24h Le Mans
Torsten Kratz/Leonard Weiss won Race 1 of the 2024 Road to Le Mans, and Mattia Michelotto claimed the top step on the podium in the Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo.
COOL Racing dominated the front row of the grid at Race 1. James Sweetnam started in P1, but quickly lost ground before throwing in the towel for good at the end of the second lap. Torsten Kratz in Rinaldi Racing's #22 Duqueine M30-D08 grabbed the reins heading into the first Mulsanne Straight chicane, but several incidents, including one for French driver Sylvain Guintoli, caused the deployment of the safety car.
A handful of competitors anticipated the mandatory pit stop and found themselves at the top of their respective categories at the relaunch. Emmanuel Collard in AF Corse's #82 Ferrari 296 GT3 even wound up trailed by the leader in the superior category, Pengcheng Ye in DKR Engineering's #3 Duqueine M30-D08. Collard also had Blackthorn's two Aston Martins breathing down his neck as the field swallowed up Ye in the first braking zones. Leonard Weiss managed to slip into the lead right before the race was stopped when Louis Rossi's car was destroyed by contact with the safety rails. Fortunately, the 2012 French Grand Prix (Moto 3) winner was able to extricate himself from his prototype without help.
Road to Le Mans competitors will retake the track for Race 2 on Saturday 15 June at 10:35 (local time, GMT+2) ahead of the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans!
The favourite due to his status as championship leader, and pole-sitter in both races, Amaury Bonduel saw victory slip away during the first Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe race on Thursday despite having gotten off to a good start. He had already carved out a lead of 02:85 after the first lap. His closest rivals, namely Sebastian Balthasar in Leipert Motorsport's #70 and Mattia Michelotto in VSR's #6, took their mandatory pit stops in lap 5, but Bonduel pushed it another go-around.
But, at full speed between the two Mulsanne Straight chicanes, his Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 suffered a puncture at the left rear and was forced to stop. Largim Ali (second in the championship) in Target Racing's #9 briefly snatched the lead before taking his mandatory pit stop. Once all stops were completed, Jacob Riegel (who had taken over for Balthasar in the #6) moved into P1, and then in a shocking twist of fate fell victim to a flat tyre as well (also at full speed and at the left rear) with only 15 minutes to go in the race. Michelotto in VSR's #6 took the lead all the way to the chequered flag. The final podium: Oliver Söderström and Largim Ali (Target Racing;s #9), and Simon Tirman and Simon Gachet (Schumacher CLRT's #83).
