Podium in the FIA WEC: Proton Competition take second place

Proton Competition’s strong performance at the third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship was richly rewarded with a podium finish. Second place for Dennis Olsen, Stefano Gattuso and Giammarco Levorato in the #88 Ford Mustang marked the team’s first top 3 finish in the LMGT3 class of 2025. The trio’s teammates in the #77 car rounded off a successful weekend in Spa-Francorchamps with fourth position.

Qualifying had already shown that the team would be well in contention in the Ardennes, with both cars safely making it through to the Hyperpole shoot-out. With the #77 car of Bernardo Sousa, Ben Tuck and Ben Barker qualifying in third and the #88 machine of Stefano Gattuso, Giammarco Levorato and Dennis Olsen starting the race from fourth, it was the team’s best qualifying performance with Ford so far in the FIA WEC.

Both crews continued their good form into the race. Thanks to excellent pace, consistent lap times and an offset strategy, both the #77 and #88 cars were at the sharp end of the field for much of the six-hour race. After a strong final stint, it was Olsen who secured second place together with his teammates Gattuso and Levorato. Barker, Tuck and Sousa crossed the line just behind in fourth.

“I am very happy with the race, we had great pace with the Mustang,” said Levorato after Ford’s best overall result so far in the championship. “I think we did a great job right from the start of the weekend, and the podium is just reward for all our hard work. It was a long race with many full course yellows and safety cars, which is why the strategy was so important. Everyone did a great job, both on the track and in the pitlane. Now we can go to Le Mans with a good feeling.”

Proton Competition also made a solid start to the weekend in the Hypercar class. Nicolas Pino, Nicolás Varrone and Neel Jani set the eighth-quickest time in third free practice, showing promise for the upcoming race. Varrone then qualified the car in 14th, just behind the two factory Porsche. But all hopes of a decent points haul were dashed early on, with Pino forced to retire the #99 Porsche 963 due to technical issues after around 50 minutes.

“It’s a real shame we couldn’t continue,” said Varrone. “We improved a lot during this weekend, and with this car and the right strategy I think we could have picked up our first points of the season. Now it’s time to analyse what happened and come back stronger in Le Mans.”

The 24 Hours of Le Mans, the highlight of the FIA WEC season, takes place on 14 and 15 June.

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Copyright: Proton Competition (Paola Depalmas)