Frikadelli Racing with an upward trend in the Michelin Le Mans Cup
29.08.2023
After the difficult Le Mans Cup weekend in Le Castellet, Frikadelli Racing was able to take another important step forward in Aragon, Spain. With the #30 Ligier JS P320, Klaus Abbelen and Felipe Laser finished 16th overall in a field of more than 40 vehicles. In terms of pure racing speed, a place in the top 10 would have been possible for the driver duo.
“All in all we are very happy with the weekend in Aragon. After initially struggling with the setup in the free practice sessions, we managed to make the right adjustments for qualifying. In addition, our racing speed also gives us a good feeling for the remaining two races of the season in Spa-Francorchamps and Portimao,” sums up team boss Klaus Abbelen.
Abbelen tackled the 110-minute race from 25th position and successfully avoided an initial crash involving several vehicles. As a result, the #30 Frikadelli Ligier JS P320 jumped straight up to 19th place. After that, Abbelen worked his way into the top 15 with a strong pace.
“In the early stages of the race, there was a lot going on on the track, as evidenced by the full course yellow and two safety car phases. At the restart I tried to attack the man in front, but the cooled down tires weren't in the right temperature range again. This blocked the rear axle and unfortunately I spun,” said Abbelen, who handed over the cockpit to Felipe Laser in 25th place overall. The man from Leipzig managed to work his way up to 16th place overall before the black and white checkered flag fell.
“Without the loss of time due to two small spins, we would have finished seventh or eighth overall, which would have been really ideal in this strong field of participants. It's a shame, but we'll attack again in Spa-Francorchamps," said Abbelen. His team mate Laser added: “Of course we are a bit disappointed with the result because more could have been possible. Nevertheless, we will analyze the weekend carefully and continue to develop our LMP3 vehicle for the next races. I'm sure that we still have reserves when it comes to setting up the car, which we need to exploit. What made me very happy, however, was Klaus' strong performance at the start of the race and the great work of the entire team. That was once again a lot of fun.”
Frikadelli Racing continues with the 12h Nürburgring from September 9th to 10th, 2023. Two weeks later the Michelin Le Mans Cup follows in Spa-Francorchamps, parallel to the next round of the Nürburgring Endurance Series. Despite the scheduling conflict, the team from Barweiler will face the challenge of completing both events.
