The 2024 Michelin Le Mans Cup GT3 category was dominated by one crew, American Matt Kurzejewski and Italian Alessandro Balzan driving the no51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3.
Kurzejewski and Balzan took four wins and three seconds from the seven races and claimed pole in Barcelona and Portimão. They secured the title in Mugello with one race to go and then had a perfect weekend in Portugal to finish the season 42 points ahead of their nearest rivals, Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini in the no88 AF Corse Ferrari.
In fact, they finished the season on 133.5 points out of a maximum of 154.5 points available from the seven races, with only half points awarded for the first Road To Le Mans race in June, and the seven pole positions.
The 2024 Michelin Le Mans Cup got off to the perfect start for the no51 AF Corse Ferrari, with Matt Kurzejewski claiming pole position in Barcelona. The Italian team led from the start and looked like they would win comfortably until a late Safety Car period closed everything up.
A 9-minute dash to the chequered flag saw Alessandro Balzan take the win less than two seconds ahead of the no74 Kessel Racing Ferrari, with the no88 AF Corse making it an all-Ferrari podium in Spain.
The next round in Le Castellet saw the no83 Iron Dames Lamborghini of Célia Martin take pole position at her home race, pipping Matt Kurzejewski to the top spot by 0.153s.
After starting behind the no83 Iron Dames Lamborghini, the no51 AF Corse of Matt Kurzejewski kept pace with Celia Martin for his stint but a 10-second penalty for the lead car for being out of position at the start allowed Alessandro Balzan to take the GT3 lead after the pitstops.
Balzan pulled away from the rest of the field to take the chequered flag 19 seconds ahead of Karen Gaillard, with Fran Rueda Mateos in the no74 Kessel Racing Ferrari claiming the teams' second podium finish in a row.
An accident in the opening Road To Le Mans race caused significant damage to the barriers at Indianapolis, which meant the race was red-flagged and the result declared after just 4 laps. This meant that half points were issued.
The GT3 class was won by the no12 Kessel Racing Ferrari of Frédéric Jousset and David Fumanelli, with the two AF Corse Ferraris in 2nd and 3rd, led by the no51 296 of Matt Kurzejewski and Alessandro Balzan.
The second Road To Le Mans race was held on Saturday just before the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans. An early Safety Car saw several competitors come in early and this gave them an advantage later in the race, including the GT3 winning car, the no90 Blackthorn Aston Martin Vantage of Martin Berry and Lorcan Hanafin.
Once again, the no51 AF Corse Ferrari was in the mix at the sharp end of the action, with Alessandro Balzan bringing the car home in second place, 9.4 seconds behind the winning Aston Martin and 4.7 seconds ahead of the no18 High Class Racing Porsche of Nick Jones and Sven Müller.
After a two-month break, the Michelin Le Mans Cup returned with Round 4 in Belgium. The race was another drama-filled affair with three Safety Car periods and a three-minute dash to the chequered flag.
The no51 AF Corse Ferrari took the chequered flag at the head of the GT3 field, with Kurzejewski and Balzan celebrating their third victory of the season. However, a post-race penalty of 30 seconds for exceeding track limits in the race meant the no51 Ferrari was classified second, with the no88 AF Corse Ferrari of Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini taking the win. The no74 Kessel Racing Ferrari was third one lap behind the leaders.
Victory on home soil on the first visit to Mugello by the Michelin Le Mans Cup secured the 2024 GT3 team title for AF Corse after Matt Kurzejewski and Alessandro Balzan controlled the 110-minute race in Mugello to take their third victory of the season and become the 2024 Michelin Le Mans Cup Driver Champions.
It was also 1-2 for Ferrari at their home circuit as the no88 AF Corse 296 finished 2.2 seconds behind the leader and well ahead of the no18 High Class Racing Porsche in third.
Matt Kurzejewski claimed his and AF Corse’s second pole position of the season to put the no51 Ferrari 296 at the head of the grid for the final race of the 2024 Michelin Le Mans Cup.
Kurzejewski dropped back to second on the opening laps behind James Swift in the no90 Blackthorn Aston Martin. He then dropped back to third when the gold-rated David Fumanelli was flying up the GT3 grid after starting at the back in the no12 Kessel Racing Ferrari.
Kurzejewski moved back up to second ahead of Swift after the first of two Safety Car periods and after the second Safety Car and the pitstops Alessandro Balzan was rapidly closing the 90-second lead that bronze driver Frederic Jousset had inherited.
A spin for Jousset reduced the gap further and with 10 minutes of the race remaining Balzan took the lead to win the race ahead of the no88 AF Corse Ferrari of Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini, which was enough to secure them the vice-champions position, with the no12 Kessel Racing Ferrari finishing in third.
CLICK HERE for the final GT3 championship standings in the 2024 Michelin Le Mans Cup.
