It wasn’t smooth sailing through the practice sessions as the drivers and team struggled to find the sweet spot in the setup and finished Qualifying in P7.
Ferdinand took the wheel at the start in the scorching heat, picking his way through the chaotic opening lap. He was already up in P4 when the safety car was first deployed. The REMUS Performance Sportexhaust supported driver caught the restart in a perfect rhythm, immediately attacking the Racing Team Turkey car for P3 and overtook them with a nice move down the inside at turn 1. It took him only a few more laps to reel Kruetten in and with three and a half hours left on the clock he was already up to P2. Carving his way through the traffic, he swept past Canal to storm into the lead.
From that moment on, the AVL Racetech Ambassador put on a dominant display, and after an impeccable double stint, he passed the wheel to the team’s Silver driver, Lorenzo Colombo.
The Italian youngster picked up where Ferdinand left off and completed a perfect run, before handing the car over to Louis Dèletraz. The 2021 ELMS champion from Switzerland put the icing on the cake and steered the #9 Prema Racing car to victory.
This triumph marks the trio’s third win of the 2022 ELMS season, extending their championship lead to 21 points with two more rounds to go.
Ferdinand Habsburg:
“Boy I’m loving it! Last time out in Monza we were struggling and didn’t get the win, but we came back after the summer break and got back on top, establishing our place in the championship. It’s such an amazing experience working not only with my treasured teammates but also with every employee of the Prema team. We had a perfect strategy, flawless pit stops, and both Louis and Lorenzo did a terrific job behind the wheel. I can’t wait to do this all over again in Spa!”
The ELMS season continues ’ time () at Spa-Francorchamps, but before that, Ferdinand will head to Fuji for the penultimate round of the FIA WEC championship with Team WRT.