Léna Bühler shines again at Le Castellet with front-running pace despite penalty setback
- RACERS
- May 5
- 5 min read
Léna Bühler and Matteo Quintarelli were once again the class of the field, showing front-running pace in the second round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup at Le Castellet, but a late drive-through penalty denied the 23Events Racing duo a likely podium, leaving them to settle for ninth in LMP3.
Léna Bühler was once again the protagonist of a remarkable performance at the second round of the 2025 Michelin Le Mans Cup, where the Swiss racer—competing in her first season of sportscar racing—battled at the front of the LMP3 class and was clearly in contention for an overall podium, but had to settle for ninth place following an unfortunate penalty in the latter stages of the race.
A former F1 Academy vice-champion and race winner, Bühler brings extensive experience from single-seaters, having raced in Spanish F4, F4 UAE, Formula Regional Asia, and FRECA, where she completed three partial campaigns. In 2025, she transitioned to endurance racing and joined 23Events Racing, operated by AF Corse, in the LMP3 category. She shares the Ligier JSP325 prototype with Matteo Quintarelli, who is also contesting his first season in LMP3 competition.
The duo immediately proved to be a strong pairing, and in the season opener they were the team to beat: the drivers of the #50 Ligier led every session, with Bühler setting the fastest lap in practice and Quintarelli claiming pole position. Unfortunately, Léna was tagged into a spin at Turn 1 and forced into an epic recovery drive through the 50-car field, before handing over to her teammate, who brought the car home in fourth, just shy of a podium.
Buoyed by this strong debut, Bühler and Quintarelli returned with redemption on their minds at Le Castellet in the South of France. From the collective test, it was clear they were once again among the front-runners: the #50 23Events Racing crew topped both morning and afternoon test sessions, with Léna finishing just 0.093 seconds off her teammate, and both drivers faster than the rest of the field.
In official practice, Bühler and Quintarelli continued to match each other’s pace, separated by mere hundredths of a second and placing among the top ten overall. They ended FP2 second fastest, confirming their status as serious contenders for a top result.
Despite a few drops of rain between sessions, the track remained mostly dry for qualifying. Matteo Quintarelli was behind the wheel and set a 2:00.123 lap time to take the overall lead, two tenths clear of the #25 Reiter Engineering Ligier. The session was soon red-flagged after Arthur Rogeon in the #30 CD Sport Ligier went off at high speed after Turn 1 and into the barriers.
Following a lengthy stoppage for barrier repairs, the session resumed with just seven minutes remaining. Many drivers improved, with the #87 CLX Motorsport Ligier of Provost taking provisional pole ahead of Hadrien David—only three drivers dipped below the 1:59 barrier. Provost improved again, but Quintarelli put in strong sectors and secured second with a 1:57.337— missing out on pole by just 0.012 seconds.
In a packed grid of 42 cars across the categories, a chaotic start saw debris flying on the main straight; Bühler managed to hold onto second through Turn 1 and engaged in a battle with Bence Valint, who got past into Turn 5. While defending hard, Bühler stayed in the hunt.
Behind them, a collision in the GT3 field involving Iron Dames’ Vanina Ickx and several LMP3 prototypes brought out the safety car. The race resumed ten minutes later. Provost tried to escape at the front, while Bühler applied pressure on Valint to reclaim second. The #29 prototype lost significant bodywork on the Mistral Straight, triggering the first of several Full Course Yellows, including a third shortly after—all within the opening 20 minutes.
At the next restart, Bühler was under pressure from Roussanne in the #92 Forestier Racing, who had gained ground during the caution period and overtook her for third. Despite this, Léna remained competitive, clocking a 2:00.2 lap with a purple third sector. She then dipped under the 2-minute barrier with a 1:59.915, among the fastest times in the field.
Bühler remained fourth and gradually reduced the gap to the podium contenders. On lap 20, she set her personal best of 1:59.809, gaining multiple seconds on the leaders, who were running in the 2:01 range. With LMP3 pit stops approaching, Valint pitted from third, promoting Bühler back to P3.
She brought the #50 Ligier into the pits on lap 26, concluding another impressive stint and handing over to Quintarelli. After the pit cycle, Matteo rejoined in fourth and soon began hunting down Milkas Born in the #25 Reiter Engineering for the final podium spot.
With 45 minutes to go, drama struck when the #26 Bretton Racing car of Gregoire De Sybourg caught fire and stopped on track, prompting a full safety car and bunching up the field. Just before the caution, Quintarelli had managed to pass Born—positioning himself to attack for the win with the field compressed and the leader's gap erased.
When racing resumed with 36 minutes left, Quintarelli resumed his charge and began reeling in Luciano Morano for second place. However, hopes of a podium were dashed when the team received a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He served the penalty on lap 41, just before another FCY for debris, dropping to P13 overall and tenth in class.
With 20 minutes remaining, Quintarelli pushed hard, improving his best lap to a 1:59.517—almost two seconds faster than Wyatt Brichacek and Fernandez-Laser. He passed Brichacek and continued his comeback, overtaking Fernandez-Laser and setting a purple sector two. Although he rapidly closed in on Micouris for a higher class position, time ran out, and the #50 crew finished ninth in LMP3.
Léna described the second round as "a bittersweet outcome".
"Our pace throughout the weekend was once again very competitive, we were in a strong position, running third at the time", Buhler continued. "Unfortunately, a drive-through penalty compromised our result and cost us a potential podium finish."
"I sincerely apologize to the entire team for the outcome. These moments are always difficult to accept, especially when the performance is there. However, racing is full of learning experiences."
While the #50 23 Events Racing duo couldn't capitalize on their race-leading pace once again, they now head to the prestigious third round at Circuit de la Sarthe for the Road to Le Mans event with momentum, hunger, and the clear speed to aim for a breakthrough result.
