News release, October 05, 2020
After the Le Mans round, the upcoming three races at the Paul Ricard circuit, part of the French Circuits Championship, are certain to be yet another highlight of the 2020 Porsche Carrera Cup France season.
This third round on the PCCF calendar, after Magny-Cours and Le Mans, is crucial in determining who will secure a title in the championship. The mid-season mark will have been reached after these three Paul Ricard races. Drivers and teams are well aware of the importance of a good performance with the 911 GT3 Cup car on this track, namely at the Courbe de Signes and Double Droite du Beausset. These are only two of the turns that make the Le Castellet circuit one of the most beautiful and challenging in France.
In the wake of his second win of the season, Ayhancan Güven (Martinet by Alméras) is well on his way to a third consecutive championship title, though Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer (BWT Lechner Racing) is currently leading by seven points. The 19-year-old Frenchman has made remarkable progress since his first Porsche Carrera Cup France in 2018, with fourth place as best result that year. This season, Simmenauer has reached the podium at every round and is looking forward to his first overall win. To achieve that goal, he will need to triumph over drivers like Florian Latorre (CLRT), who had a difficult race at Le Mans despite scoring the pole, Jaxon Evans (BWT Lechner Racing), pushed off-track at Le Mans, and Marvin Klein (Martinet by Alméras) who has also suffered his share of setbacks this year (flat tyre at Magny-Cours, penalty at Le Mans). Adam Eteki (CLRT), the 2019 Junior Porsche Carrera Cup France winner, will be keen to capitalize on his recent performance at the Le Mans round.
Twenty-three drivers will hit the track at the Paul Ricard circuit, including Clément Mateu (Pierre Martinet by Alméras) in Pro-Am. Two-time defending champion Nicolas Misslin (BWT Lechner Racing) is still chasing his first win of the season in this category with a three-way battle against Christophe Lapierre (Sébastien Loeb Racing) and Sylvain Noël (Racing Technology) clearly on the horizon. Eclectic driver Steve Brooks (CLRT) will finally participate in Am, currently led by Emil Caumes (CLRT), though Maxence Maurice (IMSA Performance) proved particularly adept at navigating very difficult weather conditions at the Le Mans round.
See you this Saturday, October 3 at 10:40 for the 30-minute qualifying session. The races are scheduled for Saturday (15:55-16:25) and Sunday (10:15-10:45 and 15:25-15:55), and every competitor is ready to unleash his 485 horses on the Mistral straight!