After a short break, Miguel Molina has wasted no time getting back behind the wheel. Following his appearance at the Petit Le Mans in the IMSA season finale, the Ferrari factory driver returns to the European Le Mans Series for the 4 Hours of Portimão. Although the title is no longer within their reach, the founder of ROGO Motorsport Agency and his teammates, Andrew Gilbert and Fran Rueda, will do their utmost to end their European campaign in the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 LMGT3 in the best possible way.
Miguel Molina now enters the home stretch of a particularly intense season as he prepares to compete in his second season-finale in just eight days. Last weekend, the Spaniard made a last-minute cameo appearance in North America, replacing Antonio Fuoco at the Petit Le Mans alongside Roberto Lacorte and Lorenzo Patrese at Cetilar Racing.
It was an opportunity that the Catalan thoroughly enjoyed before returning to his European and world championship programmes: « It was a good experience. It was a last-minute call from the team due to a schedule clash for Antonio, so when they needed someone to step in, I was happy to help. It’s a great team with a lot of experience, and I know the car and the GT3 environment very well, so I was glad to help them. We were quite fast during the weekend: Lorenzo got pole position in the GTD class, and we had a strong pace in the race. Unfortunately, we got some penalties which led us to lose some laps, and it was difficult to recover. »
After his Road Atlanta experience, Miguel Molina will now rejoin his regular teammates for the final round of the European Le Mans Series season. The Ferrari factory driver will again team with Andrew Gilbert and Fran Rueda in the #74 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 entered by Kessel Racing, which was recently crowned Bronze Cup champions in the GT World Challenge Europe.
The Spaniard is preparing to take on a circuit he knows well. With its 4.653 kilometres of technical corners and significant elevation changes, the Algarve International Circuit is among the most demanding tracks on the calendar, offering little respite for drivers. Tyre management, racing line selection and consistent pace play a decisive role, especially in the LMGT3 category, where the competition has been particularly fierce this season: four different teams and four different manufacturers have won in five races, while nine of the 13 cars entered have already finished on the podium.
Miguel Molina remains confident ahead of this final battle: « It’s always tough in Portimão. The track is very technical, and tyre management on long runs is never easy. But at the same time, it’s one of the most enjoyable circuits to drive, with big elevation changes and high-speed corners. Our target is straightforward: to be competitive and to finish the championship on a high with a strong result. »
The trio in the #74 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 are tackling this final race determined to capitalise on the lessons learned throughout the season, particularly their podium finish at Imola, to climb up the LMGT3 classification. As the season draws to a close, they want to highlight on track the cohesion that has characterised their campaign.
« We know the car’s strengths, and our line-up with Andy and Fran is solid. We’ll aim for a clean weekend and finish the year on a positive. We intend to end the European Le Mans Series season in the best possible way. It’s been a long and demanding campaign, but also full of great moments. The motivation is still the same: keep improving, fight for top results, and fly the Ferrari and Kessel Racing colors as high as possible. »
The 43 cars entered, including 13 in the LMGT3 category, took to the track on Wednesday for the first collective tests. Practice continues on Thursday until qualifying on Friday. The 4 Hours of Portimão starts at 2:30 pm (local time) on Saturday for the last major European event of the season.
Blanca de Foronda,