Promising results at Le Castellet
Proton Competition built on their solid start to the 2026 European Le Mans Series with some determined performances at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet on 3 May. The standout results came in the LMGT3 category, while the team’s two prototypes also delivered encouraging displays in the second round of the season.
Recording a strong sixth position was the #77 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Bankcy, Huub van Eijndhoven and Joel Sturm. Bankcy started the trio’s race with a rapid opening stint, before handing over to new team member Joel Sturm. As the race reached a conclusion, a gamble on fuel strategy saw the #77 crew in with a shout of a podium finish with Huub van Eijndhoven behind the wheel. However, a late refuelling call saw the young Dutchman cross the line in sixth place.
“It was a very good race for us,” said van Eijndhoven. “Bankcy did a great job at the start, showing excellent pace and making up positions. Joel’s stint was amazing, and he closed the gap to the leaders a lot. In my final stint I also managed to overtake some of our competitors, but unfortunately we had to pit for a splash and dash late in the race.”
The #75 Porsche 911 GT3 R was also in contention for a strong result at Le Castellet. After qualifying fourth, Matt Kurzejewski carried over his form from the previous round in Barcelona, putting the car in an excellent position by the halfway mark. Austrian Richard Lietz continued the progress, but a series of safety car interruptions disrupted the trio’s momentum. Tom Sargent fought hard in the final stint to bring the car home in eighth position to secure four championship points and keep the team firmly in second position in the standings.
Another top-8 finish came in the LMP2 category, where the #9 Oreca 07 of Jonas Ried, Sebastian Priaulx and Mike Rockenfeller focused on building cohesion, making improvements and logging valuable mileage as a new driver trio.
“It feels like we maximised what we had in the package today,” said Jonas Ried. “We made a good step forward and some real improvements, so there are a lot of positives to take away from the race weekend.”
For Proton Competition’s fourth entry, the #88 Oreca 07 of Horst Felbermayr Jr., Horst Felix Felbermayr and René Binder, the 4 Hours of Le Castellet proved a race that never quite went to plan. An early penalty dropped the crew down the order, but the all-Austrian threesome fought back to bring the car home in twelfth position in the LMP2 Pro-Am class.
The next race in the European Le Mans Series is the 4 Hours of Imola in early July. Before then, Proton Competition will be back in action at round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on the weekend of 7 to 9 May.
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Copyright: Proton Competition (Paola Depalmas)
