Vector Sport RLR’s Geronimo Gomez Azza and Colin Noble pulled off several overtakes in a spirited drive from 17th to seventh in the Michelin Le Mans Cup Le Castellet Round at Circuit Paul Ricard (1-2 May).
In Qualifying, drivers had a narrow window in which to set pole-contending times on Circuit Paul Ricard’s long 5.82km, 15-turn lap, but Gomez Azza delivered multiple improvements to feature at the top of the timing screens.
The man from Colombia had his moment in the sun, but the order shuffled incessantly as the pace increased, and a sub-optimal setup meant he emerged from a fast and frantic pole battle in 17th.
Nevertheless, elevating the #15 Ligier JS P325’s long-run performance had been Vector Sport RLR’s first priority in both testing and free practice, and the team’s efforts yielded gains from the outset of the Le Mans Cup Le Castellet Round on Saturday (2 May) evening.
Despite being squeezed wide as the field jostled for position at Verrerie and Virage du Camp, Gomez Azza stood his ground and maintained enough forward momentum to complete a busy opening lap in 18th.
A Safety Car restart provided opportunities to progress, the Colombian LMP3 rookie wasting little time in clearing the #36 Ajith Redant Racing before crossing swords with the 16th-placed #20 High Class machine.
A move was made on the 11th tour of Circuit Paul Ricard and, once released into clean air, Gomez Azza significantly reduced a 2.7s deficit to the #68 M Racing on the approach to halftime and the compulsory driver-changes.
Vector Sport RLR put Noble out in 13th, but the multiple LMP3 Champion went on to pick up positions from the #43 Inter Europol Competition, #12 Brutal Fish Campos Racing and #5 23Events Racing entries.
Despite being hunted down by the #9 ANS Motorsport, Scotland’s Noble was inside the top ten when he pressurised the #68 M Racing – teammate Gomez Azza’s first-stint sparring partner – into a spin at Virage de Bendor.
He proceeded to gap his pursuers and ultimately took the title-winning Vector Sport RLR team to a respectable seventh-place finish, the chequered flag waving as the sun set over Le Castellet.
“Testing was pretty good because Vector Sport RLR did some great work and found a lot of pace in both the car and myself,” said Gomez Azza. “I’m really happy with how things have gone to this point in my first LMP3 season. Qualifying was a bit tough because we had a slight setup issue that prevented me from maximising my potential and achieving my best sector times, but the race itself was really solid.
“We stayed out of trouble, our long-run pace was strong and I made up places to 15th. Colin did a fantastic job, pushing really hard forward so that we landed a P7 result. Ultimately, I think the fact we a calm race helped us out quite a bit, having been a little too aggressive last time out in Barcelona.”
Noble said: “After a tough first race in Barcelona, it’s good to come away from the Michelin Le Mans Cup Le Castellet Round with a solid result. Geronimo (Gomez Azza) did a great job all weekend, making progress in every session, from testing through to the race itself. The Vector Sport RLR team also did a fantastic job and they have been rewarded with our first points finish of the 2026 season.”
