Pierre Ragues and the Larbre Competition team were among the GTE-Am pacesetters in the 6 Hours of Bahrain today but an incident in the closing 75 minutes of the race prevented an almost certain podium finish.

 

Pierre was once again joined by Ricky Taylor and Romain Brandela in the #50 Corvette C7.R, and the trio were on competitive form all weekend. From the opening free practice session on Thursday, they established themselves as favourites for the podium – if not for the GTE-Am victory. 

 

Bahrain’s 5.471km layout, adorned with impressive trackside lighting, allows for a special day-into-night format, meaning practice was crucial to find the best car set-up across both hot and cooler track conditions. The stunning sunsets that are typical of the Bahrain 6 Hours offered an appropriate backdrop for the final race of the FIA WEC season.

 

Completing 72 laps on Thursday, Pierre was quickly up to speed and Larbre ended the day second in class. They continued that pace on Friday morning with 23 laps in third practice. Ricky and Romain were on qualifying duties. The average of their respective best lap times was good enough for third on the grid, setting them up nicely for the race. 

 

Ricky took to the cockpit for the start of Saturday’s race, and he got a fantastic start to lead GTE-Am on the opening lap. It was a fitting start on the occasion of team boss Jack Leconte’s birthday! Ricky extended his lead in the opening hour before handing over to Romain. With tricky traffic and close battles, the team dropped a few positions as the race intensified.

 

Pierre started his opening stint with four hours to go and was immediately on the leading pace. Gaining on the top-three, Pierre closed the gap and pulled out his trademark fighting spirit to claim third before handing back over to Ricky. A Full Course Yellow was not ideally timed and the team lost a lap. 

 

Still firmly in the fight for the podium with two hours to go, he took third with a sublime pass ahead of Romain’s next stint. Emerging in fourth place, the charge resumed but with 1h15 remaining, an LMP2 car made contact, causing damage that forced him to pit. The team worked exceptionally quickly to identify the problem as a broken tow link, losing just nine minutes in the pits. Romain returned to the track in order to complete his mandatory time in the car. He soon handed back to Pierre, who was straight back on the pace, and continued to show the team’s full potential until the chequered flag, finishing the race fifth in class.    

 

Pierre commented: “It’s disappointing that we haven’t been able to finish this season on the GTE-Am podium, where we definitely belonged today. The pace of the car was strong, the work of our team was perfect and all us drivers performed at our best. My personal stints were very fast and I was happy to be among the quickest in GTE-Am. We could have finished on the podium today, and we were even in the fight to win in the early stages. It just wasn’t to be. These things happen in endurance racing, and we have to remain positive at what we have achieved this season. We’ve taken podiums and shown ourselves to be real contenders in GTE-Am in every round. That makes me very proud, particularly in my first season in the category. I cannot thank the team enough, every single member, for their support. My partners Group Auto, Sparco and Ellip6 have been there every step of the way. I’m sorry we couldn’t give Jack a better birthday present, but we take many happy memories away from this season. Personally, I am now determined to look ahead to next season, to get my plans confirmed and – I sincerely hope – to be back in this incredible World Endurance Championship.”