The 2017 Michelin Le Mans Cup will be remembered for a dramatic season finale in Portugal which saw the destination of the GT3 team and driver titles swing backwards and forwards as the final two hour race of the season counted down to the chequered flag. In the end it was the no46 Ebimotors Lamborghini Huracan GT3 of Fabio Babini and Emanuele Busnelli that clinched the title by finishing 4th in Portimão.
The all Italian team finished the season on 104.5 points, just 2 points ahead of Britain’s Lee Mowle and the no7 Lee Mowle Mercedes AMG GT3 after seven nail biting races since the season began in Monza last May.
The no46 crew took two wins at the Red Bull Ring and in Le Castellet, scored two further podiums at Monza and Spa-Francorchamps ad took pole position at every round except the two Road to Le Mans races. By contrast Lee Mowle scored two wins at Monza and in Spa and two second place finishes at Le Castellet and in Portimão.
The Ebimotors team now join TF Sport as Michelin Le Mans Cup GT3 Champions, earning the Italian team an automatic invitation to the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMGTE Am class if they run a GTE class car next season.
Emanuele Busnelli: “The final race in Portugal was a mixture of emotions, the (no8) Lamborghini was so fast but when it stopped it allowed us to move up a place. It was a very strange race; we had the problem with the tyre exploding and the long pitstop. It was very hard for us but in the end we won the championship after a very good season. The car has been great and the team has done an excellent job all year. It is a good moment for us to win the Michelin Le Mans Cup.”
Fabio Babini: “The Michelin Le Mans Cup is not just another championship and it is very important to win this series. Racing for me is life; I have been racing 32 years and I am very happy to have this dream to return to Le Mans and to return there with Emanuele. It is possible it will be my last dream but you never know. I am very happy for Ebimotors and Emanuele to win the Michelin Le Mans Cup this season, we have all worked very hard and that has brought us all this championship.”
