Ferrari customer team Sky Tempesta Racing has been awarded an automatic invitation to enter the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans following tonight’s GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup season finale.
The British-flagged outfit has been awarded an invitation to compete in the LMGT3 class next June following its success in the Bronze Cup this season, in which it claimed the overall GT World Challenge Bronze Cup Drivers’ and the Endurance Cup Teams’ and Drivers’ titles.
“What an amazing feeling!” Sky Tempesta driver Chris Froggatt said. “Jeddah was a very tough weekend for us but I’m happy that the team came together, performed a relatively clean race and the points banked over the year helped us over a difficult weekend to lock in the wins. We can’t wait to be on the grid for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2025!”
Five teams entered the 6 Hours of Jeddah with a chance of glory, but after retirements for Paradine Competition and Tresor Attempto Racing, it came down to a fight between Sky Tempesta Racing, Barwell Motorsport and Rutronik Racing.
Class victory for Rutronik Racing’s #97 Porsche 911 GT3.R (992) of Dustin Blattner, Loek Hartog and Dennis Marschall was enough for it to win the overall Teams’ title, with SKY Tempesta’s #93 Ferrari 296 GT3 and the best-placed Barwell Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 ending up in sixth and seventh respectively.
Remarkably, both the Porsche and Ferrari outfits ended the season on 134.5 points, but the title went to Rutronik as it has four race victories to Sky Tempesta’s one.
However, after much confusion, Sky Tempesta – not Rutronik Racing – claimed the Le Mans invitation. According to the championship organiser: “For the LM24 invitation, it is the GTWCE Bronze Cup Champion entrant, rather than the team. So it’s Sky Tempesta.”
Sky Tempesta joins Iron Lynx (European Le Mans Series) and Orey Fidani (IMSA Sportscar Championship), who have also received automatic invitations to the LMGT3 class for the race next year.
Should the team choose to take up the opportunity, it would be its first entry in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Further invitations will be awarded to the LMP2 (for LMP2) and GT (for LMGT3) champions in the Asian Le Mans Series, which begins at the Sepang International Circuit next weekend (7/8 December).
Featured image courtesy of SRO/JEP
