KISS BECOMES SIX-TIME CHAMPION WITH SECOND LE MANS WIN
Norbert Kiss has been crowned the 2024 Drivers’ Champion after another dominate drive took him to his 17th win of the season.
Jochen Hahn knew he had to get past off the start to try and deny Kiss the crown, and did everything he could to try and get ahead of the Hungarian into Turn 1. But Kiss was ready for it, and Antonio Albacete optimising on a great start had the German looking behind him as well. Once he made it into the first corners ahead, Kiss used the 11 laps to build out a 5.5s lead that confirmed him as this year’s champion.
“The team did such a good job, we were so strong from the beginning of the season,” Kiss said, reflecting on his sixth title. “11 victories in a row in the beginning of the season, it’s something that was never done before. I’m really proud of our performance.”
After an early launch from the Spaniard, Hahn had a relatively quiet drive to second. Sascha Lenz took advantage of Albacete getting pinned to the outside at the start to line himself up to take third, securing his first podium of the weekend.
Steffi Halm was the Titan to watch as she made an excellent start to climb up from eighth to sixth in the first lap. She had a bit of fighting with José Eduardo Rodrigues, whose defensive driving has been something to behold this weekend, but she go the pass on him, crossing the line P5 at the chequered flag.
André Kursim also found himself battling Rodrigues at the end of the race, just about managing to make the pass before the chequered flag.
Rodrigues took himself one step closer to claiming the Chrome class championship later today with his class victory. Mark Taylor finishing P3 just about keeps the fight alive, but unless the Portuguese driver fails to finish Race 4 the title is his.
He will start on the front row for Race 4, next to Lukas Hahn who took reverse grid pole in P8.
Taylor, the only one mathematically able to stop Rodrigues taking the title today, will start P9 on the grid, just missing out on the reversed section. Importantly for him, however, his P3 in class compared to Steffen Faas’ P6, who almost got three track limits violations, puts him back ahead for second in class.
John Newell and Luis Recuenco split the pair at the chequered flag for class P4 and P5 respectively, but Newell found himself at the front of a Chrome train at the end of the race. Three laps passed with Newell, Recuenco, Faas and Clemens Hecker (who finished P7 in class, P13 overall) bumper to bumper but the Brit managed to hold them off to the flag.
Luke Garrett was P14 as his weekend continues to be trouble free, leading race-by-race entries Stefan Kursch, Bradley Smith, Craig Reid and Simon Faulkner over the line for a full classification.
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