It is time for championship weekend! It is the finale of the 2022 season for the Le Mans Cup here on the Algarve in Portimao, Portugal. The LMP3 and GT3 contenders will surely be making big moves as everything is on the line in today's race as well as in the European Le Mans Series finale which you can also read about here on the blog, soon. The finale of Le Mans Cup, 2022, is next! The LMP3 title has been decided. But, that does not mean all is settled. No, the GT3 crown is indeed up for grabs here on the Algarve. David Droux and Graff Racing want to end this season in 2022 on a positive note, headed into 2023, which, I might add, is now only a few weeks away. Stay tuned, because you will eventually hear all about Le Mans Cup 2023 on the blog, when yours truly has time to talk about it.
David Droux expects to do as well as the team did at Spa last time out. Overtaking here at Portimao is going to be a difficult proposition. John Melsom reflects on his first season driving an LMP3 car as a difficult one but says that it has been a fabulous experience working alongside co-driver Matt Bell who has a bunch of experience in these Nissan V8 powered LMP3 cars. Of course, these cars are really universal as many major worldwide sports car championships have adopted a class for them. John Melsom says he will be back and they want to get on the podium before 2022 ends. Japanese driver Kei Cozzolino is very excited about this finale and has been absolutely thrilled to race a Ferrari on all the fantastic circuits visited by the Le Mans Cup championship over the course of the 2022 season.
Garnett Patterson, the Australian driving for United Autosport says the track at Portimao has a lot of everything including bumps. There are good corners for the aerodynamics of these prototype racers as well as good low speed turns. The weather is also good. A massive field of cars, and this could be the most competitive LMP3 championship in the world. In the GT3 ranks, the championship could and should very likely go to GMB Motorsports with one of their three Honda NSX GT3's. That said, Bullitt Racing are doing all that is in their power to earn a top three result here at Portimao with their Aston Martin with Stephen Pattrick from England and with Frenchman Valentin Hasse-Clot.
Pattrick is talking about his racing career and saying to the crew, I will have fun out in the car. He explains, "I was driving a GT4 and we were looking to get into the GT3 ranks. So, we saw the Michelin Le Mans Cup as a great opportunity for us to transition over to GT3. There are great tracks, and the opportunity to race at Le Mans was incredible! It is so good for amateur drivers and good for young Silver-rated drivers who want to get into GT3. It is a great steppingstone. My teammate said "you're not enjoying it." Pattrick replied, "yes, I am enjoying it."
A great thing about being in racing and in the Le Mans Cup, a gentleman driver has to learn and struggle a bit to succeed. Pattrick is discussing the handling of the Aston Martin with the crew. His crew chief asks "how was the car setup?" Pattrick replies, "brilliant. Well, good." The crew chief nods understandingly saying, "that's good." His crew chief points out he was compromising his braking in at least one corner on the circuit. He knew he was trying to not compromise his exit. But his co-driver, the more experienced Valentin Hasse-Clot tells him, "wait, and get on full throttle once the car is rotated."
"In your very last lap you came back a little bit at the entry but gained maybe twenty meters at the exit. Five tenths." Simon Pattrick is amazed, replying "wow". The conversation continues. "You not only gained in this corner but also because you corrected two corners before." The car is far more drivable and Simon Pattrick is looking forward to this race and finishing on the podium. That would be a great way to round out the 2022 season in Michelin Le Mans Cup. Racing Spirit of Leman has clinched the overall 2022 Le Mans Cup title in LMP3 and did so at the previous race at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium. However, the battle for runner up is still on with runner up in the championship yet to be claimed.
The battle will be on in earnest one but it appears MV2S and the team of Jerome de Sadeleer and Louis Rousset, they could be in the pound seats. We had a conversation and a Q&A with the two MV2S drivers. Let's see what they had to say. Question one. What is your favorite circuit? Jerome de Sadeleer's favorite has to be Spa Francorchamps as it is such a historical track and so many of the turns are flat out and on the limit. For Louis Rousset, it Magny Cours. Louis Rousset says his everyday car is a Toyota Yaris. It is not a supercar. Louis Rousset on the other hand drives a Ferrari GTC Lusso, a classic touring coupe built by Ferrari.
