Monza, Italy, July 5th - Held at Monza, in Italy, round three of the European Le Mans Series provided Panis Racing and Cool Racing, the two Elf-backed teams, with an opportunity to add to their collection of podiums this year.
Having recorded a best result of third place thus far (Panis Racing at Le Castellet and Cool Racing at Imola), both outfits were determined to enjoy further success at this new four-hour race. Julien Canal, Nico Jamin and Job Van Uitert, the three drivers of Panis Racing’s no. 65 car, were more impressive in qualifying as they claimed second place on the starting grid, whilst Cool Racing’s Nicolas Lapierre, Niklas Krütten and Yifei Ye qualified fifth, a result that nonetheless gave them hope of fighting for a place on the podium in the race. Once the race got underway, Panis Racing proved to be the most incisive, as Julien Canal charged into the lead at the first corner. The rest of their performance was of the same ilk: solid, consistent and error-free, enabling the crew to claim a superb second place at the chequered flag.
“After grabbing a fine second place in qualifying, I think it’s fair to say we had a tough time of it in the race with the heat. I think we all suffered in the conditions but we nevertheless did a professional job,” admitted Sarah Abadie, Panis Racing’s team manager. “The pit stops went well despite the lack of room in the pit lane at Monza. No-one made a mistake, either among the drivers or the rest of the team. The winners, IDEC, were a bit better than us but we’re going to work on identifying what was missing from our performance. However, we still have to be pleased with this strong result. The gap to the championship leaders (Prema Racing) has been cut and the team is still just as motivated to fight at the front in the second half of the season after the short summer break.” The race didn’t quite live up to expectations for Cool Racing, who finished down in eighth place despite being within four seconds of the podium. Two penalties for infringements during pit stops proved costly for the Swiss team, who despite challenging near the front at several points during the race were unable to turn their clear pace into a better result. Everyone at Cool Racing will be determined to bounce back at the next round of the championship at the Barcelona racetrack on 28 August, after the summer break, whilst Panis Racing will want to confirm its current good form.
With forty-five points scored thus far, Panis Racing holds third place in the ELMS standings, just two points behind the second-placed team, whilst Cool Racing lie fifth with twenty-five points. Nicolas Lapierre’s squad can take some consolation from retaining its lead in the LMP3 class, despite drawing a blank in the race, after it was unable to build on Malthe Jakobsen’s third pole position of the 2022 season in the no. 17 Ligier-Nissan.
