Doriane Pin secures fifth in LMP2 ProAm after disrupted 4H of Spa-Francorchamps
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- 55 minutes ago
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Doriane Pin and the #30 Duqueine Team Oreca returned to the European Le Mans Series top five at Spa-Francorchamps, securing a hard-earned fifth place in LMP2 ProAm after a race heavily shaped by safety-car interventions and differing pit-stop strategies.
Doriane Pin and the #30 Duqueine Team Oreca returned to the European Le Mans Series top five at Spa-Francorchamps, with Pin, Giorgio Roda and Richard Verschoor securing a hard-earned fifth place in LMP2 ProAm after a race heavily shaped by safety-car interventions and differing pit-stop strategies.
Starting from pole position in class, the trio ultimately finished as the highest-placed car on their particular strategy, recovering strongly after losing ground during the early pit-stop cycles to score valuable championship points.
The result came after a difficult third round at Imola had seen the Duqueine crew surrender the LMP2 ProAm championship lead. Pin had begun the season with consecutive class podiums at Barcelona and Paul Ricard and had also been one of the top drivers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the team had challenged for LMP2 victory until a late technical failure ended its hopes. Spa therefore represented an important opportunity to rebuild momentum with two rounds remaining in the championship.
The weekend immediately suggested that the #30 Oreca would be competitive. Verschoor set the team's best time in the opening practice session, recording a 2:03.976 to place third in LMP2 ProAm, while Roda also featured near the front during the bronze-driver session. The second practice was less representative after rain affected the circuit, with the Duqueine car ending the session sixth in class with a 2:06.941, but the pace remained encouraging.
Roda subsequently produced an exceptional performance in qualifying, conducted in difficult mixed conditions on a wet but rapidly drying Spa-Francorchamps circuit. As the first driver to set a representative lap, the Duqueine driver established an early benchmark of 2:13.593 and held a substantial advantage over the rest of the LMP2 ProAm field. As conditions improved, Roda continued to lower the benchmark, eventually producing a 2:03.612 before finding another improvement to record a 2:03.578.
Having completed his final run and returned to the pits, Roda could only watch as his rivals attempted to respond, but nobody was able to challenge the time. The #30 Duqueine Team Oreca therefore secured pole position in LMP2 ProAm, giving the crew the perfect starting point for Sunday's four-hour race.
With sunshine replacing the early-morning fog at Spa on Sunday, Roda took the start from the LMP2 ProAm pole. The race was neutralised almost immediately after Bukhanstov crashed the #13 Inter Europol Competition LMP3 at Kemmel, but Roda had negotiated the opening corners cleanly and retained the class lead.
When the race returned to green three laps later, the Duqueine driver immediately demonstrated the pace that had been evident throughout the weekend. Roda managed to keep a faster LMP2 Pro car between himself and his closest ProAm rival while continuing to move forward in the overall classification, even passing Lafargue and setting the fastest LMP2 ProAm lap of the race at that stage.
His advantage grew rapidly, reaching approximately 13 seconds before another Full Course Yellow period interrupted the race after several GT3 and LMP2 cars encountered trouble. Roda used the neutralisation to make his first pit stop from the class lead, but the AO by TF entry eventually emerged ahead of the Duqueine car.
A full Safety Car period followed, further compressing the field, and when racing resumed after the first hour, Roda remained second in ProAm. Another incident at the exit of Turn 7 brought out another Safety Car, before a further crash involving Takeshi Kimura's Ferrari and the #8 Virage LMP3 car caused yet another neutralisation.
The repeated interruptions made it difficult for Roda to exploit the pace advantage he had demonstrated during the opening stint, while the various pit strategies began to create significant differences throughout the ProAm field. The situation became even more complicated when the leading PJ Hyett entry made its second stop shortly before one of the cautions, as Roda retook the class lead by staying out, but now off-sequence.
The Duqueine driver eventually pitted again after the next restart, bringing his opening stint to an end and handing the #30 Oreca over to Richard Verschoor.
Verschoor's first stint was complicated by a five-second penalty for a starting infringement, which dropped the Duqueine entry to ninth in LMP2 ProAm after the pit cycle. However, the classification was still heavily influenced by different fuel strategies, and several cars ahead had yet to make their required stops.
The Dutchman therefore began a determined recovery. As more of the ProAm field entered the pits, Verschoor climbed to seventh and then fourth by lap 49, before moving all the way up to second in class two laps later once the pit cycle had been completed.
He continued to run strongly, but another pit stop on lap 55 cycled the #30 Oreca back to sixth. Verschoor remained in the car and attempted to recover, initially catching Manuel Espírito Santo before turning his attention to Lorenzo Fluxá.
At the three-hour mark, however, the team brought Verschoor into the pits once more, with one hour remaining, and handed the car to Doriane Pin for the decisive final stint.
Pin rejoined in tenth place in LMP2 ProAm, but immediately set about recovering positions. She quickly passed Fluxá and moved into eighth by lap 70, maintaining a strong and consistent pace in the low-2:05 range.
The Frenchwoman then became involved in a battle with Alex Quinn and the Nielsen Racing car, while simultaneously hunting down Rik Koen in the #19 Rossa Racing Oreca. Pin eventually completed the pass on Koen, although the latter managed to regain the position shortly afterwards.
Pin did not allow the setback to disrupt her rhythm, immediately applying pressure again and maintaining her pace while negotiating traffic from the LMP2 Pro field. The traffic created an additional challenge, with Pin forced to carefully pick her way through several battles without making contact, but she consistently kept the #30 Oreca under control.
When Koen subsequently made his pit stop, Pin was promoted to fifth in ProAm, and the Duqueine crew made its final fuel stop on lap 82. The timing of the stop allowed Pin to jump ahead of Koen once again, putting her into fifth with the closing stages approaching.
The final classification was heavily shaped by strategy; several of the cars that had managed to make pit stops during the numerous caution periods had effectively created a different fuel strategy, allowing them to occupy the top four positions in the final stages. Pin, meanwhile, was leading the group of cars following the alternative strategy and therefore had little opportunity to challenge for the overall ProAm podium despite her strong pace.
She nevertheless brought the #30 Duqueine Team Oreca home in fifth place in LMP2 ProAm, completing a convincing final stint and ensuring the team scored another valuable haul of championship points.
The result leaves Pin, Roda and Verschoor fourth in the LMP2 ProAm standings on 49 points, just 12 points from the championship lead with two rounds remaining. The next opportunity will come at the 4 Hours of Silverstone on September 13, where Pin will look to build on another strong performance.