What is your dream car? Jerome de Sadeleer's is a Ferrari Enzo, while Louis Rousset's favorite is the Porsche Carrera GT. A couple fabulous choices, gentlemen. Pole position or fastest lap? Which would you rather have? Oh boy! This is a spot on question! Both drivers agree pole position is more rewarding, definitely. Who has been your best teammate? Now, this one could provide us with some varied and fascinating answers. They are both their favorite teammate. Jerome and Louis have only been teammates this year and both think highly of each other. That can happen in sports car racing where if you race alongside another driver long enough, things can begin to gel instantly.
One word to describe your teammate. This one is going to elicit a laugh or two, definitely. For Louis about Jerome, very quick. On the other hand, Jerome considers Louis a true friend. So, there you go. I mentioned that whole idea of a duo beginning to gel and it is evident at MV2S Forestier Racing in LMP3 in the Le Mans Cup as we look ahead to the finale of 2022. Bronze or Silver? This question I think is about driver ratings. Bronze is the answer for the both of them. Jerome says he hopes to stay at the Bronze level. Who is your role model in motor racing? For Jerome, it is Michael Schumacher, having speed and talent, but also building a team around him as Schumacher did in his years at Ferrari in Formula 1. That is the way you win races is building a team around who you are as a driver.
For Louis Rousset, he references actor Sylvester Stallone and particularly "Rocky". Zidane or Federer? This is sports heroes now, looking at football (soccer) and tennis. Since Jerome de Sadeleer is Swiss, he has to go with Roger Federer, the most legendary tennis player in the whole world. He seems to be a nice guy as well. For Louis Rousset, it is the footballer, Zinedine Zidane. He won everything as a player. Cross country or ice racing? A couple other motorsports disciplines. Which one of these is preferable to you? For Louis Rousset it is ice racing since he has that background, and ironically, because Jerome de Sadeleer drove in the 2022 Dakar Rally, it is the cross country rallies that he enjoys driving the most outside of circuit racing.
He drove a buggy. Absolute racing dream? Louis Rousset says obviously the 24 Hours of Le Mans would be it. Le Mans is also the goal for Jerome de Sadeleer. He says he can quit racing if he finishes on a Pro-Am podium at the 24 hours, but people just don't believe him when he says it. OK. It is time to get suited and booted for the finale of 2022 in Le Mans Cup. It is time to go racing at Portimao. On the pole in LMP3 it is Torsten Kratz for WTM Racing in their #11 Ligier JS P320 Nissan he shares with Leonard Weiss. The full team name of course is Wochenspiegel Team Monschau. Top of the shop in GT3 is GMB Motorsport with Krisitan Poulsen for GMB Motorsport in the #55 Honda NSX GT3 Evo22. He is sharing the car with Kasper H. Jensen. It is time to go racing.
Torsten Kratz leads the field from the pole with Alexander Matschull at his elbow on the front row. Perfect conditions for racing here in Portimao. Racing Spirit of Leman are the LMP3 champions for 2022 in Le Mans Cup, so it is all about bragging rights in the finale. Freddie Hunt is third on the grid and as we get started and the red lights are extinguished, we've got trouble already at the back of the pack! Jon Brownson has locked up the brakes right at the start in the #3 DKR Engineering Duqueine M30 - D08 he is sharing with Laurents Horr of Germany. Torsten Kratz leads down the hill into turn one for the first time of asking. He just pokes his nose in front and another car locks up and runs wide over the curbs.
We are trying to decipher which car it is and who is driving. Three abreast right at the start of this race and now they spread out into double wide Noah's Ark formation, similar to how the race started moments ago. Freddie Hunt has rocketed up to second place just ahead of Alexander Matschull as we start this 2022 season finale for Le Mans Cup. Matschull in a battle of his own with the #29 MV2S Forestier Racing Ligier, and that is the Swiss driver Jerome de Sadeleer who was interviewed with his team mate, Frenchman Louis Rousset, just before the race this afternoon. Three wide into the first corner starting another lap through Primeiera corner. A battle is afoot for second spot in GT3 as P.J. Hyett is chasing Jens Reno Moller.
Hyett the American businessman and racing driver aboard the #8 Schnitzelalm Racing Mercedes AMG GT3. Hyett sharing with his driving coach, fellow American, and sports car racing veteran Gunnar Jeanette. Jens Reno Moller in the first of the GMB Motorsports Honda NSX GT3's, car #44 that he shares with fellow Danish driver Gustav Birch. Of course all three cars on that team piloted by Danish drivers for an all-Danish team. Someone off the road at the top of the hill! Jonathan Brossard has had a speedy spin at the top of the hill, and is now spinning downhill trailing grass or gravel behind the car. That might just be very dry grass. I think poor old Brossard will be stuck in the mud and have to wait for a tow from the tractor or a snatch vehicle.
