24h Le Mans
The top step on the podium at the Belgian round of the European Le Mans Series this weekend was claimed by United Autosports' #22 ORECA 07 driven by Albuquerque-Hanson. The battles between contenders in every class were fierce all the way to the chequered flag.
Should we call it the Tom Boonen effect? Perhaps the Belgian cyclist, a top competitor in paved and sprint races and starter for the 2019 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, inspired the ELMS field with his fighting competitive spirit. The final stretch to the finish line at the penultimate round of the 2019 ELMS season seemed to confirm the theory as all three classes – LMP2, LMP3 and GTE – saw intense battles between the contenders through the final seconds.
The win in LMP3 ultimately went to Eurointernational after Nielsen Racing led the race up until a few minutes before the chequered flag. The top 3 finished within less than 10 seconds of each other after 95 laps and four hours of racing. In GTE, the top step on the podium was claimed by Luzich Racing's Ferrari ahead of Dempsey-Proton Racing's Porsche 911 RSR by only three seconds.
United Autosports' #22 ORECA driven by Albuquerque-Hanson won the LMP2 class for the second year in a row. In 2018, the duo triumphed at the "2 Hours" of Spa-Francorchamps as the race was cut short with extremely poor weather conditions. For Albuquerque, this was the best way to gear up for the next race which will be at the Portimão circuit in Portugal, his native country, on 27 October. The round will bring to a close the 2019 season of the European Le Mans Series.
For more info on the final race classification, go to the official website of the European Le Mans Series.
