One week after Kessel Racing narrowly missed out on winning the European Le Mans Series Championship in LMGT3 in the last corner of the very last lap of the race at Portimâo, the Swiss-based team is looking back at an exciting season with two race victories at Spa-Francorchamps and Mugello.
The last round of the European Le Mans Series was everything one could asked for, but after the 4 Hours of Portimâo, all the drama and excitement from the start to the chequered flag did not lead to the hoped result – winning the title.
“This is what racing is all about”, as Takeshi Kimura reflects. “You do whatever it takes to win. I’m personally very satisfied with the race, because I think we pushed our opponents so hard. I think we won in a different way because we made them want to win by any means necessary as we rose to fifth place.”
Kessel Racing had a bumpy start to the season with ninth place and only two points in the opening race at Barcelona, whilst a technical issue stopped the team from finishing on the podium in second place at Paul Ricard. “This was the biggest disappointment”, says Kimura-san. “We were having a good pace until the power steering broke. That was a real shame.”
Imola brought the team its first podium finish, however, a penalty given after the race set the team back into fourth place. It was not until the race meeting at Spa-Francorchamps, where the #57 Ferrari 296 GT3 sensationally took its first win of the season – which was followed by a back-to-back victory on Ferrari home turf five weeks later at Mugello.
“I think the race in Mugello was one of the special moments for me in ELMS this year”, says Daniel Serra, Ferrari works driver, who extended his long-term relationship with the Italian car brand for many more years. “It was so dramatic going into the lead in the last minutes of the race, on a track I had never raced before. I have been impressed by my team-mate Esteban all year, but that raced demonstrated how very talented he is as a driver. He has an incredible speed and consistency and with Kimura-sans commitment this win was something extraordinary.”
Before the second part of the ELMS season, Kessel Racing was no contender for winning the title. Everything changed with two victories and the Swiss-based team arrived at the season finale as leaders of the championship. It was always going to be a close one, but the last minutes of the race were nail-biting. “Even though we were all frustrated, we all know we lost the title at the beginning of the season”, says Esteban Masson. “For me as a Rookie I am really happy with what we have achieved and the great relationship we have within the team – this is something everyone can be proud of.”
Kessel Racing crossed the finishing line in fifth place and in the end, it was only two points difference to have won the championship title. “People might think of the last race, but I personally enjoyed it because everybody was so serious about winning the championship and we were at the top of the series ranking. It was an exciting situation”, says Kimura-san.