24h Le Mans
Saturday morning at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is traditionally reserved for support races. This year, we were treated to two action-packed rounds of the Ferrari Challenge and the Porsche Cup.
The Ferrari Challenge saw 69 cars line up for a 35-minute race. When the lights went out, Thomas Neubauer (#6 Charles Pozzi GT Racing Ferrari), the polesitter and most high-profile driver, flew out in front. In barely one lap, he took a lead of over two seconds on Bence Valint (#86 Ferrari, Rossocorsa – Ferrari Budapest).
However, that lead was wiped out when the safety car was deployed following a dramatic accident between Mulsanne and Indianapolis involving Custodio Toledo (#288 Ferrari, The Collection) and Carl Cavers (#451 Ferrari, Graypaul Nottingham). The #288 car suffered a burst tyre, swerved and hit the #451. The barriers needed repair, but both drivers were fortunately unharmed.
The safety car left the track with just two minutes to go, so the race became a one-lap sprint. Once it had restarted, Valint was unable to catch up with Neubauer. The slow zone was still active at Mulsanne, forcing competitors to brake hard and causing contact among the cars in the pack. Neubauer ultimately clinched the win in the Trofeo Pirelli, the top class, just hours before taking the wheel of his JMW Motorsport Ferrari 488 GTE Evo for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Eliseo Donno (#19 Ferrari, Radicci Automobili) finished third.
In the Trofeo Pirelli-Am, Mathew Kurzejewski (#221 Ferrari, Ferrari Beverly Hills) was well ahead of the rest of his class. Manuela Gostner (#193 Ferrari, CDP – MP Racing), who competed in the 24 Hours in 2019 and 2020, triumphed in the Coppa Shell. In the Coppa Shell-Am, Martinus Richter (#111 Ferrari, MERTEL Motorsport) took the win.
Of all the races in this season’s Porsche Carrera Cup France (PCCF) and Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia (PCCS), the round contested on the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit is clearly the most prestigious and the most eagerly awaited by the drivers. Dorian Boccolacci (#98 Forestier Racing CLRT) started from pole position. and maintained the lead in the opening minutes of the race, breaking away alongside Marvin Klein (#1 TFT Racing) to build up a lead of 2.5 seconds over the pack chasing behind.
However, numerous incidents on track saw the introduction of slow zones at several points around the circuit, preventing the two drivers from getting any further ahead. Boccolacci got caught out at the end of a slow zone procedure and was overtaken by Klein, championship leader Alessandro Ghiretti (#22 Martinet by Alméras) and Dylan Pereira (#192 Mtech Competition).
There was a fierce wheel-to-wheel battle between the four drivers, reaching speeds of 300 kph on the Mulsanne Straight. Ghiretti pushed to take the lead with 15 minutes to go and moved in front after Mulsanne. He managed to transfer all the Cup’s power to the rear axle to move into the lead... but it all went wrong at Indianapolis, and he dropped back to fourth place. Pereira and Klein got caught in a tussle with five minutes to go and lost time, which was good news for Dorian Boccolacci, who pulled ahead. Going into the final lap, Pereira got ahead of Klein, Boccolacci and Ghiretti, and that order remained unchanged until the chequered flag. Dylan Pereira, the Porsche Supercup champion, hence pulled off a coup for his 26th birthday.
Benjamin Paque, leader among the rookies at the start, tripped up on the first run through the Daytona chicane. Doubtless over-motivated by the challenge, he was unable to contain his enthusiasm and slipped right down the rankings to finish last. In the end, Mathys Jaubert, fifth overall, won the Rookie category. There was victory, too, for Ryan Ratcliffe in Pro-Am (#924 Team Parker Racing). In the Am class, Jean-Philippe Gambaro (#912 Forestier Racing CLRT) won, with Julien Fébreau (#921 Pierre Martinet by Alméras) in second place.
