Niklas Krütten and the COOL Racing team took victory again in the LMP3 class at round two of this season’s European Le Mans Series (ELMS).
At the Red Bull Ring in Austria, the ADAC Stiftung Sport driver and his two team-mates, Matt Bell from Great Britain and Switzerland’s Nicolas Maulini, produced a strong performance in conditions that were very difficult at times. Thanks to the team’s perfect race strategy, the trio was able to convert sixth place on the grid into a class victory after 143 laps of racing. After a thrilling conclusion, Bell was the first LMP3 driver across the finish line at the wheel of the #19 Ligier JS P320.
Nicolas Maulini laid the foundation for success at the undulating, 4.318-kilometre circuit. The Swiss immediately made up two places at the start, and a further two over the course of the first lap. After 81 laps, Niklas Krütten took over with the car in second place.
Even as he left the pit lane, it began to drizzle. This soon became heavy rain. Krütten kept a cool head and successfully defended second place in extremely difficult conditions on slicks. The COOL Racing team then reacted to the large amount of water on the track by calling the 18-year-old into the pits to switch to wet tyres. Multiple cars skidded of the track in treacherous conditions, resulting in the appearance of the safety car, which led the field for twelve laps. Krütten’s team used this phase of the race to perform another mandatory pit stop.
The final driver, Matt Bell, took over the driver duties after 110 laps, with the number 19 car in second place, and was able to defend this position. However, with seconds of the four-hour race remaining, the leading team was handed a time penalty, paving the way for Niklas Krütten and his team to claim their second success of the season. Bell fended off the attacks of the second-placed car, eventually crossing the finish line in first place with a narrow lead of just 0.117 seconds.
Niklas Krütten: “What a crazy race! Nicolas’ start was very good again and he immediately got us into second place. He was then hit by another car and we were very concerned, but it was fortunately less serious than we feared. The weather made my stint very difficult and it became a tactical affair. The team did a great job. As we were running a full rain set-up, it became very close again towards the end of the race, but we had done enough. You definitely can’t complain about two wins in two races.”
The COOL Racing team now travels to round three of the ELMS season, from 4th to 6th June in Le Castellet (France), as the championship leader in the LMP3 class.