Torsten Kratz / Leonard Weiss finish fifth in the Michelin Le Mans Cup in Monza. Reiter Engineering and Frikadelli Racing also in the top ten in the LMP3 series. Nielsen Racing unlucky with both cars.
Last weekend, the eyes of the LMP3 scene were on Monza, as the Formula 1 circuit hosted the first round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup since the season highlight in Le Mans in glorious summer temperatures. Four teams and six drivers from the Prototype Cup Germany were in action, and claimed a number of top-ten finishes. The best of the bunch in qualifying were the pairing of Freddie Hunt / Mads Siljehaug in the Reiter Engineering Ligier, who secured pole position. In the race, Torsten Kratz and Leonard Weiss impressed in the Duqueine of WTM Racing, finishing as the best-placed duo from the Prototype Cup Germany in fifth place.
Qualifying developed into a battle for pole position between Jerome de Sadeleer and Hunt, with the Brit eventually prevailing. Hunt’s fastest lap was 0.465 seconds faster than that of his Swiss rival in second place. WTM Racing’s Kratz / Weiss and Anthony Wells / Colin Noble of Nielsen Racing ensured the second row of the grid was occupied solely by teams from the Prototype Cup Germany.
The 110-minute race was to be a turbulent affair, with two safety cars and six full course yellows. Hunt initially took the lead. However, the safety car then made its first appearance shortly after the start, when Jon Brownson ended up in the gravel in his Duqueine. After the restart, Hund was unable to hold onto the lead for long, as a mistake in turn one allowed his rival de Sadeleer to pass him and move to the front of the field. Again, the action on the track was brief, as a collision between Andres Latorre and Stephan Rupp brought the safety car into action again. After a short while, the racing resumed with de Sadeleer, Hunt, Kratz and Wells leading the way in that order.
Once all the pit stops and driver changeovers had been completed, Reiter driver Siljehaug found himself in the lead – but not for long. A drive-through penalty for changing the steering wheel immediately before the start saw the Norwegian fall back to eighth place.
The last of six full course yellows ended with two minutes remaining, which made for a thrilling sprint to the finish. Weiss was taken by surprise by Josh Skelton and consequently lost his spot on the podium. A little later, Charles Milesi also found a way past the German, who ultimately crossed the finish line in fifth place. He ended the race one position ahead of the Reiter duo of Hunt / Siljehaug.
The Frikadelli Racing team, which will make a guest start in the Prototype Cup Germany at the Nürburgring, also made it into the top ten. Klaus Abbelen and Felipe Laser fought back superbly from 20th on the grid to finish tenth – the first top-ten result in the 2022 Michelin Le Mans Cup for Frikadelli Racing. It was a less pleasing weekend for Nielsen Racing, who finished 25th (John Melsom / Matthew Bell) and 31st (Wells / Noble) in the combined field of LMP3 and GT3 cars. James Winslow, at the wheel of a Duqueine for DKR Engineering, also had to settle for 33rd place, 39 laps behind the winners. The Britt races in the colours of Inter Europol Competition in the Prototype Cup Germany.
