Elkhart Lake, WI – Jean-Frédéric Laberge and Kyle Marcelli competed at Road America this past weekend for the Fanatec GT World Challenge event. The Canadian duo secured third-place in the Pro-Am Class in their debut race, a testament to the team’s strong pairing.
Although Laberge participated in the GT America races at VIRginia International Raceway last month, this was his first time competing in a Fanatec GT World Challenge race. He was behind-the-wheel of the No. 92 Dagobert/Éclair Porsche 992 GT3 R, prepared by GT Racing.
“We’re at a disadvantage compared to other teams who have been competing since the beginning of the season,” stated Laberge. “However, I have to commend Eric Côté’s crew for their stellar performance all weekend. GT Racing has brought us up to speed in no time. With Kyle Marcelli as a co-driver, everything fell into place for us this weekend.”
In the first qualifying session, Laberge set the seventh-fastest lap in the Pro-Am Class, while Marcelli placed the Porsche 992 GT3 R in fifth position for Race 2.
The Hard Charger Award that the co-drivers earned in Race 1 highlighted their success. Laberge started the race in 13th place and quickly made his way toward the front of the field. By the end of Lap 1, he was 11th overall, eventually climbing to seventh.
Marcelli then took over and gained two positions, however, he was passed on a restart and ran sixth-place overall – third in the Pro-Am Class – for the remainder of the race, securing the team’s first podium in its debut outing.
“I think we exceeded our expectations in Race 1,” said Marcelli. “We came in with a mindset to avoid mistakes, both on track and in pit lane, and to ensure our choreography was dialed in. We executed a solid pit stop, hitting the mark without going over or under, and we checked all the boxes we aimed for. The podium was just the cherry on top, and we’re really grateful we were able to pull it off.
“Our speed is consistently improving,” he continued. “We’re benchmarking ourselves against the other Porsches and, while we’re faster than some and slower than others, we’re currently in the middle of the pack. There’s still a bit more speed to be found from our car, and a few small details to iron out, but we’re very close and really happy with our performance in this first race.”
Race 2 unfortunately didn’t go as planned. Marcelli started the race and kept out of trouble. However, when Laberge took over, he was spun out by a competitor while running 12th overall. Laberge was relegated to the end of the field but didn’t lose a lap. GT Racing’s outfit finished the race seventh in class.
“It was a great learning experience,” said Laberge. “I am overall very happy with the outcome of the weekend. Race 2 was tougher than the first, but I’m pleased to see that we were running consistently and setting good lap times. Kyle has been a tremendous co-driver, and I really value his input. I can’t wait to get back behind-the-wheel in just two weeks at Barber Motorsports Park.”
The Fanatec GT World Challenge now heads south for their penultimate round of the season, at the famed Barber Motorsports Park, on September 7 and 8.
- By Service Presse
