Larbre and Goueslard triple!

Next year, GT1s will no longer have their place in the ACO-labeled championships. This season, the category has therefore been moribund to say the least. The only one represented in GT1 at the 8 Hours of Le Castellet, the Saleen S7 R Larbre Compétition had to face a number of competitors at Spa who had made the trip to prepare for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After the double turn of the clock in Sarthe, with a category success at stake, her only opponent was Saleen from the Atlas EFX – Team FS team.

It doesn't matter, those who are absent are always wrong. Last Sunday, at the end of the 1000 km of the Hungaroring, Jack Leconte's team picked up its third victory of the season, thanks to the Goueslard-Rees-Gardel trio, and its third title in the Le Mans Series.

After Ferrari and in 2004 Aston Martin In 2006, it was the American brand Saleen that brought the team based within the Val de Vienne circuit to triumph. A flattering assessment to say the least, especially when we know that the team also helped Chrysler and Porsche in other disciplines.

“Three titles in the Le Mans Series after four titles in GT FIA, jubilant boss Jack Leconte. It would be a lie to say that this title was the most difficult to achieve, but we still had to be present and approach the races with the same seriousness as usual. History will remember Larbre Competition as the last champion team in GT1. I am quite proud of this given all the commitment we have put into this Saleen program with Patrick Bornhauser and this extends a little bit everything that Oreca had done with this car. These three years with the Saleen ended in apotheosis with a victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and a victory in the Le Mans Series. And as we really want to close the Saleen chapter in the most beautiful way, we have registered for the International Le Mans Cup. Achieving the hat-trick would be wonderful. When we see the massacre in LM P1 this weekend despite the high level of preparation of all these teams, I say to myself that our team has done a very good job. I really want to associate Patrick Borhnauser with this new success. We took a big risk at the end of 2007 by betting on the GT1 and the Saleen, but we were rewarded for it. Patrick was also immediately winning the title FFSAGT 2008. On the international level, Larbre had to wait until the 3rd year when he won the Le Mans Series. »

This coronation added to the Le Mans victory last June, these are indeed two invitations for the next 24 Hours of Le Mans which have been gleaned by Jacques Leconte and his men.

Larbre Competition Team champion, Gabriele Gardel and Patrice Goueslard won the drivers' title. If it is the second for the Swiss after 2006, it is the third in a row for the Frenchman, who triumphed in 2008 and 2009 aboard a Corvette C6.R of Luc Alphand Aventures. An impressive record!

“I am proud to win a third consecutive title in the discipline, admits Patrice Goueslard. Last year, the races were much less complicated to the extent that our GT1s were more competitive due to the regulations in force at the time and also because there was no Formula Le Mans. We could overtake without much difficulty. There, it is much more delicate and this contact with a prototype today is therefore not surprising. There was no damage to the car, apart from a small part on the cooling circuit. I hadn?t been here since 2001 and due to this transmission problem during practice and then the cancellation of the warm-up, I didn?t have time to ride much before the race, but apart from the heat, there were no real problems this weekend. I thank Jack Leconte and all the mechanics of his team who give their all in all the races so that we have a reliable and efficient car! We will go to Silverstone with less pressure, that?s good. »

On September 12, the 1000 km of Silverstone will close the history of the GT1 ACO in its current version on the old continent. If Patrice Goueslard and Larbre Compétition want to continue their harvest of trophies in the Le Mans Series, then they will have to change category. But before 2011, Jack Leconte's troops will do everything possible to conclude this magnificent 2010 season in the best possible way. Some great successes are still to be had: Silverstone, the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup with Petit Le Mans and Zuhai, as well as a good final place in the French FFSA-GT championship with Laurent Groppi and Patrick Bornhauser.