{"id":5798,"date":"2026-04-12T18:40:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T18:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.proton-competition.de\/ummendorf\/?p=5798"},"modified":"2026-04-12T18:42:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T18:42:54","slug":"victorious-start-to-european-le-mans-series-season-in-barcelona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.proton-competition.com\/ummendorf\/victorious-start-to-european-le-mans-series-season-in-barcelona\/","title":{"rendered":"Victorious start to European Le Mans Series season in Barcelona"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Proton Competition made a successful start to the 2026 European Le Mans Series with a commanding class victory at the 4 Hours of Barcelona (12 April). In their first race for the team as a trio, Matt Kurzejewski, Richard Lietz and Tom Sargent put together a flawless performance to take the win in the LMGT3 category in their #75 Porsche 911 GT3 R. For the team\u2019s other three entries in the LMGT3, LMP2 and LMP2 Pro-Am classes, it was a story of mixed fortunes.<\/strong>
\u200a
After a promising qualifying in which Kurzejewski secured a second-row starting position, the American driver picked up where he left off in the race, fighting at the sharp end of the field and keeping a cool head through multiple interruptions.
\u200a
Lietz then propelled the #75 Porsche, which sports a special livery for this year\u2019s championship, into contention for the class win with a characteristically superb stint, before handing over to Sargent within striking distance of the leader. The Australian quickly erased the deficit, overtook the leading Mercedes and brought the car home to an assured victory.
\u200a
\u201cI have been away from racing for a year and a half, so to be here with a new car and new teammates and start with a win feels fantastic,\u201d said Kurzejewski. \u201cMy thanks go to Richard and Tom and the entire team for an amazing job today.\u201d
\u200a
In Proton Competition\u2019s second LMGT3 entry, the #77 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Bankcy, Huub van Eijndhoven and Harry King delivered a promising performance against more experienced rivals, finishing eighth in class. The #77 car also set the fastest lap in class, underlining the trio\u2019s strong potential.
\u200a
Christian and Michael Ried\u2019s two prototype entries in the ELMS season-opener saw mixed fortunes. The #88 Oreca 07 of Horst Felbermayr Jr., Horst Felix Felbermayr and Ren\u00e9 Binder lost out due to an unfortunately timed safety car and crossed the line in ninth position in the LMP2 Pro-Am category.
\u200a
For the #9 Oreca 07 crew of Jonas Ried, Sebastian Priaulx and Mike Rockenfeller, the race was over before it really began after Ried was the victim of heavy contact in the second corner. Fortunately, the young German walked away from the shunt.
\u200a
Proton Competition\u2019s next ELMS assignment is at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet on the weekend of 1 to 3 May. However, the team from southern Germany is in action once again in just one week\u2019s time at the FIA World Endurance Championship season-opener at the 6 Hours of Imola (17 to 19 April).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Free for editorial use.
Copyright: Proton Competition (Paola Depalmas)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Proton Competition made a successful start to the 2026 European Le Mans Series with a commanding class victory at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5795,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"serien_fahrzeuge":[],"class_list":["post-5798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nVictorious start to European Le Mans Series season in Barcelona - Proton Competition Ummendorf<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.proton-competition.com\/ummendorf\/victorious-start-to-european-le-mans-series-season-in-barcelona\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Victorious start to European Le Mans Series season in Barcelona - 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