After a unique meeting in the magnificent setting of the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans last June, the Porsche Carrera Cup France drivers headed for the Red Bull Ring in Austria this weekend for the fourth stage of the season. A first on this circuit for the PCCF! Winner of the weekend’s two races, Marvin Klein (TFT Racing) got off to a perfect start.
Appreciated for its gradient and fast sections, the Red Bull Ring is an ideal track for exploiting all the qualities of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 992. Competitors were soon to discover this in free practice, where everyone tried to fine-tune their set-up for qualifying. Forestier Racing CLRT dominated the session, with Dorian Boccolacci ahead of Benjamin Paque. But both were downgraded for technical non-conformity, so Marvin Klein (TFT Racing) and Louis Perrot (IMSA LS Group Performance) inherited the front row of the grid for both races.
Reactive at the start of the first heat, Marvin Klein positioned himself ideally at the entrance to the first bend to counter Louis Perrot’s ambitions. Unburdened by his rival’s pressure, Klein made the most of the track to claim his third win of the season. Dorian Boccolacci had already made a spectacular comeback last July in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, held on the same circuit. On Saturday, he started from twenty-fifth position and showed all his determination and sense of attack to finish Race 1 in second place – a fine birthday present for his 25th birthday!
Alessandro Ghiretti (Martinet by Alméras), who had arrived in Austria as provisional championship leader, joined Klein and Boccolacci on the podium. “A lonely Jérémy Sarhy (Racing Technology) took fourth place under the chequered flag, ahead of Benjamin Paque, who also made a fine comeback to win the Rookie category. In the Pro-Am class, Jérôme Boullery (Racing Technology) lived up to his status as title-holder, winning ahead of Marc Guillot (Herrero Racing) and Sébastien Dussolliet (ABM). Sébastien Poisson (ABM) confirmed his good qualifying session with a third AM win of the season, ahead of team-mate Karim Ajlani and Ludovic Loeul (Porsche Lorient Racing).
On Sunday, Marvin Klein took advantage of his pole position, as he had done the day before, to get off to the best start and dominate the race from start to finish, regularly distancing his pursuers. Alessandro Ghiretti, who had an incisive start at lights-out, dislodged Louis Perrot from second place, before putting the pressure on Klein. Second at the chequered flag, the Martinet by Alméras driver nonetheless scored important points in the fight for the title, which once again promises to be particularly tight at the end of the season. Louis Perrot, the former Simracer driver, was able to savour the joy of a first podium finish in Porsche Carrera Cup France, thanks to a fine display of speed throughout the weekend.
Determined to make the same comeback as in the inaugural race, Dorian Boccolacci made another series of overtakes to cross the finish line in fourth place. And it was Jérémy Sarhy who completed the Top 5. Seventh behind guest driver Artem Slutskii (Target Compétition), Benjamin Paque once again won the Rookie classification.
Marc Guillot, winner of the Pro-Am class, took back a few points from Jérôme Boullery, while Christophe Lapierre (Martinet by Alméras) returned to the podium after finishing sixth the previous day. Sébastien Poisson finally made an impact in the Am with another victory ahead of Karim Ajlani, who came close to a correctional penalty with an on-track collision. Ludovic Loeul proved his consistency with another third place in class.
The first appearance of the Porsche Carrera Cup France on the Red Bull Ring in Austria lived up to all its promises, with some particularly hotly contested races. Drivers and teams now have a few days in which to analyze the return to action, before heading to Monza (Italy), the famous temple of speed, from September 22 to 24, for the penultimate stretch of this exciting season!