Melissa Kozyra scores top-ten finish on Le Mans debut as Ferrari Challenge joins 24 Hours support bill

Competing on one of the biggest stages in international motorsport, Melissa Kozyra enjoyed a positive debut weekend at Circuit de la Sarthe, securing a top-ten class finish as Ferrari Challenge took centre stage during the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans support programme.

Photo credits: Ferrari Races

Competing on one of the biggest stages in international motorsport, Melissa Kozyra enjoyed a positive debut weekend at Circuit de la Sarthe, securing a top-ten class finish as Ferrari Challenge took centre stage during the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans support programme.

For Ferrari Challenge competitors, the opportunity to race at Le Mans represents one of the most coveted experiences in the series. The legendary French circuit, home of the world's most famous endurance race, welcomed Ferrari Challenge as part of the 24 Hours of Le Mans event, giving drivers the chance to compete in front of the global sportscar racing community.

The prestige of the occasion was reflected in a massive entry list of 61 Ferrari 296 Challenge cars spread across the four classes, all battling for glory at the biggest sportscar racing event on the planet.

Among the field were two female drivers making the trip from the United States.

Veteran Ferrari Challenge racer Lisa Clark returned to the international stage aboard the #130 Pellin Racing Ferrari 296 Challenge in the Shell category. Clark brought extensive Ferrari Challenge experience, having previously competed in both the North American and European championships.

Alongside her was Melissa Kozyra, one of the emerging female talents from Ferrari Challenge North America. Relatively new to GT racing but already showing significant progress, Kozyra arrived at Le Mans looking to continue her development while tackling one of the world's most iconic circuits for the first time.

Driving the #308 Ferrari of Naples entry in the Shell-AM category, she immediately proved she belonged among the frontrunners in class. From the opening practice session, in fact, Kozyra demonstrated impressive speed. As drivers adapted to the unique demands of the 13.6-kilometre Circuit de la Sarthe, she quickly ran near the front of the Shell-AM field.

Her best lap of 4:31.608 placed her second in class during the first session, an excellent start to the weekend and an encouraging sign of her potential pace.

The field then found substantial improvements in the second practice session as confidence around the circuit increased.

Lowering her best time to a 4:07.030, Kozyra finished eighth fastest and comfortably inside the overall midfield despite competing in the Shell-AM category, displaying growing confidence to be a genuine contender for a podium result.

Throughout qualifying, Kozyra consistently ran among the fastest Shell-AM drivers while also outperforming several competitors from the higher Shell class. The pace translated into strong starting positions: for Race 1, Kozyra qualified fourth in Shell-AM and 37th overall among the 61-car field. Thanks to her second-fastest qualifying lap, she would line up third in class for Race 2.

Lisa Clark, meanwhile, qualified 15th in the Shell category.

Photo credits: Ferrari Races

Before the start of the opening race, Kozyra was already up one position, as Boris Gideon's car had not been repaired following qualifying issues, meaning the driver who had originally qualified third would not take the start. As a result, Kozyra inherited additional clear track ahead and moved one position closer to the front.

At the start of the Shell race, Kozyra initially lost one position in class; while negotiating the opening corners she ran slightly deep into Turn 1 but avoided any major issues.

The crowded opening lap then saw her dropping behind Sperman and found herself fifth in Shell-AM, also sitting behind several competitors from the Shell category.

Clark enjoyed a steadier opening phase; starting 15th in Shell, she successfully held her position through the first corners.

As the race settled, Ernst Kirchmayr encountered problems and was forced to pit. Although Kozyra had gained positions overall and moved up to 38th overall, she remained fifth in Shell-AM.

Clark, meanwhile, began making progress: when Hunter spun at the Dunlop Chicane, Clark capitalised and moved into 14th position in Shell. Kirchmayr's unscheduled pit stop then promoted her another place into 13th.

By lap three, Clark had overtaken Sandman to climb into 12th position in class. At the same time, the race was interrupted by slow zones after incidents involving Verhagen and Turner.

