Le Mans Finals - ELITE 1 Saturday Race
Eventful Finish At Le Mans
Kumpen Gets Win, One point behind Vilarino
At the end of an eventful ELITE 1 Saturday Race in which the fortunes of the five title contenders rapidly swinged in different directions, Anthony Kumpen (#24 PK Carsport Chevrolet SS) was the big winner. Kumpen crossed the line in second position behind Eddie Cheever III (#51 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS). The Italian, however, was penalized with a 30-seconds addition to his race time for gaining positions while not respecting track limits, and the Belgian inherited the win. The results are suspended, because there is an appeal intention pending.
Picture - Credits: NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Stephane Azemard
“I saw Eddie make a mistake at the start and I focused on controlling him because I expected some sort of penalty,” said Kumpen, who is now just one point behind Ander Vilarino (#2 TFT-Banco Santander Chevrolet SS) before Sunday’s final race of the season. “Obviously it is better to win on the track, but this result is very important for the championship and I look forward to a great and fair battle with Ander.”
Vilarino, the two-time series champion, finished third.
Frederic Gabillon’s championship hopes took a big hit after a fast start. Gabillon (#12 Still Racing Chevrolet Camaro) to jump to the lead at the start, while the polesitter Vilarino found himself tangled in close battle with Victor Guerin (#83 Brazil Team Chevrolet SS). The Brazilian overtook the reigning champion, but surrendered three positions a little later with an error at the Dunlop chicane on lap 4.
After an early contact between Nicolò Rocca (#25 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS) and Simone Monforte (#88 Euro Kart Racing Team Chevrolet Camaro) – the first was then penalized with a drive through – that triggered a Safety Car period, Gabillon had a good restart and kept the lead, while behind him Borja Garcia (#1 Ford Autolix Competition Ford Mustang) and Vilarino got together and both went out of the track. The points leader was able to rejoin after losing several positions, while his rival had to stop with a flat tire and his title hopes fading. A similar faith hit Gabillon on lap nine, when he had problems with his car while leading and was forced to retire.
Cheever inherited the lead and kept it to the checkered flag, edging Kumpen under the checkered flag in a close finish. Third – and second after Cheever’s penalty – was an enthusiast Guerin, while Vilarino climbed back up to third to barely defend his championship lead over Kumpen.
Fabrizio Armetta (#31 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS) won the Challenger Trophy classification with the fourth place and a great comeback from the ninth row on the grid. He finished ahead of Bert Longin (#11 PK Carsport Chevrolet SS), Freddy Nordström (#44 Still Racing Chevrolet Camaro) and Anthony Gandon (#7 TFT-Red Line Chevrolet SS). Cheever was classified in eight, in front of Guillaume Rousseau (#13 Bull Racing Team Ford Mustang) and Marco Spinelli (#6 Events4you Chevrolet Camaro).
The title will be decided tomorrow in the ELITE 1 Sunday Race, starting at 11:00 AM CET and being broadcasted live on fanschoice.tv.