PORTIMÃO - For the third round of the 2024 Creventic 24h series, we headed to Portimão. The Autódromo Internacional do Algarve is a challenging track with significant elevation changes, making it a personal favorite of mine. After our podium finish at Spa, we were determined to build on that success and aim for another podium position to maintain our second place in the championship.
With 24 hours of racing ahead, we had to set up our car to be as durable as possible while maintaining competitive speed. On Thursday, we used our track time to familiarize everyone with the circuit and to fine-tune our car. It was a solid day of testing, which boosted our confidence for the weekend's race.
During Friday's qualifying session, we secured a P6. After qualifying, we discovered a minor issue with the car, but the team quickly fixed it before Saturday's race. Although it was a bit disappointing, it was not a disaster, as we had a long race ahead.
On Saturday, our objective was to stay out of trouble while making our way up the field, and we accomplished just that. The heat made it an incredibly tough race, but we managed to stay consistent and quick. We were running around the podium positions before nightfall. You can't win a 24-hour race during the night stints, but you can definitely lose it there. Our goal was to steer clear of trouble during the night and survive it without losing touch with the front-runners. We exceeded our expectations by not only avoiding trouble but also putting pressure on the competitors ahead, eventually overtaking them and pulling away. Some amazing but tough stints made our night incredible. During the morning hours, we pushed hard and moved into P2. From there, we pulled away from the competitors behind us, with only our sister car from Red Ant Racing still ahead.
We finished the race under hot conditions and celebrated our second consecutive P2 finish, securing our P2 position in the championship. This race proved once again that we are heading in the right direction and that more great things are to come this year.
A big thanks to the entire Red Ant Racing crew, my sponsors, and everyone else who has supported me over the past weeks, months, and years. The support I received before and during the weekend really fueled my performance.
Now, the focus shifts to the next race in la bella Italia on July 6th at the Misano World Circuit. Let’s keep this momentum going!
