Things continue to go the same way for the Mercedes AMG GT3 #17 IDEC Sport, which didn’t make it to the finish for the third time in four races. The Porsche 991 Cup #75 finished second in its category.
Some mixed feelings this weekend for IDEC Sport after the Paul Ricard 24 hour race, the fourth meeting in the 24H Series, as the Mercedes AMG GT3 once again encountered mechanical problems and had to give up halfway through the race. On the other hand, the Porsche 991 Cup made it to the finish in eleventh place getting second place in the SP2 class.
The trio David Abramczyk, Stephane Adler and Romain Vozniak were back in the Porsche 991 Cup fir the second time and were only caught by Franck Leherpeur and Michael Blanchemain at the final moment.
The weekend got off to a good start for the Mercedes IDEC Sport driven by Patrice Lafargue, Paul Lafargue, Dimitri Enjalbert and Alban Varutti with a solid pace and a good all round crew. The drivers of car 17 qualified on the third line of the grid after completing a lap in 2:09.339 just 3.013 off pole position. In the Porsche #75 David Abramczyk, Stephane Adler, Romain Vozniak, Franck Leherpeur and Michael Blanchemain took seventeenth place just 0.635 off the best time in the SP2 category. An excellent performance!
The handovers went well for the Mercedes as they made their way up through the pack with the drivers moving up the rankings getting to second place. They looked forward to the podium and that was vital, as the crew of #17 would score a lot of points for the championship. But after just over twelve hours of racing, the duo Lafargue, Dimitri Enjalbert and Alban Varutti were forced to retire due to a technical problem. Unfortunately that was the third retirement in four races. The team rightly felt disappointed, as they found the right rhythm and the podium was within their reach. Less than two seconds separated the best time set by the winners from that of the Mercedes AMG IDEC Sport.
As for the Famous Five in the race in the Porsche, their performance menat they could put behind them their accident at the start of the season. #75 passed the chequered flag in 11th place getting second in the SP2 category.
The next race in the 24H Series will be in late June with the Imola 12-Hour race. Burt before that, Patrice Lafargue a nd Paul Lafargue will be back in the ELMS at Monza (14th May) with Olivier Pla, and the legendary Le Mas 24 Hr race with David Zollinger on the 17th and 18th June.
Don’t miss the news about IDEC Sport by downloading the app for Android: IDEC SPORT, or visiting the Facebook page: IDEC SPORT Racing. You can also find out more about Patrice Lafargue’s team on Twitter: @IDECSportRacing and Instagram : idecsport_racing_officiel17.
