PREMA wins 2022 European Le Mans Series at Portimao
With a phenomenal win at Portimão, the fourth of the season, PREMA captured the 2022 European Le Mans Series title as the trio of Juan Manuel Correa, Louis Delétraz, and Ferdinand Habsburg led from the opening lap to the finish in a really challenging event. With the key contribution of the team’s WEC runner Lorenzo Colombo, who filled for Correa in the opening rounds of the season, and with the incredible teamwork provided by its whole staff, PREMA is now a champion in its first endurance season.
After practice and qualifying were held in warm and sunny conditions, as soon as the cars hit the starting grid, the rain started to fall, and precipitations came back multiple times during the 4 hours, although never enough to make a move to rain tyres, to cause some incidents.
Correa took the start and cruised to the lead in incredibly tricky conditions, managing the situation perfectly and opting for a conservative approach. He then handed the car to Habsburg who, with the strategy playing out, powered to the lead nowhere to be seen and built a huge margin with a stunning drive.
Delétraz was again drafted in for the final stint, and like both his teammates, he experienced his share of precipitations and neutralizations. But the Swissman – as many other times this season – put up a perfect stint, staying out of trouble in a crucial moment, when the closest championship competitors were running in P2 and any hiccup could have been fatal.
While Delétraz has successfully defended his ELMS crown, Habsburg added the trophy to his list of accomplishments, which includes the WEC, Le Mans, and Asian Le Mans Series titles. For Correa, it was the first race win in Endurance Racing, only in his second career start with very limited prior testing.
Having achieved four wins in six races, the #9 Oreca 07 LMP2 racecar and its crew had a memorable ELMS season, but the team will immediately refocus, after some well-deserved celebrations, on the final round of the FIA WEC in Bahrain.
#9 JUAN MANUEL CORREA
“It feels good. It was a very good race, a really tricky one with mixed conditions, but we managed it well. I felt extremely comfortable and I even ended up with the fastest lap, which is a little bonus for me. I’m really happy to get my first win in endurance, and doing it with PREMA is really special, also helping the team to win the championship. It was my main goal, and we got that done. I’m very pleased. A big thank you to the whole team and my teammates. It has been one hell of a ride!”
#9 LOUIS DELETRAZ
“It was hard because they gave me the car with a big lead and said, now I just have to drive it to the end, the Panis team is second, and they’ll never catch me, but if I put it into the wall, or we have an issue, we lose the championship. It was the longest hour and ten minutes of my life. I really wanted this title, and I took zero risks, just driving, driving, driving. It was very intense because I didn’t have to push, but when you don’t push, it’s where mistakes happen. Overall, I enjoyed the season a lot. It has been a lot of stress, a lot of work, and a lot of pleasure, and in the end, we won four races. It’s really amazing. I love being competitive, I love being part of PREMA, and winning a title like this is fantastic, so thank you PREMA and Iron Lynx for everything.”
#9 FERDINAND HABSBURG
“It feels brilliant! The race was so long today, and it was always going to be difficult from the beginning. We turned it around, squeezed it, flipped it over, turned it into some pasta, then some pizza, added some sauce, and here we are, ELMS champions! We had everything to lose, the track always had a little spray and water, and a few cars spinning. It’s the worst when you just want to have a simple race, but in the end, I felt so confident in the car, and it’s easy to do such a good job with such a good car.”
Source | Photo: PREMA Racing