THREE PUNCTURES SHATTER THE TEAM'S HOPES

After the summer break, Panis Racing, bolstered by their brilliant victory in Imola, was eager to return to competition for the 4th round of the ELMS championship at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Despite a race full of twists and turns where the podium seemed within reach, the ORECA #65 suffered three punctures in the final minutes, ultimately crossing the finish line in 6th position.

Unlike other meetings, the private tests took place on Wednesday. After two sessions (P6 and P2), often interrupted by red flags, the Milesi/Leclerc/Maldonado crew fine-tuned the settings of the ORECA #65 with the engineers in preparation for the upcoming free practice sessions. Thanks to meticulous work, the team and drivers shone during Thursday and Friday morning's free practice sessions, securing P1 and P3 respectively.

Despite challenging conditions, including a red flag interruption and heavy traffic, Charles Milesi delivered an excellent performance in qualifying, placing Panis Racing in second position on the starting grid.

The start on the Ardennes circuit was entrusted to Silver driver Manuel Maldonado. Cautious, he conceded two places at the first corner. A safety car quickly entered the track, and Manuel defended his 4th place during his first stint. After a somewhat chaotic pit stop, he rejoined in 13th position, just before the deployment of a virtual safety car, followed by another safety car. After 1 hour and 15 minutes of racing, Arthur Leclerc took over the wheel, but barely on track, a new safety car was deployed. Unfortunately, right after the restart, the TDS Racing car was involved in an accident, prompting another safety car intervention. After several laps behind the safety car, a determined Arthur began a spectacular comeback, handing the car over to Charles in 6th position, with 1 hour and 30 minutes remaining.

With his impressive speed, Charles closed the gap with the competitors, and after the driver changes in all teams, the ORECA #65 found itself in the lead with one hour remaining in the race. However, a front-right puncture forced Charles to pit two laps later. Upon returning to the track, he was relegated to 9th position. Undeterred, he continued to fight, consistently setting the fastest lap times and even securing the fastest lap of the race.

With 22 minutes left in the race, while back in the lead, another puncture forced him to return to the pits. He emerged in 6th position. In a final heroic effort, he made two consecutive overtakes, followed by a third on IDEC #28 to climb to 3rd place. But with four minutes remaining, the tires failed once more, dashing his hopes. He ultimately finished the race in 6th place, despite an exceptional performance.