Michael Lyons celebrated his first Pro-Am class victory in the Blancpain Endurance Series with an exceptional performance during round three of the season at Paul Ricard in France on Saturday, 20th June – moving the British ace and team-mates Michael Broniszewski and Alessandro Bonacini to within a single point of the Pro-Am championship lead.
With all three Kessel Racing drivers delivering the goods in their respective stints during the challenging six hour contest at the famous Le Castellet track, the No.11 Ferrari 458 Italia sealed a clear victory in Pro-Am and also posted an impressive top five overall result.
Bishop’s Stortford racer Lyons didn’t put a wheel wrong during his second stint in the final quarter of the race, under pitch black night skies, and the result means the trio head to the championship’s blue riband event, the Total 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium next month, brimming with confidence.
“This is a fantastic result”, said the 24-year-old, “The race went pretty well from the start really, qualifying was as expected and we knew we’d have the pace to come through in the race. The guys did a great job with the car, I had to look after it towards the end of the race but we had the pace to control everything to take the win – big thank you to the Kessel guys and Michael and Alessandro.”
Broniszewski began the race for the No.11 Kessel entry from eighth in Pro-Am and 27th place overall and after 60 minutes behind the wheel, the Polish driver pitted from 19th overall and seventh spot in Pro-Am. Handing the Ferrari over to Bonacini, the Italian rejoined the track in a similar position as the first round of stops was completed and by lap 50 he had climbed into the Pro-Am top three.
At the second round of driver-change stops, with two hours having elapsed, Bonacini pitted from second in Pro-Am and 12th place overall with Lyons getting behind the wheel for the first of his two stints. Venturing out onto the track in 18th position and fifth in Pro-Am, the Briton instantly made an impact and carved his way back through to second in class within just 30 minutes of racing.
As the contest approached the halfway point, Lyons moved into the lead of Pro-Am for the first time and when he pitted to hand the car back to Broniszewski the Kessel machine was also inside the top four overall.
Following a mid-race Safety Car period, the Pole held seventh position outright and second in class but moved back into the Pro-Am lead with two hours and 20 minutes left on the clock. Slipping back to second in class before Bonacini returned to the driving seat with a couple of hours to go, as dusk began to set in over Paul Ricard the Italian concluded his second stint from the class lead.
Ahead of the final hour, with fully dark skies having blanketed Le Castellet, Lyons got back behind the wheel and rejoined the action eighth overall and second in Pro-Am. Moving into the class lead once more with 50 minutes to go, he maintained a comfortable advantage to the chequered flag to secure a richly deserved first Blancpain Pro-Am win in the overall top five.
“Michael had a good first start, the re-start wasn’t quite as good but he climbed through well and when I jumped in the car we were in pretty good shape”, reflected Lyons, “At the end of my first stint we’d moved up to leading Pro-Am, which was great, and we knew we had a chance of winning.
“Unfortunately there was a little bit of contact for Michael in his second stint, but the car was OK and there weren’t any real problems. I made sure I looked after the car during the final hour, but everything was OK and I was able to control it from the front. It really is a fantastic result for the whole team and brilliant for our championship.”
Leaping up from equal sixth in the Pro-Am standings to second position, just one point behind the class leaders, Lyons and team-mates Broniszewski and Bonacini have also pulled 17 points clear of their closest pursuers.
Next on the Blancpain Endurance Series schedule is an official test day at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium this coming Wednesday, 24th June, which precedes next month’s blue riband event, the twice-round-the-clock Total 24 Hours of Spa.
Before round four of the Blancpain season, Lyons will return to action in the European Le Mans Series with Murphy Prototypes for round three of its season at the Red Bull Ring in Austria over the weekend 11th/12th July.
Next weekend, meanwhile, he will be in action at the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed in Sussex at the wheel of his Hesketh 308E historic Formula One car.
2015 Blancpain Endurance Series Pro-Am Driver Standings (after Rd3): 2nd Michael Lyons/ Michael Broniszewski/Alessandro Bonacini, 48pts
2015 Blancpain Endurance Series Pro-Am Team Standings (after Rd3): 2nd Kessel Racing, 48pts
