With a great recovery during the last minutes of the race, Andrea Piccini and Claudio Schiavoni take the fifth podium in seven races and secure the third place in the final classification of the 2018 Michelin Le Mans Cup at the wheel of Ferrari 488 GT3 (Kessel Racing). Schiavoni started and with an excellent first hour of driving managing in the best way the car, which struggeling due to the very low temperatures in the morning, keeping the gap from the opponents. After the driver change, Andrea immediately started to recover positions conquering the third place that allowed the italian duo to defend the third position in the ranking. Only one point in the standings over Marco Cioci and Piergiuseppe Perazzini who finished the race in second place; winners, once again, Giacomo Piccini and Sergio Pianezzola, already champions after the event in Spa-Francorchamps. “We are very happy – said Andrea Piccini – and the main target was to be able to defend the third position in the standings from Perazzini and Cioci: we did it, conquering the fifth podium of the season. It was almost impossible for us to take the second place in the championship, which we missed in the end for only 4 points, but that’s fine. I still have to praise my team-mate, Claudio Schiavoni, who brings home such an important result to his first season in an international endurance championship. Constantly growing during the year, here in Portimao has completed its best race of the season, staying very close to our opponents and preparing the ground for my comeback in the second part of the race. We therefore close on the podium of the Michelin Le Mans Cup after having collected a second and four third places. I would therefore say that we can be satisfied with the achievement achieved. A goal that, together with the title won by my brother Giacomo and Sergio Pianezzola, has contributed to the affirmation of Kessel Racing in the classification by team“. The final ranking sees Giacomo Piccini and Sergio Pianezzola with 138 points, ahead of Christoph Ulrich and Maurizio Mediani with 83; Andrea Piccini and Claudio Schiavoni are third at 79.
