Here's what top drivers of Saturday's races at Le Mans had to say once the dust settled.
What the drivers said on Saturday at Le Mans
Race 1
1st Steffi Halm – Reinert Racing | MAN
“I always used to say that I’m not happy with qualifying, that I need to do better and that’s what happed this morning – it was perfect to start from pole position. The start was great and the speed was there. After, I got two warning for penalty markers, so I slowed down completely. That is why I Jochen [Hahn] and ‘Norbi’ [Kiss] closed up the gap. I knew however that if I don’t make a mistake they won’t be able to overtake me. I wanted to keep it safe because a third penalty marker and it would have been a drive through penalty.
The Red Bull Ring was my first ever win in non-reversed grid race so that will always be something special but today was also very important. The pressure on my side was a little bit higher than normal – I knew that I have to finish in front of him to catch him in the overall standings.”
2nd Jochen Hahn – Team Hahn Racing | Iveco
“I’m very happy. I was on the second row and had a fantastic start. Steffi [Halm] did a good job and it wasn’t possible to close up the gap for most of the race, only in the end but it was not possible to overtake. We had a problem in qualifying and looking from this side second place reflects where we are.”
3rd Norbert Kiss – Team Tankpool24 Racing | Mercedes-Benz
“Qualifying was not too bad. When I first heard that I’m second I thought that maybe Adam [Lacko] or Jochen are on pole but when I heard that Steffi is on pole I knew right away that this is not good for us in the championship.
I made a big mistake at the start. I was going too slow and had to change down one gear to have boost. After that, I was down a couple of places to come back to third in the first breaking zone. It was a good and lucky manoeuvre.”
Race 2
1st Norbert Kiss – Team Tankpool24 Racing | Mercedes-Benz
“It was a really good race. I came out third after the first corner because Sascha [Lenz] and Adam [Lacko] collided in front of me, so that was already quite lucky for me. Then I could catch up with Gerd [Korber] and Antonio [Albacete] and could follow them closely. They collided and gave me the opportunity to overtake. I came out in front of Gerd right away but with Antonio we were side by side for two more turns and eventually, I came out in front in the last sector of the circuit. Through the last three turns I was driving very defensively to make sure that Antonio stays behind me. It was lucky but I was there when I needed to be.”
2nd Antonio Albacete – Truck Sport Lutz Bernau | MAN
“It was a very close race. I was waiting for a moment to attack. I saw an opportunity on the last lap and I had to try. He left the door open, I went into the inside and then he closed the door and we had contact – it’s racing.”
3rd Gerd Korber – Team Schwabentruck | Iveco
“I think it’s not necessary to drive that hard in the last race for only one point. I’m unlucky because I won’t have this win for my team. They worked very hard for me.
This year I didn’t really understand the truck, so was really happy to see that now it started to work. I learned so much today so I’m sure that tomorrow, especially in the Timed Practice, we’re capable of better results.”