Saturday’s Petit Le Mans closed out the 2023 VSCA SportsCar Championship season and in GTD class it was HAC Racing celebrating its maiden series victory with drivers Christophe Demay and Matthew Routon piloting the #111 Lamborghini Hurácan GT3 to the winner’s circle.
Starting on the outside pole, the French-American drivers duo led a race-high 158 laps en route to capturing the win in the third-longest race of the year. It was also a fitting end to the season for HAC Racing, who have had to adjust to the change from Ferrari to Lamborghini this year.
“I personally didn’t enjoy the car too much, honestly. It can sometimes feel a bit dull, but the racing has always been very exciting.”, said Demay.
Finishing the race in first place should have been plenty exciting for Demay and team-mate Routon, as they crossed the finish line just 0.506 seconds over runners-up and new GTD series champions #78 Champion Motorsports, after taking the lead with just four laps remaining in the ten-hour event.
Earlier in the race, Demay had to battle some technical issues during the race as well, to add to the drama.
“I suffered a technical issue on my sim rig, something so rudimentary I’m actually still a bit angry at myself for letting that happen. But it wasn’t something I could solve during a drivers swap, so Matthew stayed in the car for a third stint. That was quite exhausting for him.”
In the end however, the team still won the race, leading to some very emotional scenes in the paddock after the race.
“Chris, you are a damn hero!” Matthew screamed, full of joy and excitement after he watched Demay capture the lead and take victory.
Demay, lost for words, showed some tears in his eyes as he celebrated with his team, after exiting the car.
“After all the hard work and effort we have put in, it’s fantastic to finally get this win. It just means so much.”, said Demay.
The #29 Firestorm Motorsport Porsche with Sean Hatfield and Erol Ureksoy rounded out the podium finishers, also leading ten laps along the way.
Full Send Racing and their #94 BMW M4 GT3 with David Sluiter and Carl Felver finished the 2023 season on a positive note taking fourth place - the team’s first top-five of the year.
Likewise, the #312 Real Pixel Motorsport BMW with Wolfgang Wildenauer and Ronald Gross gets its best result since Daytona, finishing fifth.
Trading Paints Racing and the #119 Lamborghini finishes sixth, ahead of three-time race winners #393 MAD Sim Racing, who end up third in the championship.
Screeching Moose Motorsports loses championship in final race
One of the big storylines of course was the #5 Mercedes of Screeching Moose Motorsports losing the GTD points lead and championship in the very last race of the season after a disappointing P8 finish, eight laps down.
During the fourth hour of the race, Phillip Forrester was going into turn three when his Mercedes AMG GT3 got hit hard in the right rear by the LMDh class #88 BMW of DS Racing eSports Team.
The contact resulted in a broken suspension on the championship contenders and forced the team to come in for a long repair stop. It was the end of all championship hopes for the team out of Maple Ridge, British Columbia and led to heartbreaking scenes in pit lane as the team could only look on helplessly and see how the #78 BMW of Champion Motorsports went on to finish second and snatch the championship away.
Last year’s Endurance Cup champions #6 Torque Freak Racing finished ninth, in what Neil Middleton described as a frustrating season.
“For us, this season has gone as badly as it could have, compared to last year. At least we got the one win (at Laguna Seca)", said Middleton.
The #83 Off in the Esses Racing BMW with Michael Garrone and Joseph Okopien completed the top-ten finishers in Petit Le Mans, but was a little bit too close to its name during the race, actually going off in the esses a couple of times after contact with other competitors. Still, the team battled back to get a top-ten result in the final round of the season.
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