Pichon Leads Longford from End to End
Romain Pichon's Sunbeam Tiger MkII headed every lap of the Longford race to take his first Championship victory, with Adam Celárek and Richard Rossier completing the podium. The result lifts the Frenchman from eighth to fourth in the table.
A Tiger at the Head of the Field
Romain Pichon gave Longford a notably clear-cut winner, though not an idle one. In the Sunbeam Tiger MkII he was the leader at the completion of every one of the 24 laps, and his quickest circuit of 2:29.334 underlined the authority of the performance. On a course where the bridges, railway and long public-road straights repeatedly drew the field into awkward company, Pichon kept his race separate from the confusion behind and reached the flag first.
It was his first victory of the Championship, a result of considerable value at this stage of the campaign. Pichon had begun the meeting eighth in the standings; the Longford score carries him to fourth on 69 points. For a driver whose season had yet to include a win, it was a timely change of complexion.
Adam Celárek's Chevrolet Corvette 1963 SCCA came home second after completing the full distance, while Richard Rossier placed another Sunbeam Tiger on the podium in third. Celárek remains level at the head of the Championship with Kasperi Sirén, both on 77 points, but it was Pichon who supplied the afternoon's most emphatic answer to the leaders.
The Pursuit Behind
Celárek and Rossier were Pichon's nearest official pursuers, but neither displaced the leader at any stage. The Corvette had the muscular pace to remain prominent while Rossier's Tiger provided a measured counterpart to his compatriot's winning machine. Their second and third places made a tidy podium from a varied field of British, American, German and Italian machinery.
Behind them, FMG brought the Mercedes-Benz 300SL home fourth, with Willphaizer's similar car fifth. The two Mercedes drivers figured in a changing group through the middle portion of the race, first with Sirén's Lotus Elan 26R and later with donutsnail's Tiger. It was a reminder that, beyond Pichon's controlled progress, Longford remained busy and unsettled for much of the afternoon.
Sirén, who had arrived as joint Championship leader, was classified 14th after completing 23 laps. His Longford score is presently the result removed under the Championship's dropped-score arrangement, leaving his 77-point total unchanged. Pichon's advance, rather than a change at the top, is therefore the immediate consequence of the race.
Knechtel's Recovery
Valentin Knechtel's Porsche 904/4 GTS supplied the strongest recovery among those who completed the distance. An incident at Longford Corner on the second lap cost him two positions, and by the end of lap four he had fallen to 15th. From there the German worked steadily back into contention, eventually reaching the flag sixth.
The return was not a straightforward climb. In the opening phases Knechtel and Teceka TCK's Ferrari 250 GT SWB 'SEFAC Hotrod' repeatedly exchanged the advantage, the Ferrari moving ahead after lap four before the Porsche reclaimed the place a lap later. Teceka was back in front on the next circuit, and Knechtel again found a way through before the sequence settled. It was close, active racing without any need for embellishment.
Knechtel's sixth place brought him level seventh in the standings on 57 points. Jordi Sumoy followed him home seventh in another Porsche 904/4 GTS, while Jayden HW's Porsche rose from 28th on the grid to eighth at the flag. A five-second Race Control penalty was nevertheless recorded against the Australian. Nat Stevenson and Teceka completed the top ten.
Teceka's Long Afternoon
Teceka's tenth place was earned amid constant changes of company. His Ferrari first became embroiled with Knechtel, then resumed a running contest with Qkk's Ferrari. Teceka had the place after lap three, Qkk moved ahead before half-distance, and the two changed order twice more around laps ten and fourteen. There was no single decisive encounter so much as a succession of small gains and replies as the race unfolded.
Qkk was ultimately classified 12th after completing 23 laps, while Teceka reached the flag in tenth. The Ferrari driver's ability to remain involved in several of the race's closest exchanges gave the lower end of the top ten much of its character.
There was also a firm administrative conclusion to a rougher meeting. Race Control recorded penalties in all five reported cases, affecting Max Solmyr, Kuba Palubicki, Jayden HW, Potatohedron and Falling Falcon. The decisions belong to the record, even if Pichon's command at the head of the field had long since placed the result beyond their reach.
Longford did not produce a last-lap duel for victory, but it did produce a result with proper Championship weight. Pichon now has a win to accompany his rising points total, while Celárek and Sirén remain locked together ahead of a pursuing group that has acquired a formidable new member.