Kerong Li and Jean-Francois Brunot are the 2022 Hankook 24H Series European GTX class champions, following a fantastic and incredibly hard-earned victory in the 24H Barcelona on Sunday for Leipert Motorsport.
Added to that, Li finished as runner-up in the Junior Driver standings following the twice-round-the-clock race at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to cap an excellent rookie season in the hotly contested 24H Series.
Li and Brunot, joined for the weekend’s action by Brendon Leitch, Gregg Gorski and Gerhard Watzinger, impressed and all five drivers didn’t put a wheel wrong throughout the 24 hours in the No.710 Lamborghini Huracan.
Watzinger took the start of the race on Saturday, from third on the GTX class grid, but contact to the left-rear of the Lamborghini – caused by a multi-car tangle just metres after the race began – meant the Leipert car had to head for the pits at the end of lap one.
Needing a faultless race thereafter to stand any hope of fighting back through the order, from being three laps down when Watzinger rejoined the race, the team performed superbly during the various driver cycles – even though having to contend with some ongoing brake issues – to ultimately take the GTX class win and, with it, the European title.