KTF strikes first as the Endurance Brasil season is underway

KTF Sport was one of the squads bringing new machinery to the Império Endurance Brasil grid, but with a well versed duo in Renan Guerra and Marco Pisani guided the No. 31 Ligier JS P320 to the first win in a race of survival under the hot weather of Goiânia.
 
With things still getting in motion, the grid was kinda thin with only 18 cars as the GT3 and GT4 classes were drastically diminished, although the P1 class gained a lot in quality and quantity despite some notable absences as BOX99 and Motorcar won’t appear anymore.
 
After staying out of the spotlight in the 2023 season, the JLM Racing AJR led the way as the No. 35 TMG entry brought the No. 444 JLM car along, and this was evidenced by the fact that the rest of the field was still settling in their positions.
 
The usual worry when racing at Goiânia is obviously the scorching heat and the low humidity, which makes the four hours of racing a question of survival, with the earliest victim being the No. 64 Eurobike BMW as an electronic component collapsed during the preparations at the grid. The physical aspect should also be taken into account as the cockpit can become a sauna during the race, so eventually the teams will manage the pace instead of going all out in order to achieve a stable stint.
 
Near the end of the first hour, the No. 26 Mottin AJR gave out with an engine blow, and the strategic decisions that have been taken due to the neutralization period, the second position was passing from hand to hand as the No. 31 KTF Ligier took the position and brought the No. 117 BTZ Ligier along, but none of them were coming close to the No. 35, which took a hit later in the second hour due to a pit stop master stroke from AMattheis Motorsport for the No. 9 Ligier, which jumped to the top of the table with the odd pit strategy compared to the opposition.
 
The merry-go-round between the leaders’ strategies threw the No. 9 into a long lead but the No. 31 had the advantage with 30 minutes to go, and with all teams keeping the pace down in order to see the end of the race, the No. 31 KTF Ligier secured the victory as the No. 9 AMattheis Ligier didn’t go higher than second while the No. 12 Kraucher Sigma was third with a discrete run during the whole four hours.
 
4 Hours of Goiânia - Race results
 
The No. 55 Stuttgart Porsche dominated the GT3 class, seeing no opposition as the No. 63 Tech Force Mercedes wasn’t near the winner’s pace and the No. 83 Team RC Mercedes had to salvage the finish after a tire blow.
 
The GT4 class also had a dominant run, with the No. 21 Stuttgart Porsche making practically no mistakes to be on the top of the No. 718 Stuttgart Porsche, which had an incident near the end.
 
The competition resumes on 13 April, although the venue to host the race still has to be announced, and this is considering that Endurance Brasil will use the date.
 
PHOTO: Endurance Brasil