Making History In The 24 Hours Of Le Mans Race, Sean Gelael: Didn't Expect To End His Debut With Happiness

Indonesia's Sean Gelael (second right) lifts the trophy after finishing second in the FIA World Endurance Championship 24 Hours of Le Mans in Paris (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Indonesian racer Sean Gelael made history at the FIA World Endurance Championship 24 Hours of Le Mans in Paris, Sunday local time. He rose to the podium after successfully finishing second in the LMP2 class race category.

Shown carrying the JOTA team flag in vehicle number 28, Sean Gelael collaborated with Belgian racer Stoffel Vandoorne and British racer Tom Blomqvist.

LMP2 poduim:

🥇 #31 @followWRT

🥈 #28 @JotaSport

🥉 #65 @panisracing #LeMans24 #WEC pic.twitter.com/vAYanNi01G

— 24 Hours of Le Mans (@24hoursoflemans) August 22, 2021

"I really didn't expect to be able to end the 24 Hours of Le Mans debut with happiness like this. Thank you to everyone who has supported me all this time," Sean said in an official statement quoted by Antara, Monday, August 23.

The result of the race was considered extraordinary considering that it was the first appearance in the 24-hour Le Mans race. Especially in this race, Sean was trusted and had the honor of being the first racer to start and start the race for the JOTA team.

What a race that was!

#28 finished just 0.7s behind first place after 24 hours of racing 😲

A tough break for the #38 car who suffered damage to the oil filter but battled on to finish in P8. We know they'll be back with a vengeance for the next race 💪#LM24 #JOTA #JOTASport pic.twitter.com/aAMDoO2avC

— Jota Sport (@JotaSport) August 22, 2021

In the LMP2 category race, Sean and his friends started the race from the seventh position. However, at the end of the race, they were able to finish second to finish the race with 363 laps and only 0.727 seconds adrift of the WRT team rider. The third position in the LMP2 class is occupied by the Panis Racing team.

The 24 hours of Le Mans race takes place Saturday 21 August starting at 15:00 local time. The heavy rain that fell at the start made the seventh position at the beginning of the race not last and even Sean Gelael was knocked out of the top 10.

But Sean remained patient and returned to the starting position after three stints served. After that, he handed the car to Tom. Tom, taking advantage of the race conditions, which were neutralized by the Safety Car (SC), took JOTA #28 to P1. But unfortunately, in the process, he was deemed to have violated the rules.

First, run over the white line when entering the pits. Second, when leaving the pit, the wrong group entered. He should have come out behind the SC B group, but the Briton was behind the SC A group.

Two heavy penalties must be received by JOTA #28, which was run by the following rider, Stoffel. The drive-thru and stop-and-go that had to be accepted kept Stoffel out of the Top 10. But, like Sean, Stoffel was also calm and patient. In what follows briefly they crawl well, to P6, 5, 4, and finally in Sean's control to P3.

Selfie goals 🤳 https://t.co/SZBkVEggkQ

— Jota Sport (@JotaSport) August 22, 2021

The drama takes place at the end of the race. The race leader WRT #41 stops at the track. Jota 28 got lucky to finish second.

The results of this race also made Sean and his friends lead the LMP2 standings with special double points for Le Mans 24H. Sean, Stoffel, and Tom had 89 points, along with JOTA #28. They outperformed WRT #31 with 81 points.

The following series WEC is a doubleheader alias two races in a week in a row in Bahrain in October-November.