BEN TUCK KICKS OFF ELMS SEASON WITH PODIUM AND FASTEST LAP!
Ben Tuck started his European Le Mans Series 2025 season in style last weekend when he and his teammates aboard the #57 Kessel Racing-run Car Guy Ferrari netted second place and Tuck himself walked away with the fastest GT3 lap. The result was an emphatic statement of his intentions for 2025 and comes after one race win and two other podiums already this year in other championships. The race might have even delivered another victory however, as a late incident interrupted an exciting battle for the win between the distinctive bright yellow Ferrari and the leaders, who escaped past the chequered flag just 0.7 seconds ahead of them.
After some positive practice days Ben and his new crew for the 2025 ELMS season, Bronze rated Takeshi Kimura and Platinum rated Daniel Serra were confident that they could mount a serious title challenge from Round 1 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. A strong sixth place qualifying result from Kimura-san put the crew in a good place to make progress, which was exactly what he achieved in the early part of the race. The Japanese driver skilfully pushed forward during his early double stint, bringing the car back to the pits in third place after 65 laps including a Safety Car period.
Ben Tuck took over driving duties for the middle part of the race taking to the track in fourth position. With 24 seconds to make up to the leaders, he immediately lit up the timing sheets claiming fastest lap just three laps later with a time that would not be beaten for the rest of the race. A Safety Car period some 20 laps later was a welcome development which allowed Ben to close in further. It was not long until he took the lead briefly before pitting to allow Daniel Serra to drive the #57 Ferrari to the flag, after setting not only the outright fastest GT3 lap of the race but also claiming the fastest average GT3 lap time.
When Serra emerged in second place just seven seconds behind, all that remained was for him to chase down the leaders, and he relentlessly closed in to less than half a second before a Safety Car period frustrated his progress. The race briefly got underway again for two final laps setting up a thrilling sprint to the line, but it was not enough for the Brazilian to find a way past, with Serra delivering the crew their first podium of the ELMS 2025 season.
The overall pace and performance of the crew in the #57 Ferrari left no doubt that they are a credible threat for the title and Ben was elated:
“What a way to start the ELMS season! We were so close to the win, but a fastest lap of the race shows we deserved to be there. Amazing starting stint from Kimura-san from P6 to P3 and a brilliant closing stint from Daniel! Thank you to Kessel for an excellent car and strategy today!”
Ben next races in the opening round of the GT World Challenge Endurance Cup at Paul Ricard in France on Saturday 12th April.
