Lamborghini recorded a superb double victory in the Road to Le Mans races at the famous Circuit de la Sarthe in the hands of FFF Racing’s Hiroshi Hamaguchi and Andrea Caldarelli. The Road to Le Mans is part of the Le Mans Cup, a championship dedicated to LMP3 and GT3 machinery, and runs on the support bill of the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Hamaguchi and Lamborghini Factory Driver Caldarelli, at the wheel of the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo #63, kicked off the weekend’s proceedings positively by setting the second fastest time in the opening practice session before going one better in the second session. The #63 Huracán then claimed pole position for the first of two 55-minute races held on Friday afternoon which Hamaguchi and Caldarelli converted into a commanding victory.
Leading the opening stint, Hamaguchi opened up a healthy margin over the nearest challengers before handing over to Caldarelli at the mandatory pit-stop. Caldarelli continued the strong work of his Japanese team-mate in the second half of the race, extending the advantage to just over 16 seconds by the flag.
The pair started Saturday morning’s damp second race from second on the grid but quickly moved to the head of the field thanks to an assertive move by Hamaguchi approaching the first chicane. Again, Caldarelli maintained the lead after the pit-stop, but the margin ahead of David Perel’s Ferrari was much narrower this time around.
Perel closed the gap progressively in the final stages and got to within half a second entering the final corners, but Caldarelli and Hamaguchi had already done enough to take a second victory of the weekend.
Andrea Caldarelli: “Hiroshi did an amazing job, he kept the lead at the start, with all the LMP3s in the middle. All the guys at home, they did an amazing job with the car, it was fantastic.”
Hiroshi Hamaguchi: “I am very happy with this result, to be on the top step of the podium at Le Mans, it’s an amazing feeling. I cannot thank Andrea enough, he did a great job. After my podium in 2016, I am happy to be back.”
Source. Lamborghini
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