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🏁 DUQUEINE Team: First Podium of the Season at Spa-Francorchamps 🌟
The Spa-Francorchamps circuit, one of the most iconic tracks on the calendar, witnessed DUQUEINE Team securing their first podium of the season at the 5th round of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS). Starting from 5th position, the Oreca #30 fought until the very end to take an impressive 2nd place. This remarkable achievement is even more significant as it coincides with the much-awaited return of fans and the grid walk at Spa after a challenging period.
🌦️ Unstable Weather, But a Determined Team
The Wednesday collective tests were held under unstable weather conditions, alternating between heavy rain and dry spells. Despite the challenging circumstances, the team made the most of every opportunity to fine-tune the car setup. These practice sessions were crucial for DUQUEINE Team to prepare for both qualifying and the race.
However, the weekend weather proved more favorable with clearer skies during the free practice sessions on Friday and Saturday. This allowed the team to focus on car adjustments and race strategy preparation.
🏎️ Qualifying Disruptions, But a Strong Performance
In qualifying, René Binder, the Austrian driver, was tasked with securing the best time. The session was interrupted early on by a red flag following a LMP2 car going off track at Raidillon. Despite this disruption, René remained focused and managed to deliver an exceptional lap, securing 5th place on the grid. A solid performance under tricky conditions.
💥 A Chaotic Race and Strategic Comeback
Sunday’s 4-hour race began in chaos. Several incidents occurred right after the first corner. However, thanks to his experience, Memo Rojas skillfully navigated the turmoil and ended up in 3rd position by the end of the first lap. The race featured two safety car interventions and three full course yellow flags, but DUQUEINE Team stayed focused on their goals.
An hour into the race, René Binder took over from Memo Rojas and embarked on a spectacular recovery. With a strategic tire management plan, he worked his way through the pack. By the time of the second pit stop, the team’s well-planned strategy had moved René up to 4th place.
🏆 Tristan Gommendy: A Final Battle for the Podium
As the race neared its final hour, Tristan Gommendy took the wheel in 4th place. The goal was clear: to fight for that podium. After a fierce battle with James Allen and Will Stevens (Panis Racing), Tristan managed to pass them and secured 3rd place one hour before the checkered flag. Following the strategy to perfection, especially in terms of fuel saving, Tristan continued to maintain a fast pace.
With 30 minutes to go, he passed the United Autosport #32, moving DUQUEINE Team up to 2nd place. This strategic move allowed the team to close the gap on the WRT #41 of Louis Deletraz, with tension mounting in the pit. With just 5.3 seconds separating them from victory, Tristan and the Oreca #30 crossed the finish line in 2nd place after an ultimate full course yellow period.
🏅 A Great Result for DUQUEINE Team’s Championship Bid
This podium is a great achievement for the team, making significant progress in the overall standings. With only 12 points separating them from 2nd place, the battle for the title remains intense. The next round in Portimão promises to be another exciting chapter.
The efforts of both the drivers and the team were truly rewarded with this remarkable 2nd place finish. DUQUEINE Team can now look forward to the remainder of the season with confidence and motivation.
Gilles DUQUEINE :
This is for this kind of weekend that we love to race!!! On the most beautiful and difficult circuit in the world, a European world-class championship and a fantastic 2nd place at the finish!! My pleasure and my great satisfaction are addressed to the drivers who have been extremely efficient throughout the 4h of race, to Greg and his engineers who have made a perfect copy (setup, strategy, etc.), the team of mechanics who did another flawless in the preparation and refuelling. Finally a big thanks to Max who managed the whole to perfection!!! This is a beautiful book that conveys the values of the DUQUEINE Group: High objectives, requirements and performance…. Good Job! See you soon for the final in Portimao…
Max FAVARD – Team Manager :
Spa is one of the most beautiful track in Europe. The race weekend was technically hard to get to the level of the leading teams. We achieved a super Qualif with René who places the car in 5th position. The race went perfectly, the engineers, mechanics and drivers optimised the management of fuel and tyres to have all the assets in hand at the end of the race. The drivers made a perfect copy that allowed us to climb on the second step of the podium just few seconds away from win.
I am proud of the work accomplished and the dedication of the entire team and the drivers. Head to Portimao where second place in the championship is still playable.
René BINDER :
What a comeback! The weekend in Spa started not really promising for us but we kept working hard to bring our #30 Oreca back on course to qualify fifth on the grid. In fact qualifying that was quite a challenge for me given that just before my final attack I had to watch
Nicolas Jamin’s heavy shunt right in front of me. As for our fantastic race result, I just want to thank Greg (Wheeler) for a great race strategy and the entire DUQUEINE Team for their fighting spirit. And of course I also want to thank all those who kept believing in us.
Tristan GOMMENDY :
We just had an intense week. I am obviously very happy with this second place!
This is the culmination of a mountain of work. As we all know, this championship is probably one of the highest in the endurance world. We, I think, achieved the best result, and every force has done the best.
I would like to congratulate the entire DUQUEINE team and my teammate who did their job perfectly. Being at the wheel of the #30 Oreca for the last two stint, I had obviously the heavy task of going to get this podium. Our LMP2 and our strategy worked wonderfully.
I am already focusing on our next meeting in Portimao because I want to renew this excellent result…
We keep pushing!!
Memo ROJAS :
2nd in Belgium, our best result since the start of the season… A big race for us. We were very close to win ! We continue to progress with the team. During this race, we didn’t do any mistakes, either on the track or during the pit stop. I am very happy with that. It shows that the work pays off and thanks to that, today, we are in the fight for the 2nd place in the championship. See you in Portugal for the final ELMS race.
