A lively Porsche Sprint Challenge meeting in Val de Vienne

The third meeting of the 2023 Porsche Sprint Challenge France season took place under barely cloudy skies, which prevented the competitors from suffering too much from the particularly high heat at the start of summer.

Published on 27/06/2023 à 09:45

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A lively Porsche Sprint Challenge meeting in Val de Vienne

Porsche Sprint Challenge France - Val de Vienne © Alexis GOURE

The qualifying practices on Friday evening allowed Eric Debard (Racetivity) to stand out by taking pole position for the first Cup Series race with a car that was less efficient on paper than that of his opponents since it was a question of a 991 GT3 Cup phase II, the first 992 GT3 Cup, that of Jean-Philippe Gambaro (CLRT) being relegated to 15 hundredths of a second, the first 911 R driven by Olivier Rabot (911 Impact) being tenth at 1,7 seconds and the fastest 991 phase I of Marc Vanwynsberghe (911 Impact) being relegated to 2,8 seconds and in thirteenth place.

For the second Cup Series race, Jérémy Sarhy (Racing Technology) put everyone in agreement with his 992, pushing back Eric Debard, still the fastest of the 991-2s by 1,9 seconds. If Olivier Rabot and Marc Vanwysnberghe were again the fastest in their category, they were respectively eleventh and twelfth on the grid.

Porsche Sprint Challenge France
– Val de Vienne © Alexis GOURE

In the Sport Cup Series, Jean-Christophe Dos Santos (JC Garage) was twice the fastest and best of the 997 phase II while Rodolphe Gabrion (Rempp Racing) twice set the second fastest time which placed him at the head of the 718 As for the 996, two MCG Propulsion drivers stood out with Olivier Ornielli in race 1 and Anthony Trevalinet in race 2.

The Sport Cup were the first to hit the track on Saturday morning and apart from a few rare exchanges of places in the very first laps, the race was clear, with the three fastest in their category during practice winning at the finish. . Behind Jean-Christophe Dos Santos and Rodolphe Gabrion, the 718 podium was completed by Jean-Charles Carminati (Riviera Motorsport) and Lucas Glinche (Glinche Racing).

The domination of Jean-Christophe Dos Santos was just as clear in the second race, but behind him, Rodolphe Gabrion and Lucas Glinche engaged in a very good fight which ended with the victory of Lucas Glinche in category 718 ahead of Rodolphe Gabrion and Jérôme Daniel ( Riviera Motorsport) who scored his first podium in the Porsche Sprint Challenge while Anthony Trevalinet won his first victory in his first meeting in the 996 category.

Porsche Sprint Challenge France
– Val de Vienne © Alexis GOURE

In the Cup Series, Eric Debard held off Jean-Philippe Gambaro for 6 laps before giving in under pressure and finishing second, but he was downgraded after the finish, his car proving too noisy. Jean-Philippe Gambaro won his first victory of the season ahead of Jean-Luc Beaubelique (Racing Technology) while Olivier Rabot made a strong comeback by finishing third and first in group R. It was ultimately Franck Belard (DBG Motorsport) who won. the 991-2 group by ranking fifth while the best progression of the race was to the credit of Florian Rias (Racetivity) who started last following a mechanical problem during practice before finishing seventh, just ahead of Marc Vanwysnberghe who won the group 991-1.

At the start of the second race, Jean-Philippe Gambaro left in the gravel of the first corner and returned to the track dead last. Left with the knife between his teeth, he moved up to fifth place, which allowed him to get on the 992 podium behind Cyril Caillo and Sylvain Noël, both at Racing Technology. Group 991-2 was dominated by two drivers from Berto Motor, Laurent Cochard followed by David Sarny, with Guillaume Giorza (DBG Motorsport) finishing third. Finally, Olivier Rabot and Marc Vanwysnberghe achieved a double in their respective groups.

At mid-season, the Sport Cup Series ranking is far from fixed, Jean-Charles Carminati only having a 17-point lead (a victory brings 24) over Rodolphe Gabrion while Charles Didier (Riviera Motorsport) is 27 lengths.

It's even more uncertain in the Cup Series since Cyril Caillo is 13 points ahead of Yves Godard (Team 52) who is only one point ahead of Laurent Cochard.