RODRIGUES CLAIMS CHROME TITLE AS HAHN TAKES OVERALL WIN
José Eduardo Rodrigues clinched the Chrome class championship title as well as Young Driver honours when the last chequered flag fell. The last race of the Le Mans Bugatti weekend gifted a new winner with Lukas Hahn.
Rodrigues only needed to finish the race to secure the Chrome title, but the competitive Portuguese driver wasn't ready to settle for just that. Starting from P2 on the reverse grid, his focus was on Hahn from the moment the lights turned green.
But Hahn was ready for the attack, defending spectacularly to hold onto the race lead. In his attempt to pass the German, Rodrigues left the door open on the inside, an offer Steffi Halm wasn’t going to refuse. The two came close to collecting each other into the gravel trap, but respectful racing won and Rodrigues was demoted to third overall.
It wouldn’t be a repeat of his Race 2 masterclass, nor would he get a spot on the overall podium to end the weekend as Sascha Lenz and Norbert Kiss made light work of him on their charge up the front.
Halm tried but there was no passing Hahn, so she had to settle for second in the last race of the weekend. The pressure was taken off Hahn when Lenz started trying to promote himself to second, Kiss hot on his heels to optimise on any mistakes. But Halm defended well and denied the new 2024 champion a final appearance on the podium.
Kiss was fourth behind Lenz and ahead of Antonio Albacete, giving Lenz even more points advantage on the Spaniard for their battle for third as we head to Jarama.
Rodrigues ended P6 at the chequered flag after Albacete also got past him, but in the grand scheme of securing the Chrome championship that didn’t matter. His second place in Chrome was enough to secure him the 2024 title.
“I feel good. I have done a lot of work in this season,” Rodrigues said. “It’s a good present for me, for my team, for my family.”
Jochen Hahn and André Kursim were the only two Titan drivers unable to pass Rodrigues, finishing P7 and P8 respectively.
Albeit unable to stop Rodrigues taking the title, another class podium for Mark Taylor extends his lead for second in the class. Needing to have a better Sunday than Steffan Faas’ Saturday, Taylor certainly optimised the two races today to bring himself back ahead of his rival. John Newell once again split the two on the track, gifting Taylor and extra point to his advantage.
Luke Garrett finished a strong sixth in class, 12th overall, and headed the last of the finishers – Stefan Kursch, Bradley Smith, Simon Faulkner and Clemens Hecker – to the line.
Craig Reid retired on lap five due to a piece of bodywork that had hit his waterpipe and caused the #68 truck to overheat. Luis Recuenco was the first to retire at the end of lap one with a puncture.
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