The neutralisation would impact Kozyra's race; in what became a particularly messy slow-zone period, she lost a significant amount of track position relative to her direct competitors. By lap four she had fallen to 11th in Shell-AM, with multiple rivals gaining positions during the neutralisation.

When green-flag racing resumed, the situation worsened further, as Kozyra dropped to 15th in Shell-AM despite trying to fight back. When Younessi subsequently lost positions, Kozyra climbed to 14th on lap five.

Although her lap times remained solid, the earlier slow-zone sequence had cost her substantial track position, forcing her into recovery mode for the remainder of the race.

Further ahead, Clark continued battling in the Shell category. Hunter recovered and managed to retake the position from Clark as the pair fought intensely for position.

Meanwhile, Kozyra began mounting a comeback. Over the closing laps she steadily reclaimed positions, moving into 12th place with a strong final-lap charge. By the chequered flag, Kozyra had recovered close to the top ten in Shell-AM. While the result was respectable, it did not fully reflect the pace she had shown throughout the weekend.

Lisa Clark completed a clean race and crossed the line 11th in the Shell category.

Photo credits: Ferrari Races

With anticipation building ahead of the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ferrari Challenge contested its second race of the weekend in front of packed grandstands and a growing crowd around the circuit on Saturday morning.

Kozyra entered the race with another strong opportunity: starting third in Shell-AM, she had every chance of converting her qualifying pace into a podium challenge.

Clark lined up 14th in the Shell class.

The start however proved challenging; a delayed acceleration from the leaders in the Shell classes caught several drivers out and disrupted the field's momentum. Kozyra lost several positions in class during the opening phase.

However, bigger chaos erupted almost immediately as Valint spun in the opening corners, triggering a chain reaction of avoidance manoeuvres throughout the pack. Drivers scattered across the track in an effort to avoid the spinning Ferrari. Kozyra reacted brilliantly and avoided the incident, gaining several positions while many around her were delayed. Clark also made progress overall while maintaining 14th position in the Shell class.

Despite successfully avoiding the opening-lap drama, Kozyra then slipped backwards in the tightly packed Shell-AM field and completed the opening lap 12th in class.

Clark's race also became more complicated, finding herself battling Logan for 14th in Shell, with Logan eventually making the move by the end of lap one. Clark then lost additional ground to several Shell-AM competitors after a brief excursion through the gravel, although she managed to rejoin safely.

Kozyra, meanwhile, began finding her rhythm. On lap two she overtook Akatsu to move into 11th position. Another pass soon followed, bringing her back inside the top ten in Shell-AM.

More importantly, she was now running faster than the three cars directly ahead.

Unfortunately, the race would soon be interrupted by a major accident; at the first Mulsanne chicane, Ide and Morrow collided under braking at high speed. The misunderstanding between the two drivers resulted in a heavy impact with the barriers and brought out the safety car.

The neutralisation combined the Pirelli and Shell fields behind the safety car as marshals worked to clear the damaged cars. At the time of the caution, Kozyra was running tenth in Shell-AM and Clark had recovered to 14th in Shell after Valint pitted with problems.

With approximately seven minutes remaining, the safety car prepared to return to the pits and set up a short sprint to the finish - however, further drama followed. An incident involving Younessi occurred behind the safety car, and although the race briefly returned to green-flag conditions for only a handful of corners, officials quickly red-flagged the race due to stationary cars on track.

The stoppage effectively ended the contest. Melissa Kozyra was classified tenth in Shell-AM, securing a top-ten finish on her first appearance at Le Mans. While she could not fully convert the excellent pace shown in practice and qualifying into a podium challenge, the result still represented a strong debut at one of the most demanding circuits in world motorsport.

Clark was classified 13th in the Shell category, completing a valuable learning weekend at Circuit de la Sarthe.

Although neither driver left Le Mans with a trophy, both gained invaluable experience racing on one of the sport's greatest stages.