Walkenhorst Motorsport in the top 10 at the premiere of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Chandler Hull, Andrew Haryanto and Jeffrey Segal crossed the finish line in the Walkenhorst Motorsport Ferrari 488 GTE EVO at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in eighth place in the GTE AM category.
Le Mans. The 100th anniversary edition of the 24 Heures du Mans had it all. The Walkenhorst Motorsport trio around Chandler Hall, Andrew Haryanto and Jeffrey Segal started the race from 11th place. Even the initial phase involved a number of safety car phases due to accidents and difficult weather conditions. However, the Ferrari 488 GTE EVO was able to stay away from all incidents and went into the night with strong lap times in the LMGTE AM field. In the car with the McIntosh design, the pilots proved that they could keep up with the top-class, international field of drivers.
Numerous retirements and challenging track conditions kept the spectators on edge. Despite two short slips in the gravel trap, the number #100 car had good pace and was able to fight its way back into the top ten.
The team from Melle had prepared intensively for the endurance classic and handled the operational part completely autonomously, although it was the first time the Ferrari 488 GTE EVO was used. A big thank you goes to the technical partner AF Corse, who also contributed to the outstanding performance.
Walkenhorst Motorsport’s premiere at the 24 Hours of Le Mans was to be a complete success. Chandler Hull, Andrew Haryanto and Jeffrey Segal fought their way into the top 10 well into the wee hours and crossed the finish line in front of around 300,000 fans in a strong eighth place in the LMGTE AM category. This corresponds to 36th place overall out of 62 vehicles that started.
For Walkenhorst Motorsport, the coming weeks will continue at a rapid pace. Next weekend, the team returns to the Nürburgring Nordschleife with the proven BMW M4 GT3. The aim is to fight for overall victory with the two Pro vehicles. The following weekend is dedicated to the ADAC GT4 Germany in Zandvoort. Another highlight of the season is the 24-hour race at Spa at the end of June.
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Jeffrey Segal: “It is a great honor to start the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This year, of course, even more because of the anniversary edition and the premiere of Walkenhorst Motorsport. The teamwork was outstanding. It felt like we started working together years ago. It was a great weekend and I’m very happy that we finished the race in the top 10. There were so many accidents and difficult weather bindings. Our result speaks for our fighting spirit. A big thank you to the whole team!”
Chandler Hall: “I am very proud of what we achieved at Le Mans. After winning the Asian Le Mans Championship, the team and I were extremely excited about what to expect at Le Mans. A 24-hour race is not an easy task, especially with a new car, but I knew the team could handle it. Although it was a chaotic race with some treacherous conditions during the night we finished P8. This result exceeded our expectations and we can look back with pride on what we have achieved.”
Andrew Haryanto: “It was a great weekend with Walkenhorst Motorsport. The team’s preparations were great. I am happy that we were able to finish the race with a good position.”
Jörg Breuer: “Walkenhorst Motorsport experienced a very successful Le Mans premiere. The Ferrari 488 GTE with starting number #100 reached the checkered flag at 4:00 p.m. and 307 laps on Sunday in the 100th anniversary race of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We are very happy to have finished the race in very good eighth place out of 21 vehicles in the LMGTE AM class. The Ferrari 488 GTE ran without any problems during the entire preparation time and the duration of the race and our drivers put in a very good performance. Our special thanks go to our partners McIntosh, Piloti and AF Corse. Now we are concentrating on the upcoming tasks, because the next long-distance classic is already in 3 weeks with the 24-hour race in Spa.”
