Podiums missed by a hair’s breadth

Double race in the south of France: Herberth Motorsport fielded two Porsche 911 GT3 R for the first time at the GT World Challenge Europe guest appearance at Le Castellet. The 1000-kilometre race turned into a battle of materials, which ended with two fourth places for the team.

While Niki Leutwiler, Ivan Jacoma and Alessio Picariello made their debut in the #24 car in Herberth's team, Ralf Bohn and the brothers from Alfred and Robert Renauer started a well-rehearsed trio in the Porsche with start number 911. "But we also knew it wasn't going to be easy. A lot can happen in six hours. In addition, the field has become even bigger."

The weekend got off to a promising start with the best time for Ralf Bohn in the bronze test. The race continued in a similarly promising way: Grid positions five (#911 / Gold Cup) and four (#24 / Pro-Am classification) gave hope for a successful race. "However, good starting places are not everything. The most important thing is to get through without major mistakes – we succeeded," says Alfred Renauer.

The race on the Grand Prix circuit near Marseille turned into a material battle and claimed the first victims in the early hours. The Herberth Motorsport team had the targeted podium places in mind throughout the entire duration of the race and saved their fastest drivers for the final offensive with Robert Renauer and Alessio Picariello. Despite strong performances from both drivers, the team narrowly missed the top 3 and finished fourth twice.

"Even if we don't take home a trophy, we are satisfied. We scored points and got the best out of it. We are sure that we will still be able to collect some trophies. Now we are all the more looking forward to the 24-hour race," Ralf Bohn summed up.

The same 24-hour race at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is the next serve of the Endurance Cup of the GT World Challenge Europe from 28 to 31 July. Up to 70 cars are expected on the Ardennenachterbahn and in the middle of it all the two Porsche 911 GT3 R from Herberth Motorsport.