Sprint Elite race
Thiévin reduces championship gap as Castelli seals victory
LE MANS, France. The EURO-RACECAR NASCAR Touring Series Elite Division sprint race saw a debut victory for Gaël Castelli but, with the newcomer not eligible for points, Romain Thievin took a maximum score to reduce the deficit to championship leader Ander Vilarino. The Spaniard took seventh in a race played out on a wet Le Mans Bugatti circuit, building the suspense ahead of this afternoon’s final reckoning.
After a lull in the showers over La Sarthe yesterday afternoon, the rain returned with a vengeance ahead of the Elite Division sprint race. Pole-sitter Vilarino (#2 TFT-Banco Santander) immediately lost the lead to Romain Fournillier (#11 Over Drive-McDonald's), who was himself overcome by Castelli (#6 Rapido Racing) later on the opening lap. The Rapido pilot then pulled away at the front of the field to secure victory on his series debut.
But with Castelli not eligible to score, and points counting for double at Le Mans, the title contenders did not look to reel in the leader and Thievin (#99 Still Racing-Exotics Racing), who climbed from second to fourth, thus took maximum championship points. This sees the Frenchman erode Vilarino’s advantage with the Spanish racer taking seventh at the chequered flag. Vilarino latter admitted he hadperhaps driven too cautiously, but he now needs only a 16th place finish in this afternoon’s endurance contest to secure the 2012 EURO-RACECAR NASCAR Touring Series title. 96 points remain up for grabs, with 40 separating the table-topping pair.
Starting ninth on the grid, Romain Iannetta (#25 Orhès Competition) produced a sterling comeback that saw him complete the podium. Behind him a brilliant door-to-door battle raged between Fournillier, Bruno Cosin (#55 Pole Position 81) and Javier Villa (#64 Gonneau Racing) for fourth spot. Fournillier emerged on top, finishing as the top Junior driver in the process, with fifth placed Cosin leading the Challenger class runners and increasing his lead in that classification. Villa meanwhile still remains mathematically capable of claiming the overall championship.
Vilarino was next across the line followed by Anthony Garbarion (#96 TFT-Alpes Carrelage) and Nicolas Dekejser (#29 Scorpus Racing), with Stéphane Romecki (#19 Scorpus Racing) rounding out the top-10. The final race at Le Mans gets underway at 15.45 local time – place your bets, please.