January 28, 2025 | News
Soufi started the first 50-minute race from pole position, and proceeded to build a gap over Phillip Lindberg in the High Class Racing Ligier. Behind the two silver-rated drivers, a battle among the bronzes took place, as Quentin Joseph (CLX Motorsport Ligier) was pursued by Jon Brownson’s DKR Engineering Duqueine, and Christian Gisy’s Racing Spirit of Leman Ligier. Brownson dove to the inside at the first corner on lap four, successfully moving up to third place. Joseph’s momentum on the run to turn three was compromised, and Gisy tried to sneak by too. However, Joseph turned across the front end of the Racing Spirit of Leman entry, sending the CLX Ligier into a spin.
Gisy began closing in on Brownson, but was forced to relinquish fourth place back to Joseph via a drive-through penalty for the collision.
Owing to the pitstop handicap system, Soufi’s pitstop was the better of 30 seconds slower than the line-ups featuring bronze drivers. However, he built enough of a gap to continue as the race leader regardless.
Soufi would ultimately win the race by 17 seconds, ahead of the DKR Engineering Duqueine, which was taken over by Laurents Hoerr. CLX Motorsport’s David Droux finished third after taking over the Ligier from Qunetin Joseph.
Phillip Lindberg fell to fourth after the pit window, while the father-son duo of Christian and Vincent Gisy finished fifth. The Racing Experience Duqueine did not finish, after Wolfgang Payr began to slow with a power steering issue.
Sunday:
On the installation lap for Sunday’s race, Racing Experience wheeled out its spare chassis for Payr’s co-driver Mattias Bjerre Jakobsen. However, as it arrived on the pit straight, the car began smoking heavily. The connection for the water pipes had failed on the car, which meant the Duqueine dumped its water around the circuit on the way to the grid. The team brought the car back to the pitlane, and topped it up.
The race began without the Racing Experience Duqueine, and polesitter Laurents Hoerr led off the line. Jakobsen would enter the race as the other drivers passed the first sector split, but immediately pulled up as the car continued to smoke. The safety car was scrambled, however, the temperature gauge in Jakobsen’s car dropped to normal levels, and the team instructed him to drive on.
Therefore, the race restarted with the #12 car at the back of the field as scheduled.
At the front, Hoerr continued to lead once the field was released from the safety car.
During the first stint of the race, Danny Soufi – who started second – kept Hoerr in his sights, before the pit window began, and Soufi opted to pit early. Theoretically, Hoerr’s co-driver Jon Brownson should have returned to the track in the lead. However, the car failed to restart after the driver change, and Brownson would ultimately re-join the race a lap down after a push start from the DKR team.
This left Quentin Joseph in the lead in his CLX Motorsport Ligier, and Racing Experience’s Wolfgang Payr second after a strong stint from Jakobsen.
Payr would quickly be dispatched by Soufi, while Joseph tried to focus on setting the fastest laps he could to maintain his lead. However, with Soufi taking four seconds a lap out of the gap, the American was soon challenging Joseph for position.
However, as the pair raced side-by-side down the main straight, double yellow flags waved at turn one. Phillip Lindberg had spun, and Soufi lifted off to allow Joseph to lead them by the stalled High Class Racing Ligier.
Just after the leaders passed Lindberg, the Full Course Yellow was deployed. This was lifted a lap later at the first turn, and Soufi quickly managed to pass Joseph around the outside at turn four.
Over the ten minutes that remained, Soufi would proceed to build a lead of 38 seconds over Joseph, with the pair finishing first and second respectively. Chrisian and Vincent Gisy rounded out the podium, after Vincent dispatched Wolfgang Payr with a half-dozen minutes left on the clock.
Half-distance in the season: Can Soufi be beaten?
With Danny Soufi’s 100 per cent record retained, the Konrad Motorsport driver currently sits on 100 points in the championship standings. 34 points behind, CLX Motorsport’s Quentin Joseph and David Droux are second in the standings on 66 points, while DKR Engineering’s Jon Brownson and Laurents Hoerr sit third on 56.
The Prototype Winter Series is now into it’s mid-season break, while the Asian Le Mans Series concludes in the Middle East.
Soufi – the 2024 PTWS champion – is in a strong position to retain his title in 2025, but nothing is guaranteed with four races left to go. His 100 per cent winning record is likely to come under scrutiny, as additional teams are expected to join the series for the final two rounds of the season, starting at Motorland Aragon from 27 February – 2 March.
16 JAN – 19 JAN ESTORIL /P
23 JAN – 26 JAN PORTIMAO /P
30 JAN – 02 FEB 6h of PORTIMÃO /P
13 FEB – 16 FEB VALENCIA /E
27 FEB – 2 MAR ARAGÓN /E
6 MAR – 9 MAR BARCELONA /E
13 MAR – 16 MAR 6h of BARCELONA /E
