Manuela Gostner continues podium streak with two runner ups at Paul Ricard
- RACERS
- Jul 30, 2024
- 5 min read
Manuela Gostner continued her outstanding Ferrari Challenge Europe season with two second-place finishes at Circuit Paul Ricard, maintaining her streak of podiums at every race meeting and moving up to second in the championship standings.
Manuela Gostner continued her brilliant season in Ferrari Challenge Europe with two second place finishes at Circuit Paul Ricard, where the Prancing Horse one-make series held the fifth round of its 2024 season; the Italian racer has so far climbed the podium at every race meeting to date.
Entering the weekend third in the standings, Gostner was coming off her second race victory of the season at Portimao, although a retirement for a technical issue in race 2 lost her valuable points. Nevertheless, Gostner's season - the first for the new 296 Challenge machine - has been nothing short of remarkable, with the driver from South Tyrol battling for podium positions and race victories at every single round so far.
A podium at Mugello was followed by a third place at the new Balaton Park circuit in Hungary, before a breakthrough weekend at Jerez saw Manuela claiming a pole position, a race win and a second place. Gostner returned to victory in Portimao - and aimed to keep the streak of podiums alive at the fifth round of the European season, held in the South of France at Circuit Paul Ricard.
A well known circuit to most drivers, the Le Castellet racetrack brought notable results to Manuela Gostner in the past, including two podiums in the LMGTE class of the European Le Mans Series. The Italian driver was therefore eager to use her experience to continue her strong campaign in the Shell Cup.
After very positive testing on Friday, Manuela Gostner continued to run at the front in the official practice, where she topped the timing screens with a 2:04.252 lap that placed the #193 Ferrari 296 Challenge ran by Ineco - Reparto Corse RAM 94 thousands of a second clear of Shell Cup championship leader Henry Hassid. very tight session, 6 cars in one second, showing how the weekend will be closely contested in the Shell Cup.
On Saturday morning, Gostner was back in contention for a start at the front of the field; her first timed lap was one-tenth off Hassid's, before the Frenchman set a new personal best with a few minutes to go. Gostner finished second fastest, setting a solid foundation for the weekend.
At the green flag of race 1, Gostner launched off the line with a stellar start, aggressively braking later than her competitors around the outside of Turn 1. This bold move nearly saw her take the lead, but she went slightly deep into the corner, which forced her to slot back behind Henry Hassid. Following closely in third and fourth were Alexander Nussbaumer and Tibor Valint.
However, a major crash involving six cars at turn 5 necessitated the deployment of the safety car at the end of the first lap. The incident required a lengthy recovery process, leading to a red flag with 16 minutes left on the clock. The delay stretched on as the damaged cars were cleared from the track.
Once the race resumed behind the safety car, there were only 13 minutes remaining when the green flag waved again. Gostner had to fend off Valint, who was pushing hard for second place. Hassid managed a perfect restart, maintaining his lead, while Gostner expertly defended her position from Valint.
As the race progressed, Manuela found her rhythm and began closing the gap to Hassid. She posted the fastest lap of the race and, while Hassid responded and kept up the pace, Gostner managed to extend her gap over third-placed Valint, who was now almost seven seconds behind.
Hassid was the only driver consistently lapping in the 2:04 range, but Manuela wasn't far off, running a couple of tenths adrift. In the final laps, Gostner made significant gains, reducing the gap by over a second on the penultimate lap and mounted a late charge, but ultimately finished half a second short of the victory.
Her performance was nevertheless impressive and the Italian earned a well-deserved sixth podium of the season, which allowed Manuela to collect valuable points for the championship. Nussbaumer rounded out the podium after a late move on the last lap on Kirchmayr.
"The race was cut short due to an early incident and red flag, so we only got to race for about half the time", she commented. "I couldn’t match the leader’s pace and had limited chances to overtake, but our car was strong and fast. Ready to give it another shot tomorrow in Race 2!"
In the second qualifying session, Gostner again moved straight up to second after the first timed laps on a sunny Sunday morning. She set fastest sectors but couldn't put together her best lap to challenge Hassid, however securing another start from the front row.
The second race at Circuit Paul Ricard began with an additional formation lap due to a stranded car on the grid. The race finally got underway under the bright and hot sun of the South of France: Hassid made another great start, immediately trying to pull away from the pack. Gostner held her ground in second place, focusing on defending from Valint, who was close behind.
Gostner's defense was robust and she maintained her position, as Valint had no opportunities to find a way past. As the race settled, Gostner began setting purple sectors, also aided by a battle between Valint and Kirchmayr for third that gave her some breathing space. Despite her strong pace, Hassid continued to look untouchable at the front, maintaining a steady lead.
The race was clean throughout, with no major incidents; Gostner focused on managing her pace, keeping the gap to the cars behind to around one second. She kept her cool under the pressure from Valint, who was consistently trying to close in, but she never cracked under pressure.
With a few laps remaining, Kirchmayr hit trouble and dropped down the order, pitting and falling out of contention. Gostner's smart and error-free driving ensured she slightly extended her gap to Valint in the closing laps.
Despite Hassid being out of reach, Manuela maximized her pace and ran a very smart race, ultimately securing her second runner-up finish of the weekend. This solid drive earned her 12 more valuable points on Sunday - enough to move her up to second in the Shell Cup championship standings, now with 91 points to her name and two rounds to go.
"After finishing second in Race 1, I repeated the achievement in Race 2 today", Manuela said. "I am extremely satisfied with these results and proud to share these successes with the RAM Reparto Corse team."
The next event will be at the Nürburgring in Germany on September 5-8, where Manuela Gostner will aim to continue her strong form and strive for the top step of the podium.
