24H Series: Dream day in the south of France
SWISS VICTORY Like last time at Mugello, Daniel Allemann and the German Herberth Porsche team celebrated overall victory at the 12H Paul Ricard. In the TCR class, Autorama Motorsport managed an almost unexpected double victory. The Porsche 911 GT3 R from Herberth Motorsport with the fast twins Alfred and Robert Renauer as well as Ralf Bohn and Daniel Allemann from Solothurn started [...]
Herberth Motorsport's Porsche 911 GT3 R with the fast twins Alfred and Robert Renauer as well as Ralf Bohn and Daniel Allemann from Solothurn started from the front row alongside the Ferrari 488 GT3 of MiddleCap racing with Scuderia Praha. Although the German team dropped back to 4th place after the first pit stops, it benefited from the Code 60 phases shortly afterwards and captured the GT division lead.
Success site for the Bavarians
As a result, the Porsche and the Ferrari of the Czechs regularly alternated at the front until Herberth Motorsport was able to pull away somewhat with a few fast stints in the middle of the race.
After 315 laps on the 5.842-kilometer Circuit Paul Ricard, Ralf Bohn crossed the finish line as the winner, making the success perfect for Herberth Motorsport. This was the third time that the Bavarian team had won a 24H Series race at the Circuit Paul Ricard.
Early exit for Kessel Racing
The Ferrari 488 GT3 entered by Kessel Racing with four Italians and the second Herberth Porsche were involved in a collision with a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo from Italy on the first race lap. The left front suspension of the Kessel Ferrari was irreparably damaged.
Problems with the contenders for victory
In the touring car category consisting of six TCR and two TCX cars, Autorama Motorsport by Wolf-Power Racing secured the first two places, although title rival AC Motorsport seemed to be on its way to victory. At the start, the Audi RS3 LMS prevailed over the VW Golf GTi TCR of Fabian Danz, Marlon Menden, Rhys Lloyd and pole-setter Yannick Mettler, which had started from the front.
Two hours before the end of the race, the team from Belgium had a two-lap lead over the pursuers of the TCE field before problems with the left rear wheel resulted in two unscheduled pit stops. With victory in sight, the Audi team dropped back to third place as a result.
First win of the season and top of the table
During the opening phase, a Spanish Cupra team was also still ahead of the two Swiss cars. In a contact with a Porsche, the steering of the new Leon Competición TCR broke shortly before the halfway point, which meant that the Spaniards' chances of a front position were gone.
Thus, the team from Wetzikon, technically supported by Schwyzers, came to a happy but deserved success, the first in the current season. Internally, in the course of the half marathon, which ended at 10 p.m., the slightly faster car overall with start number #1 of Constantin Kletzer, Emil Heyerdahl, Jérôme Ogay and double starter Yannick Mettler prevailed over the sister car #112.
Both teams were on track with identical strategies and did not experience any technical or driving problems. After three rounds, the number one team also takes the lead of the standings in the 2021 24H Series for the first time.
The Bern-based TOPCAR sport team, which had won the Dubai 24 Hours with its Cupra TCR in January, was not on the grid, as it was at Mugello. Fabian Danz, who was part of the Dubai winning team, therefore finished second with the Zurich team.
Next stop in Hockenheim
The next endurance race will take place on May 22/23 with the Hankook 12H Hockenheimring. More information about the calendar of the 24H Series 2021 as well as points standings can be found under the following link.
