Porsche Sprint Challenge France pairs up with F4 at Le Mans

Last weekend of September 26th to 28th, the Porsche Sprint Challenge France made a stopover in Le Mans with the FFSA F4 final as its supporting competition. With Alexandre Munoz claiming the title at the end of the weekend, the French championship ended with a victory for its leader, who took the podium at the Bugatti circuit on Sunday morning.

A modified program

The special organization of this meeting, with F4 taking place over three days, slightly modified the usual Porsche Sprint Challenge program. Thus, the Cup Series drivers had to wait until Sunday morning for their endurance race, while the Sport Cup Series kept their Saturday afternoon races. In addition, a run in aid of the Professor Saillant Brain Institute (ICM) marked an act of solidarity, with the profits donated to the ICM. An initiative that added a special dimension to this already exceptional meeting.

Qualifications: Blugeon and Glinche in good shape

Qualifying took place on Saturday, with some notable performances in the Cup Series. Victor Blugeon/Sébastien Poisson (ABM) took pole position, narrowly ahead of Hugo Chevalier/Eric Debard (Debard Automobiles by Racetivity) and Gaël Castelli/Thierry Baril (Cudennec D&P). In the 991 class, Marco Gerrarduzzi/Laurent Ricaud set the fastest time ahead of François and Roland Chotard (Chotard Team), while Lucas and Hervé Glinche (Glinche Racing) finished 21st on the grid.

In the Sport Cup Series, the first qualifying session (Q1) saw Lucas Glinche dominate his rivals with a solid lead, followed by Julien Nuss (Rempp Racing) and Franck Leherpeur (Autovitesse). In the GT4 category, Jean Olive (CG Motorsport) and Sébastien Verrier (Verrier Automobiles) took the top spots. In Q2, Frédéric Perriat (Racing Technology) confirmed his form by winning ahead of Josselin Duhaze (Autovitesse) and Franck Leherpeur, while Jean Olive and Sébastien Verrier continued their dominance in GT4.

The races: tactics and twists

The first race of the Sport Cup Series was marred by an incident on the first lap, with Franck Leherpeur retiring after contact on the track. Lucas Glinche took the lead to win ahead of Julien Nuss and Antoine Bosc (Racing Technology), while Élie Dubelly (Autovitesse), who started last after missing qualifying, made a superb comeback before being penalized for exceeding track limits.

The second race was an opportunity for Béatrice Cibien (Gautier Ebel Motorsport) to return to the scene after resolving her electrical outage issues. Starting last, she climbed back to ninth place and won the GT4 class ahead of Sébastien Verrier. Frédéric Perriat, meanwhile, consolidated his pole position by winning the overall race ahead of Franck Leherpeur and Élie Dubelly.

Endurance: Strategy, the master of the game

The endurance race, always a highlight of the season, offered a high-flying spectacle with a duration increased by 10 minutes for a total of 2 hours and 10 minutes. The pit-stop strategy was crucial and allowed the MAS Racing team to win thanks to perfect management of the pit stop, with Louis Perrot supporting Anthony Vince. They finished more than 20 seconds ahead of Hugo Chevalier and Eric Debard, while Arnaud and Edgard Pierre took third place and the R category victory with their team's 991 R. Schumacher IMSA.

The 991 class positions remained tight, with Mickael Drougarduzzi/Jérôme Boullery (2M Compétition) finishing ahead of François and Roland Chotard, followed by Marc Boithiot/Pierre Bellinger (BPS Racing). In GT4, Adrien Ferrand (Driv'n Motorsport Events) was impressive, winning the class after driving the entire race alone.

At the end of this meeting, the Sport Cup Series championship remains particularly open. Victor Blugeon maintains a comfortable lead over Louis Meric (LM31), but with two races still to go, the points tally could hold new surprises, particularly at Le Castellet, where every point will count.

