CD Sport takes up the challenge of the 24 Hours of Le Mans!
11 – 12 June 2022 – From the Middle East to the Sarthe, CD Sport has lived a rich, exciting adventure. After an express preparation, the team took up the challenge it had set itself. For its first participation, it crossed the finish line of the 90th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with the #27 Ligier JS P217, and also a 100% rookie line-up, composed of Christophe Cresp, Steven Palette and Michael Jensen.
This saga began in February 2022. CD Sport, champion (and also runner-up) in the Asian Le Mans Series in LMP3 with a Ligier JS P320, was given a precious magic gift: a place to compete in one of the greatest endurance races in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was a huge challenge for the team and their three drivers, Christophe Cresp, Steven Palette and Michael Jensen, who had never raced in the LM P2 category let alone taken part in the Le Mans race and who, in addition, had to prepare in a record space of time.
“I'm feeling very emotional after this event,“ explained Claude Degrémont, CD Sport general manager. “It's a project that we put together in a very short space of time and which was anything but easy. It needed huge involvement by everybody and it finished exactly as we wanted as each member of the team gave their absolute maximum.”
Emotions galore when the finishing line was crossed
100 days of preparation later, CD Sport and their Ligier JS P217 tackled the mythic race under the eyes of a crowd of passionate fans that had turned up in large numbers. 24 Hours of intense effort were rewarded on Sunday 12th June at 16:00 by the greatest possible pleasure: crossing the finishing line. Cries of joy, tears, hugs, the atmosphere in the team's garage was suffused with emotion.
“A 24-hour race is never the simplest of adventures, but I hope that we'll always keep those intense moments that we shared as a team,” said Steven Palette. “The start was really pretty special and I tried to take full advantage of it. I set the fastest time of the whole race on my last lap taking advantage of ideal grip and a high track temperature. A big thanks to this team with which this year I've lived one of the most beautiful adventures of my career from the Middle East to the Sarthe”
“A childhood dream” that's become a reality!
“This success is down to the whole team, everybody did their bit,” added his team-mate, Michael Jensen. “I'm so happy to have lived this experience in such a warm atmosphere and to have shared this unique moment with my team-mates, Steven and Christophe.”
“I had the honour of crossing the finishing line,” said Christophe Cresp. “You know the scene as you've seen it so many time on TV. The marshals salute you by waving their flags, but when you live that from the inside, it's really magic. It was a childhood dream and I'm delighted to have fulfilled it with my mates. Jean-No (Jean-Noël Le Gall, CD Sport technical director and team manager ) came to see me in November and told me, ‘we're going to do the Asian; we're going to win and we're going to clinch a place for the 24 Hours of Le Mans,' and that's exactly how things played out!”
And now CD Sport have a new aim achieved. And what an aim! The team will be back racing on 2nd July at Monza in the Michelin Le Mans Cup in their #37 Ligier JS P320.
For more info about the Ligier JS P217, CLICK HERE.