Matteo Cairoli was the author of a splendid performance in the Belgian round of the European Le Mans Series. The 4H of Spa-Francorchamps of the car n.60, driven by Cairoli and his teammates Claudio Schiavoni and Matteo Cressoni, ended with an amazing second position at the checkered flag, which quickly became a win as the Porsche n.16 of Proton Competition was penalized. The marvelous class win was not only a great way to end the weekend, but it also reopened the fight for the championship title in the LMGTE class.
Matteo was extremely consistent during the race, completing his best lap in 2:18.997. After starting from the back of the grid with Schiavoni at the wheel, the n.60 started to make up important positions right when the race entered its second half. The great strategy with pit-stops and driver swaps was another necessary ingredient that allowed Matteo Cairoli and his teammates to close the race right behind the car n.16 of Proton Competition, which actually dominated the race. They were handed a penalty of 10 seconds due to Picariello speeding during the Full Course Yellow regimen. The Porsche 911 RSR n.60 basically did a perfect race, jumping back from the difficult round in Motorland in August and finding again some optimism to bring to Portimao, with the Circuit of the Algarve hosting the last two rounds of the 2023 season.
Matteo Cairoli
“I’m very happy, it was a difficult race, but crossing the finish line second after an incredible recovery makes me really proud. It’s a shame that we didn’t get to win on track, but only following the penalty handed to the car. 16. We were lucky but also daring, as we made up for one lap’s disadvantage on a seven-kilometer track and got very close to the first position. We deserved to do even better, but this final result helps us look forward, and we keep working hard to try and snatch the GTE title. We know that we can do it, and we will try so in both races at Portimao, where every detail will count.”
