Benjamin Lessennes leaps back into points lead after Mettet Race 4 win
Boutsen Ginion Honda driver Benjamin Lessennes has catapulted back into the lead of the championship after a difficult start to the day at Mettet, leading from pole position in the fourth and final sprint race of the day at the Circuit Jules Tacheny.
A transmission issue in the qualifying long race relegated 18-year-old Lessennes and co-driver Stéphane Lémeret to the back of the grid for both of their respective sprint races, and while Lémeret drove through to score a podium in Race 2, Lessennes went from eighth to first in Race 3, securing pole for Race 4, leading the whole way through in the team’s Honda Civic TCR.
Aurélien Comte finished second in the DG Sport Compétition Peugeot 308, just 14-thousandths behind after a late charge, ensuring the Frenchman and Belgian team remain in contention for the drivers’ title heading to the season finale for the second year running, after Frédéric Caprasse and Pierre-Yves Corthals were in contention in the Opel last year, with Comte and co-driver Kevin Abbring third in the standings, just 26 points behind with still 125 to play for.
Maxime Potty in the Team WRT Volkswagen passed Mika Morien’s Bas Koeten Audi on the opening lap of the race, with Morien retiring after five laps, promoting the second WRT car, the SEAT León of Denis Dupont to fourth.
With Potty finishing on the podium, the 17-year-old along with co-driver Mathieu Detry also remain in contention for the championship, heading to next month’s finale at Assen 49 points behind.
Former championship leader Guillaume Mondron had a quiet run to fifth in the Delahaye Racing Volkswagen Golf, and although he loses his points lead, he’s just 14 points behind Lessennes heading to the season finale at Assen on October 22nd.
