid, I feel we've got the best chance of any to put some really solid races together, and having TF Sport behind us through have so much success in every championship, but also mostly ELMS. They’re great with the strategy calls and managing the race. Then it's up to the drivers to put some solid stints together.
“So, I want to win again in Spa, and I want to win every race after that. It may be a little bit naive, but I feel it's definitely possible and most certainly the plan.”
