Over the last two seasons, they have shown everyone that they’re fast. Now the French team with a licence from Belgium led by active racing driver and official Porsche Driver Côme Ledogar is on the hunt for podium finishes. On y va!
Team CLRT is one of the youngest permanent Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup teams, but behind the youthful facade is a wealth of experience. In the 2022 season, the team from the French Atlantic coast will start with an (almost) new line-up. We talked with the team boss and 2021 Le Mans winner about what he expects from his team, and what strategies he will use for the eight rounds of racing.
A conversation with the team manager.
Salut Côme,
you were very successful, again, behind the wheel in 2021 – what experience can you pass on to your team from your long-distance success?
In general, long distance and sprint races are hard to compare. But of course I’ll bring in every single detail that I find helpful this season to make the team faster, more reliable and more consistent.
Can you say a few words about each of your drivers and what makes the team special this season?
Our Rookie driver Evan Spenle is a rising star in the world of one-make cups, while Marvin Klein is the reigning Porsche Carrera Cup French Champion, chasing the overall Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup championship title. Clément Mateu is the outsider in the ProAm Classification, and always on the hunt for good results, and with an eye on the title in his category.
Your team looks like a mix of young future stars and experienced drivers. How do you think young and experienced drivers influence each other?
At the beginning of March this year, we held a training camp with all our drivers. It was a great opportunity to get to know each other and get everyone in the mood for the team's high expectations for this season. Although each driver works on their own race plan during the season, there is a balance of quality that they all share, as well as their will to win. This spurs everyone in the team on and the more experienced guys naturally pass on their experience to the younger ones.
What is your verdict after a whole year with the new Porsche GT3 Cup? What is the potential for 2022 now that you’ve gathered more data?
The potential is definitely there to win races. We just need to put it on the track and then make it to the podium – and that's hard work, because the other teams have also collected a lot of data and are all working hard as well.
Looking at our 30 year anniversary: Tell us your favourite story from the past Supercup seasons – which one particularly stuck in your mind and why?
There are so many stories I associate with the Porsche Supercup, as I also spent a whole season behind the wheel in 2015. However, the first season with my own team in 2020 was very special for me. We joined the series at the last minute and had a super short preparation period when we all got very little sleep. That bonded us, and we scored our first podium finish at Spa in Round 7, which is something I won't soon forget.
Thanks and good luck, Côme!