Endurance Cup Series standings

1. VINCE Anthony / PERROT Louis (992-S / MAS RACING): 70 laps in 2:10:30.117
2. DEBARD Eric / CHEVALIER Hugo (992-M/S / DEBARD AUTOMOBILES BY RACETIVITY) at 20.849
3. PIERRE Edgard / PIERRE Arnaud (R / SCHUMACHER IMSA) at 22.645
4. BLUGEON Victor / POISSON Sébastien (992-S / ABM) at 31.476
5. LACOUR Alexandre / DIDRY Yann (992-S / SCHUMACHER IMSA) at 39.192
6. MERIC Louis (992-S / LM31) at 44.397
7. COLOMBANI Gilles / GUILLOT Marc (992-M/S / ABM) at 55.972
8. DESOILLE Sébastien / LEBRETON Emeric (992-S / 911 IMPACT) 1 lap behind
9. VANDEWOESTYNE Karl / VANDEWOESTYNE Hugues (992-S / 2B AUTOSPORT) 1 lap behind
10. LOEUL Ludovic / TREMBLAY Hervé (992-M/S / ANCEL MOTORSPORT) 1 lap behind
11. RASSE Grégory (992-M / MRS) 1 round
12. ANCEL Frédéric (992-M / ANCEL MOTORSPORT) 2 laps behind
13. RASSE Alexandre / RASSE Arthur (992-S / MRS) 2 laps
14. WILLMANN Franck / GIRAUD Hugo (992-S / ABM) 2 laps
15. DROUGARD Mickael / BOULLERY Jérôme (991 / 2M COMPETITION) 2 laps behind
16. CHOTARD Roland / CHOTARD François (991 / CHOTARD TEAM) 2 laps
17. BOITHIOT Marc / BELLINGER Pierre (991 / BPS RACING) 2 laps behind
18. COLLIN Laurent / MARQUES Luis (992-M/S / CUDENNEC D&P / DBG) 2 rounds
19. RICAUD Laurent / GERARDUZZI Marco (991 / CUDENNEC D&P) at 2 laps
20. VANWYNSBERGHE Marc / VANWYNSBERGHE Julien (992-M/S / 911 IMPACT) at 3 rounds
21. DOMINICI Jean Paul / RONCAGLIA Laurent (992-S / CHAZEL EVENTS) in 3 rounds
22. BARIL Thierry / CASTELLI Gaël (992-M/S / CUDENNEC D&P) at 3 rounds
23. ZIEGLER Michael (997 / RSR) 3 laps behind
24. COCHARD Laurent / THENIER Eric (992-M / RACING TECHNOLOGY) 4 laps behind
25. FERRAND Adrien (GT4 / DRIV'IN MOTORSPORT EVENTS) at 6 laps
26. EBEL Francis / EBEL Gautier / EBEL Chloé (GT4 / GAUTIER EBEL MOTORSPORT) at 6 laps
NC. AUCH-HISIGER Claude (GT4 / GAUTIER EBEL MOTORSPORT) at 19 laps
NP. ETTOUATI Michel / DIDRY Michel (R / SCHUMACHER IMSA)
NP. GLINCHE Lucas / GLINCHE Hervé (GT4 / GLINCHE RACING)

Sport Cup Series Race 1 Standings

1. GLINCHE Lucas (718 RS-S / GLINCHE RACING): 18 laps in 30:45.434
2. NUSS Julien (718 RS-S / REMPP RACING) at 2.564
3. BOSC Antoine (718 RS-S / RACING TECHNOLOGY) at 13.732
4. BEC Olivier (718 RS-S / AUTOVITESSE) at 32.358
5. BREMARD Stéphane (718 RS-M / RACING TECHNOLOGY) at 34.081
6. GIRARDOT Stéphane (718 RS-M / CG MOTORSPORT) at 37.014
7. CARDIA Jean-Pierre (718 RS-M / C6 DEVELOPPEMENT) at 1:30.533
8. DUBELLY Ellie (718 RS-S / AUTOVITESSE) at 3:17.382
9. OLIVE Jean (GT4 / CG MOTORSPORT) 1 lap behind
10. AUCH-HISIGER Claude (718 RS-M / GAUTIER EBEL MOTORSPORT) at 1 lap
11. VERRIER Sébastien (GT4 / VERRIER AUTOMOBILES) 2 laps behind
NC. LEHERPEUR Franck (718 RS-M / AUTOVITESSE)
NP. CIBIEN Béatrice (GT4 / GAUTIER EBEL MOTORSPORT)

Sport Cup Series Race 2 Standings

1. PERRIAT Frédéric (718 RS-S / RACING TECHNOLOGY): 18 laps in 30:58.390
2. LEHERPEUR Franck (718 RS-M / AUTOVITESSE) at 12.328
3. DUBELLY Ellie (718 RS-S / AUTOVITESSE) at 19.273
4. DUHAZE Josselin (718 RS-S / AUTOVITESSE) at 26.174
5. PROUST Thierry (718 RS-M / CG MOTORSPORT) at 50.137
6. GLINCHE Hervé (718 RS-M / GLINCHE RACING) at 56.933
7. CARDIA Jean-Pierre (718 RS-M / C6 DEVELOPPEMENT) at 1:30.824
8. NUSS Laurent (718 RS-M / REMPP RACING) at 1:44.394
9. CIBIEN Béatrice (GT4 / GAUTIER EBEL MOTORSPORT) 1 lap behind
10. DURAND Mathias (718 RS-M / RACING TECHNOLOGY) at 1 lap
11. AUCH-HISIGER Claude (718 RS-M / GAUTIER EBEL MOTORSPORT) at 1 lap
12. VERRIER Sébastien (GT4 / VERRIER AUTOMOBILES) 1 lap behind
NP. OLIVE Jean (GT4 / CG MOTORSPORT)