Sport

Wayne Boyd hopes to get his season with Tony Wells and Nielsen Racing back up and running

Boyd, from Belfast, moved to Nielsen Racing from team AWA after last season and hopes to repay the faith his new team put in him in the 24hrs of Le Mans race

Wayne Boyd's Nielsen Racing car driving at high-speed across a racetrack
The Antrim-based racer is looking forward to getting his season back on track at Le Mans. (SERGEY SAVRASOV)
By Dan James

WAYNE Boyd says the objective at the Michelin Le Mans Cup double-header at Circuit de la Sarthe on Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning is to get his season with Tony Wells “back on track”.

Boyd’s new team Nielsen Racing has been on the podium a total of four times at the French track, with his Bronze-graded co-driver Tony Wells helping the British squad to LMP3 success in 2021.

Wells has also visited the podium in 2019 and 2022 – on both occasions, he finished third overall.

Up until this point in the campaign, things have not gelled as quickly as the pair would have liked and they currently sit ninth in the standings following visits to Barcelona and Circuit Paul Ricard.

However, with Nielsen Racing enjoying a 50% win rate at Circuit de la Sarthe, Boyd is confident everything is in place to score big points in both 24 Hours of Le Mans support races this week.

“I always look forward to driving at Le Mans. It is obviously a very iconic track – by far the longest on the calendar – it always makes for an interesting race,” said the former LMP3 champion.

“Tony and I have great experience of the circuit, so the aim is to win and get our Championship back on track.

“So far, it has not been how we hoped it would be. We had zero pre-season testing through no fault of anyone – but it has most definitely put us on the back foot.

“However, our recovery drives in the races we have started so far have been mega, so there are plenty of positives,” he added.

“Overall, things in the team are good and I am confident we will hit the ground running during the first Free Practice session on Wednesday morning and then keep building towards the qualifying.”

Wayne Boyd's Nielsen Racing car driving at high-speed across a racetrack
Boyd and Well have not had the smoothest of starts to the season so far.

For the second year in a row, the Road To Le Mans event has attracted a maximum grid of 58 cars, with 40 LMP3s and 18 GT3s taking to the full eight-and-a-half-mile circuit south-west of Paris city.

The two 55-minute races takes place on Thursday at 5.30pm UK time and 9.35am on Saturday. Before that, there will be two Free Practice Sessions at 10.45am and 7.30pm on Wednesday, with Qualifying One and Qualifying Two scheduled for a start time of 9.30am and 10am on Thursday.

A total of 116 drivers and 35 teams, representing 23 different nations from all corners of the world, will compete in the ninth edition of the Road To Le Mans which first began back in 2016.