After Barcelona and Magny-Cours, the drivers of the Porsche Carrera Cup France met at Le Mans to contest “THE” race of the year on the Sarthe circuit, as part of the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a not-to-be-missed event for a brand celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.
Second in the provisional Porsche Carrera Cup France standings with victory in Race 1 at Magny-Cours, Dorian Boccolacci (Forestier Racing CLRT) was looking forward to racing on the legendary Le Mans circuit. After free practice to familiarize himself with the Sarthe track, Boccolacci set an exceptional time with a good strategy that enabled him to start from pole position. At 0’817, Marvin Klein (TFT Racing) was also on the front row of a starting grid comprising 63 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 992 cars.
On Saturday morning, tensions were running high as the only race on the calendar got underway. Starting from pole position, Dorian Boccolacci (Forestier Racing CLRT) maintained his advantage before being trapped in the confusion on the restart after a “Slow Zone” at the halfway point. Marvin Klein (TFT Racing) took the lead ahead of Alessandro Ghiretti (Martinet by Alméras). Everyone was looking for a way to gain a place, whether it was by taking suction or delaying braking.
At the end of an intense race, Klein pulled off a very good operation, winning this fifth race of the season for Porsche Carrera Cup France ahead of Boccolacci, who managed to get the last word on Ghiretti after an intense duel. The latter could breathe a sigh of relief after a scare in the race.
Winner of the Porsche Supercup 2022, Dylan Pereira (Mtech Competition), ranked outside the championship, couldn’t miss this exceptional race. The Luxembourger put his experience to good use and took overall victory.
Mathys Jaubert (TFT Racing), Junior Porsche Carrera Cup France 2023, had a great race, finishing fifth overall, in addition to his “Rookie” victory. Louis Rousset (CLRT) and Benjamin Paque (CLRT) completed the podium reserved for novices to the discipline.
The race was also very lively in the Pro-Am category. Ryan Ratcliffe (Team Parker Racing) was the winner of the Sarthe stopover, while Christophe Lapierre (Martinet by Alméras) won the category as part of the Porsche Carrera Cup France. Jérôme Boullery (Racing Technology) and Maxence Maurice (IMSA LS Group Performance) joined Lapierre on the Pro-Am podium. In the Am category, Jean-Philippe Gambaro (CLRT) won ahead of Julien Fébreau (Martinet by Alméras), both guest drivers, and Ludovic Loeul (Porsche Lorient Racing).
The event of the year lived up to all its promises, with a high-flying race on all levels. The drivers will now take advantage of the summer break before returning to a F1 standard from September 8 to 10, for the fourth round of the season at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.