{"id":9534,"date":"2025-04-08T17:55:27","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T15:55:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.r-ace-gp.com\/?p=9534"},"modified":"2025-04-08T18:26:31","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T16:26:31","slug":"michelin-le-mans-cup-r-ace-gps-three-lmp3s-in-the-top-10-at-barcelona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.r-ace-gp.com\/en\/2025\/04\/08\/michelin-le-mans-cup-r-ace-gps-three-lmp3s-in-the-top-10-at-barcelona\/","title":{"rendered":"Michelin Le Mans Cup: R-ace GP’s three LMP3s in the top 10 at Barcelona"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Michelin<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

April 5, Barcelona – The R-ace GP squad, which entered three Duqueine D09s, got off to a rocky start this weekend at the first Michelin Le Mans Cup meeting of the season. Despite good progress and encouraging qualifying, a podium finish slipped through the team’s fingers. The #86 and #85 finished 5th and 8th overall, while the #88 finished 6th in the PRO\/AM category.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free practice and qualifying<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On Friday April 4, the #85, #86 and #88 showed a clear progression after the results from official testing earlier in the week. The #85 and #86 finished in the top 6 overall, and the #88 in the top 3 of the PRO\/AM category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This progress was confirmed in qualifying the following day, with Hadrien David (#85) securing 3rd place and Joel Granfors (#86) 5th. On the PRO\/AM side, Romano Ricci (#88) achieved the best qualifying result of his career with 6th place. The three LMP3s<\/a> were therefore serious contenders for the podium, both overall and in the PRO\/AM category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The race<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the start, Hugo Schwarze in the #85 took the lead. But his manoeuvre resulted in a contact with a competitor which led to a drive-through penalty, relegating him to the top 15. In the #86, Joel Granfors maintained his position in the top 5. Romano Ricci in the #88 climbed up to third place in the PRO\/AM category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After more than an hour of racing and the mandatory pit stop, the race was interrupted by a red flag. On the restart, Fabien Lavergne (#88) was 4th in the PRO\/AM category. In the overall standings, Edgar Pierre (#86) continued to defend his 4th place, while Hadrien David (#85) was 8th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The #86 finally crossed the finish line in 5th place, ahead of the #85, still 8th. In the PRO\/AM category, the #88 finished 5th but a penalty dropped it back to 6th place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A fightback expected at Paul Ricard<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

More work needs to be done before the new Duqueine D09 reaches its full potential. That’s the conclusion of the R-ace GP team after this first weekend. \u2018We’re now focused on the upcoming tests at Paul Ricard, where we’ll have to assess and develop our performance as a team,\u2019 commented R-ace GP boss Thibaut de M\u00e9rindol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second round of the season will take place at Le Castellet on May 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To watch the race,\u00a0click here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April 5, Barcelona – The R-ace GP squad, which entered three Duqueine D09s, got off to a rocky start this weekend at the first Michelin Le Mans Cup meeting of the season. Despite good progress and encouraging qualifying, a podium finish slipped through the team’s fingers. The #86 and #85 finished 5th and 8th overall, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"class_list":["post-9534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-michelin-le-mans-cup-en"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t