Driven Minds LMGT3 Challenge: Round 1 - Le Mans
Race 1
Qualifying
Only five minutes. One set of tyres. No room for mistakes. I knew from practice I’d be nowhere near the front — not even the top 10. So I went safe and steady. Set a time of 4:06.8, which landed me in P19 out of 30. Made it to the midfield!
Qualified P19 for Race 1 – not fast, but at least I had a great view of the grid!
The Race
The start wasn’t ideal. Dropped to P21 by the esses. Then came the first mess: two cars tangled ahead. I tried to avoid the chaos, thought I had room to the right — but didn’t. Clipped a BMW. Luckily, no harm done to him (cleared by the stewards as NFA), but I lost control and flew into the grass, narrowly avoiding the barriers. Managed to rejoin safely, but by Tertre Rouge, I was down in P28.
Clawed back two spots before Mulsanne Corner. P24 now. Two BMWs were chasing me down the pit entry straight. I tried to block the entry to the chicane, braked too early, and got rear-ended. Lost control. Slid off.
And then — the big mistake: I didn’t hold the brakes. Maybe I panicked. Maybe I thought I was sliding straight. Either way, I arched to the left, back onto the track right as the third BMW tried to rejoin. He slammed into me, spun, and took out a Ferrari in the process.
Total mayhem. All because I didn’t hold the brakes. I got a well-deserved 10-second penalty and 1 license point. One of those small things that snowballs into chaos.
Lap 1 and I’m already exploring the off-track real estate.
One job: hold the brakes. One job.
Trying not to let it ruin my race, I pressed on. But I was all the way down to P29. The BMW that hit me was still behind, hot on my heels. But he overtook me in the second chicane on the Mulsanne straight, P30. Last.
On lap 4 I had gained back a few positions, P27, and closing in on a group of fighting cars. By the end of lap 5 I was in P23 after some overtakes and some drivers spinning.
Catching up!
Had a great scrap with a Ferrari. He went off in Indianapolis, I overtook, he fought back. A BMW joined the party, overtook me, then spun in the Porsche Curves. Passed a McLaren on the outside just before pit entry. Back to P23.
Look ma, no wing!
We battled to the final lap. I went deep into Mulsanne Corner and lost speed. The Ferrari pulled alongside heading to Indianapolis. I tried forcing him right — he didn’t budge. Then I accidentally rubbed my side into him, cars got a bit shaky but luckily no more than that. I didnt fancy another potential penalty so I backed off, yielding the place to him.
Leading a Ferrari? Someone take a picture! Oh wait, I did!
That didn’t last long..
Crossed the line in P23. And thanks to a 10-second gap behind, I kept the position despite the penalty.
P23 – not exactly a podium, but I finished. That's something, right?
Race 2
Qualifying
Once again, kept it clean and cautious. Clocked in at 4:06.1 — a small improvement, landing me P18.
Moved up to P18 for Race 2 – slowly climbing the ladder!
The Race
Lights went green for the second time, and I managed a better start than in race 1 and had gained a position after the straights. But then, as we went into the Mulsanne corner. Disaster. Shame.
Tyres were cold, so braking early should’ve been obvious. But I didn’t. Slammed the brakes late, swerved to the right — wrong move — and ended up spearing an innocent BMW off track. Immediate apology on Discord, but damage was done.
This is what happens when your brain checks out but your throttle doesn’t
The shame..
Sorry BMW, can’t stop now – got places to be.
Rejoined in P28. Same story as before: try to recover, don’t let the shame get in my head.
Worked my way to P24 by lap 4. Eventually finished in P21 when the flag waved — but that penalty was looming. The stewards handed me a 20-second penalty and 2 license points for a first-lap avoidable incident.
Final classification: P22.
Ended Race 2 in P22 after the penalties was applied
After the Flag
Round 1 didn’t go how I hoped. But it wasn’t all bad. The two-race format was a blast, and the field was full of hard, clean racing — even if I brought more chaos than I'd like.
I’ve clearly got work to do. In the World Sprint Championship, I was often alone on track. With LMGT3, I’m in the fight — and maybe getting a bit too confident.
So the goal before Round 2 at Portimão? Reset. Focus on my own driving. Nail braking points. Ignore gaps. Race smart.
Looking forward to the next round.
Even if I’m too far back to get much screen time, there’ll definitely be plenty of great racing and top-notch commentary from the broadcast team!
