Pista – WTM BY RINALDI RACING AND KESSEL RACING WIN DRAMATIC RACE AT LE MANS
The open race of the Road To Le Mans weekend was won by the no12 WTM by Rinaldi Racing Duqueine of Torsten Kratz and Leo Weiss after the race was neutralised following the no9 Graff Ligier of Louis Rossi hitting the barriers on the run into Indianapolis. The driver was OK, but the barrier was badly damaged and the race was red flagged.
The drama began even before the race got underway when the no34 Inter Europol Competition Ligier of reigning Asian Le Mans Series LMP3 champion Alex Bukhantsov pulled to the side of the track with the rear left tyre assembly missing after it detached in a shower of bodywork.The Race Director called for a third formation lap to allow time for the car and debris to be recovered.
When the cars were released the no12 Duqueine driven by Torsten Kratz quickly moved from 4thon the grid into the lead passing the two COOL Racing Ligiers ahead of him.Audunn Gudmundsson also made good progress in the no77 Team Thor Ligier, moving up to 3rdplace behind Adrien Chila in the no97 COOL Racing Ligier as the no87 Ligier dropped down the order with damage and a leaking radiator.
In GT3 the no12 Kessel Racing Ferrari driven by David Cleto Fumanelli also made a good start to move quickly into the class lead from 3rdon the grid passing the pole sitting no95 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin driven by Derek Deboer and his Kessel Racing teammate Andrew Gilbert in the no74 Ferrari.
The no50 Reiter Engineering Ligier of Horst Felbermayr spun off into the gravel at the second chicane, while the no42 Steller Motorsport Ligier of Sennan Fielding went off in a separate incident. After initially declaring a Slow Zone, this was quickly upgraded to a Safety Car to recover several cars and repair some damage to the barriers.
The Safety Car stayed out for 23 minutes, with all the cars coming into the pits to conduct the mandatory pitstops.This put the no82 AF Corse Ferrari of Emmanuel Collard into the lead ahead of the two Blackthorn Aston Martins, with the no90 Vantage of Lorcan Hanafin in second place.
The race went green with just under 18 minutes remaining on the clock with the no12 WTM by Rinaldi Racing Duqueine driven by Leo Weiss quickly making his way back up into the overall lead.However, the no9 Graff Ligier of Louis Rossi impacted the barrier heavily, badly damaging his car and the barrier.With debris all across the track and the Armco barrier just twisted metal, the race was red flagged.
The result was declared with the order on the lap just before the Safety Car, which put the no12 WTM by Rinaldi Duqueine and the no12 Kessel Racing Ferrari as the winners of the opening round of the 2024 Road To Le Mans.
