- Tyre problems affect the results of all three cars in 1000km Paul Ricard race
- #63 denied first podium of the year in final hour but manages P6
- Focus now turns to Spa 24 Hours preparation in July
Le Castellet (France), June 05th 2022
Emil Frey Racing was left to wonder what might have been after a series of punctures cost the team a near-certain podium finish in the second Endurance Cup round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe season, the 1000km of Le Castellet at Paul Ricard.
The #63 car of Mirko Bortolotti, Albert Costa Balboa and Jack Aitken took the chequered flag in sixth place at the end of the six-hour enduro, scant consolation after challenging for overall victory for the majority of the race.
For the other two cars, however, the disappointment was even greater as a tyre blow-out ended the hopes of Tuomas Tujula, Konsta Lappalainen and Stuart White in the #14, and a technical problem caused the #19 crew of Giacomo Altoè, Arthur Rougier and Léo Roussel to retire prematurely.
Practice
After heavy rain affected the morning’s bronze driver test, the team kicked off its weekend with free practice on a fully dry track and high ambient temperatures. Such was the competitiveness of the field, that the top 31 crews were split by just one second. Of the Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini Huracáns, the #63 of Bortolotti, Costa Balboa and Aitken was the highest placed in fifth, three-tenths of a second off the fastest time. The car had been as high as second overall, with the fastest first sector. The #14 of White, Lappalainen and Tujula was 18th quickest while the #19 of Rougier, Altoè and Roussel managed 20th, having run on used tyres throughout the session.
Pre-qualifying was used to focus on longer runs in preparation for the six-hour race, with the drivers reporting a good balance with the car and, in particular, the tyres. Having participated in the pre-season test at the same circuit in much cooler conditions, all three crews ended Friday satisfied with the pace.
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Saturday morning, with track and ambient temperatures the hottest they had been all weekend. The #63 managed the sixth-fastest time in the combined session, while the #14 qualified 11th after a superb effort from Tujula who was ninth overall in Q2. After losing a lap-time due to track limits in Q1 and Q2, the #19 improved to 17th on the grid for the race.
Saturday Summary
Race
The race began positively for the team as all three cars made progress following an early full course yellow period for opening lap contact involving a Mercedes, Audi and McLaren. Bortolotti took the #63 Huracán from sixth on the grid to the lead of the race within 14 laps, making a series of well-judged overtakes which included a superb dive down the inside of the Porsche at the final turn. The #19 also started strongly with Altoè at the wheel, while Lappalainen took the #14 car from 12th after the first lap to seventh before the first pit-stop. Unfortunately, for the #19, Altoè suffered a puncture at the high-speed Signes turn and did well to prevent an accident. Rougier then took over and was running inside the top 10 when he handed over to Roussel, but a technical problem forced the car into retirement. The #14 also encountered tyre problems, first with a slow puncture for Lappalainen which dropped him down to 18th and then a blow-out at Signes with Tujula at the wheel. The car spun several times before hitting the tyre barriers, thankfully at relatively slow speed.
The #63 remained in contention throughout the six hours and was a strong second after the first round of stops with Aitken challenging the Mercedes for the lead of the race before handing over to Costa Balboa. The #63 then consolidated third place, having elected to protect the tyres following the issues for the #14 and #19. Aitken completed his second stint, with Costa Balboa taking over entering the final hour when the #63 also suffered a puncture with 57 minutes left on the clock. Bortolotti drove the final stint but had to pit again to replace a rear light and finished sixth, despite a late safety car intervention.
Team Quotes
Lorenz Frey-Hilti, Team Principal
“Throughout practice and the pre-qualifying, things looked really promising for us, especially on the long runs and then in qualifying it was close as always. Ferrari was mega quick and was difficult to catch but otherwise, from all three cars we saw good pace. And then already after the start the pace was excellent. Mirko and Konsta both did a superb first stint! Then we suffered four punctures which is frustrating; we don’t understand why we had so many punctures because even when we sacrificed our pace a bit – the drivers took precautions on the kerbs, and we ran high pressures – we still faced these issues. So, this was sad as all three cars could have finished on top positions and the whole team did a great job all weekend.”
Jürg Flach, Technical Director
“We had very strong potential during qualifying on Saturday morning and the pace we saw in the race was also good from all three of our cars. Our strategy was the right one, the team did a great job, and we executed our race as best we could. Unfortunately, the circumstances were such that things out of our control affected our race, and we were unlucky with the rear light not working on the #63 car and then four punctures in total. But overall, we were happy with the performance and the improvements we have made since the first round of the season.”
Driver quote Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO #14
Tuomas Tujula (FIN)
“I had no warning before the puncture, I just came into the corner and the rear spun around. Thankfully the impact with the barrier was not hard, so not too much damage to the car, but it was such a shame because the pace was really strong. Konsta did a really good job in his stint, overtaking a lot of cars and I definitely think that the Silver Cup victory was a realistic possibility for us. For my time in the car, I was driving hard but not taking too many risks with the sausage kerbs so I don’t think I could really do anything different. It’s been a disappointing weekend for us, but this will only give us added motivation for the Spa 24 Hours next month.”
Driver quote Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO #19
Giacomo Altoè (ITA)
“It is definitely a bittersweet weekend for the whole team because we improved so much from Friday and the mechanics worked really long into the night. So, I want to say a big thanks to the guys for their efforts this weekend, we showed in the race that we were really quick, and I am really happy about that. For sure, we had the pace to be in the top five, so that is promising but unfortunately, we had some problems which meant we had to retire. We just need to keep focused and I hope our luck will change in the next race.”
Driver quote Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO #63
Albert Costa Balboa (SPA)
“It’s difficult to speak about the race after the bad luck we had in the race. We made no mistakes as a team, we all push in the right direction, mechanics, drivers and the whole crew so I am very proud of this, but unfortunately, we didn’t have luck on our side today. We had a puncture in the last lap of my stint, and we only lost position, but the bodywork was damaged, and we lost the rear light and had to repair it. From an easy P2, we went to P6, which is okay, but we were planning for the podium and not this position. But better times will, and I am proud of the team effort this weekend.”