Freddie Hunt in second place has a mirror full of the battle between Alexander Matschull and Jerome de Sadeleer. de Sadeleer is doing all he can to get by. Matschull on the inside at the hairpin. These LMP3 cars are very evenly matched. We have seen it on the IMSA circuit as well in both the WeatherTech Championship and the new 2023 VP SportsCar Challenge series. Same chassis, engine, and tires. The difference is made with driving skill and experience in the LMP3 class. That is for sure. Alexander Matschull hanging on by his fingernails, and now, he might get a reprieve because the safety car has been dispatched onto the road.
Let's have a Captain Cook again, at the start of this race. Watch the white LMP3 car on the second row of the grid. That is Freddie Hunt. We have mentioned him a lot, the son of the late, great Formula 1 World Champion from 1976, James Hunt, who drove for McLaren among other teams such as Hesketh I believe. Freddie Hunt threads the needle and makes a pass into turn one while it is three wide in the middle of the pack for fifth spot. Into the next corner, Jerome de Sadeleer dives inside of Alexander Matschull going for a pass. No dice. Matschull slams the door in de Sadeleer's face and keeps the third position for the time being.
As we saw, the GT3 cars were scattering every which way through the preceding right hand corner. We go back to green with just about 11 minutes on the board and Torsten Kratz leads the motor race. Incidentally, just like most of the races we have seen this season, the finale here at Portimao is slated for an hour and 50 minutes duration. Torsten Kratz leads but Freddie Hunt is going to go for it down the outside! Oh dear! This is ugly! Kratz is slow! Hunt is slow, and another LMP3 spears right off the road and... smash! Into the barrier he goes! That is de Sadeleer! He has destroyed the front end of that MV2S Ligier with the yellow flags waving frantically!
It is game over for Jerome de Sadeleer, surely! Cars are off the road everywhere as the safety car is dispatched! Calamity and catastrophe here at Portimao! Lots of drivers have hit the debris scattered all over the road and thankfully no one else has hit de Sadeleer's half destroyed race car! That is a blind brow out of the final corner before the front straightaway out of turn 15, Galp corner. This could very well see a red flag. We are obviously very concerned about Jerome de Sadeleer. It is indeed a red flag. This motor race will be stopped immediately!
Massive drama. Torsten Kratz and Freddie Hunt just stopped dead and then, Jerome de Sadeleer cannoned into the wall! Boom! de Sadeleer and everyone else really fortunate that his car spun towards the wall. That race car is totally destroyed. He was extricated from the wreckage by the safety crew and taken for a checkup to the medical center. Torsten Kratz and Freddie Hunt saw the yellow flags and slowed down while everyone else in LMP3 and GT3 alike nearly had no place to go. The team at MV2S Forestier tell us Jerome de Sadeleer is conscious. However, the team boss Fabien Lavergne points out de Sadeleer is dealing with a lot of back pain.
That makes sense becuase he was hit right up the back and the shock of the impact went through his back and his spine, so he felt that one I am sure. Back pain is his major concern as the medics at the hospital are treating him now. The clock continues to tick in this hour and 50-minute race. We are waiting to see what shall be done about a restart procedure. We are going to have a limited amount of time. We are actually going to restart the race with just over half an hour left. So, this is going to be a sprint to the finish for Le Man Cup 2022.
Sorry we could not give you more racing action, but with the nature of that massive accident for Freddie Hunt and Jerome de Sadeleer, the marshals and safety personnel for Le Mans Cup wisely took no chances. We have the rolling restart and the GT3 title is still up for grabs. Uh oh. Speaking of GT3 and title contenders, we can see that Kristian Poulsen in the #55 GMB Motorsports Honda NSX GT3 is stopped on the road. He stalled the car at pit out. The safety car returns to the lane and the green flag is out. We are back underway to finish this abbreviated, truncated finale for Le Mans Cup in 2022. Actually, check that. The safety car remains on the circuit and teams can pit for driver changes in order to get a second stint for this race as most drivers with the exception of Stephane Richelmi in the returning H24 hydrogen racer, are duos. Richelmi is driving the hydrogen racer, Marco Solo.
LMP3 cars are pitting with just 25 minutes now on the board as we look at the standings in GT3. Here is the top seven in class.
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