The second round of the 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup France season lived up to all its promises at Paul Ricard. The star of the Barcelona weekend, Alessandro Ghiretti, immediately set the tone in qualifying. By a margin of 26 thousandths of a second, the Schumacher CLRT driver claimed both pole positions. On Saturday afternoon, the Junior Porsche Motorsport 2024 took advantage of its grid position to win Race 1. Despite having to deal with a safety car restart caused by Louis Perrot (CLRT Schumacher) rolling over, and having to give his rivals an important tow on the Mistral’s interminable straight, the championship leader triumphed for the third time in a row. Mathys Jaubert (Martinet by Alméras) finished second. The top-3 was completed by a rookie! Marcus Amand (Schumacher CLRT), eighth at the start, took the overall podium on his third PCCF start after a smart and well-managed race. The former single-seater driver also won his class ahead of Paul Cauhaupé (Schumacher CLRT) and the young Belgian Kobe Pauwels (SpeedLover), who was a guest driver at this second round of the championship. The latter took advantage of the disqualification of Victor Bernier (Martinet by Alméras) for failing to comply with the tyre regulations.
Once again side by side on the front row in race 2, Alessandro Ghiretti and Mathys Jaubert went head to head on the track. At the early stages of the race, the PCCF 2023 Junior got the better of his rival in the final bend. The two then engaged in a constant battle, with the Schumacher CLRT driver constantly attacking to push the leader into error. A little too aggressive, he went off the track several times and was given a five-second penalty. Warned by his team, Mathys Jaubert gave the lead back to his runner-up and then followed his pace to stay in the right window. It was a strategy that paid off, as it enabled the Martinet by Alméras driver to claim his first win in the category. After 3 podium finishes this year, without ever reaching the top step, last season’s PCCF Junior finally heard the Marseillaise ring out in his honour. Philippe Alméras’ men even scored a one-two thanks to a fine performance from Victor Bernier. Battling throughout the race with Paul Cauhaupé and Benjamin Paque (TFT Racing), the N°17 also discovered the joys of a first overall podium. At the same time, he claimed a third rookie victory ahead of Marcus Amand and Kobe Pauwels.
In Pro-Am, the most consistent driver is Jérémie Lesoudier. Although he didn’t win, the TFT Racing driver finished second twice. The other entrants had mixed fortunes. Marc Guillot (ABM) and Jérôme Boullery (Racing Technology) won one race and retired from the other, both due to radiator failure. Eric Debard dominated the Am category. Pole positions went to Cyril Caillo (Racing Technology) but the Debard Automobiles by Racetivity driver won both races, his first victories in the championship. Jean-Philippe Gambaro (Schumacher CLRT), Jordan Boisson (TFT Racing) and Cyril Caillo took it in turns to finish in the top-3.
After the South of France, the PCCF paddock will be in the Belgian Ardennes, at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit from 21 to 23 June.