The battle for the Michelin Le Mans Cup GT3 title comes to a head in Portugal this weekend, with four cars still in the hunt for the championship crown. While the no51 AF Corse Ferrari of Eliseo Donno and Alessandro Cozzi leads, the chasing pack is led by the no33 Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 driven by Italian David Cleto Fumanelli and his Turkish teammate Murat Ruhi Çuhadaroglu.
Fumanelli and Çuhadaroglu are the only drivers this season to win two races but, such is the competitive nature of this year’s grid, they head to Portugal 16-points behind their rivals. They know they need to win the final race of the season on the 18th October to be in with a chance of lifting the championship trophy.
We caught up with David Cleto Fumanelli as he and the rest of the Kessel Racing team prepare for the final showdown of the 2025 Michelin Le Mans Cup.
Q: You are trailing the no51 AF Corse by 16 points going into the final race of the season in Portimão. How are you going to approach this race? Will it be any different than the previous events?
David Cleto Fumanelli: “The only approach we can have at this point is to try win the race to get maximum points, even if this couldn’t be enough to grab the title as we have to wait for their result. Nevertheless, we would like to secure our top three in the championship, so we won’t take unnecessary risks.
“Of course, when you fight for a title, the last race of the season has a different feeling and meaning, but we’ll try to focus on ourselves and on our performance.”
Q: You and your teammate have secured two wins this year. What has been the key to these successes and the fact that you are in a position to fight for the title?
DCF: “We are the only line-up to have secured two wins this season and we are really proud of that! I’m sure the number could have been even higher. In Silverstone and Paul Ricard we had the chance to win, but some bad luck/penalties compromised our final results.
“I think that the key to our successful campaign has been the consistency and the capability to deliver in the race. We didn’t have great qualifying sessions, but my teammate Murat is a great starter and racer; he always gave me the car in a good position to fight in the second stint.
“Our Kessel Ferrari has been fast all season and I could perform very well against our competitors in my stints.”
Q: While the GT3 class is small, the grid features a lot of strong driver line ups and teams. How do you rate the opposition you’ve faced in the GT3 category this year?
DCF: “Exactly! Even if the number of cars appear to be small, the level is not. We have a good mix of brands and experienced teams, with very fast pro drivers. The competition amongst the AM drivers is very tight this year and this creates a great competition in qualifying and in the race.”
Q: Portimão is a very technical circuit. What do you like about the circuit, and do you have a favourite corner or corners?
DCF: “I love Portimão! We had a great result last year, so I’m really looking forward to be back on the Algarve rollercoaster.It’s quite a unique track, very fast with many uphill/downhill sections, blind corners and it’s very flowing.
“The last corner for me is definitely my favourite part. You enter the corner without seeing the apex and you can feel in your stomach the compression. It’s very challenging in a GT3 car as it’s very close to being flat and you have to manage the rear of the car on the crest.”
