Conciliatory season finale for Frikadelli Racing in the Michelin Le Mans Cup
17.10.2022
At the season finale of the Michelin Le Mans Cup in Portimao, the Frikadelli Racing Team finished eleventh overall. Thanks to a good strategy, Klaus Abbelen and Felipe Laser were able to fight their way up from 25th on the grid in a chaotic race. Next weekend, the team from Barweiler will continue with the penultimate round of the Nürburgring Endurance Series.
“Our goal was to get another conciliatory result at the end of the Michelin Le Mans Cup season. We did it with eleventh place overall, although it didn't look like it based on the impressions from qualifying. In the race, however, we were on the spot and, above all, got the timing right for the pit stop, which ultimately pushed us far up the front,” explains team boss Klaus Abbelen, who started the race from 25th place on the grid and got through unscathed the hectic initial phase came.
Due to a serious accident in the front field, the race control was forced to interrupt the race with the red flag after just 13 minutes. At this point, Abbelen found himself in 24th position with the #30 Ligier JS P320, from which he was to restart for the allotted 32-minute remaining driving time. While many teams went to the pits after the first lap to change drivers, Abbelen completed one more lap on the track before handing over the cockpit to Felipe Laser before he came in for the stop himself. Thanks to this spot-on decision, the #30 Ligier JS P320 moved up to 12th place. In the remaining time of the race, Laser was able to move up another place and ultimately crossed the finish line in eleventh place overall.
“The Michelin Le Mans Cup was a lot of fun again this year. We kept learning from station to station and were able to constantly improve our performance, the highlight being our tenth place overall in Imola. Whether we will start here again in 2023 will be decided during the winter break. The series will certainly be a closer choice, although we would then aim for the top 10 with even more test kilometers,” Abbelen continues.
His teammate Felipe Laser adds: “The result in Portimao was definitely okay, although it was a shame that we narrowly missed out on the points in the end. We were close to the top 10, but unfortunately it was not possible to get past the short time. In the second stint we were the fifth fastest car in the field, which is why a lot more would have been possible with a little more remaining driving time. All in all, I can only thank Klaus and the entire Frikadelli Racing team for the LMP3 season. I think we took the next step together and learned a lot over the season. Of course there is still a lot to do, but if the Michelin Le Mans Cup continues in 2023, we can continue to build on this good basis.”
Next stop: eighth round of the Nürburgring Endurance Series
The next race for Frikadelli Racing will follow next weekend as part of the Nürburgring Endurance Series. After Klaus Abbelen and "Jules" took third place in the AM drivers' championship of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring with their first win of the season at the last NLS race, they now want to defend it. Together with Felipe Laser, they take turns driving the #111 Porsche 992 GT3 Cup as usual. Qualifying will take place on Saturday, October 22, 2022 from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., with the four-hour race starting at 12:00 p.m.
