LE MANS, France – Saturday, June 27, 2020
Ex-Formula One rivals Rubens Barrichello and Juan Pablo Montoya were the big winners today in The Race All-Star Series powered by ROKiT Phones Triple Crown at Le Mans.
Barrichello stormed away from pole position in the final race to take a lights-to-flag win over a 60-car field while Montoya’s fourth-place finish was enough for him to earn the Legends Trophy championship.
Double points were on the line for the 45-minute finale, which decided the champion for the best performing driver at the three most prestigious race venues on the planet – Monaco, Indianapolis and Le Mans.
Helio Castroneves and Michel Jourdain Jr. made contact on the main straight with Castroneves being turned into Alonso’s path – forcing him into the wall and out of the race.
Montoya was also delayed in the turn one incident, and he spent the rest of the race trying to maintain position over championship-rival Brabham. While Barrichello took a dominant win over Karun Chandhok and Servia, Montoya’s fourth-place finish, and Brabham’s seventh place, gave him the title by only four points (248-244)!
“I learned how to do the start properly with the sprint race, so I was able to get a perfect getaway on the second one,” Barrichello said.
“The car was good, and I felt great in the sim! I drove my stock car on track two days ago, so I was up to it. Fernando (Alonso), Andy (Priaulx), even Juan Pablo (Montoya), had good times in qualifying but when I posted my 3m24.9s lap in qualifying I could see I had a little bit of margin.
“I won in my very first Legends Trophy weekend with the Brabham F1 car, and this is now the second win with the endurance race at Le Mans. It’s great! I’m feeling good!”
Barrichello was fastest in qualifying aboard the Legends Trophy Oreca LMP2 cars but could only manage fourth place in the opening race, which was dominated by Fernando Alonso. The Spanish two-time Formula One World Champion was forced to start from the rear in the opening race after an error in qualifying. Despite the setback, he still charged through the 14-car field to win from ex-IndyCar driver Oriol Servia and 2009 Le Mans winner David Brabham.
In the combined 45-minute final race featuring the Legends Trophy, Pro Cup and Sim Masters drivers, Barrichello leaped into the lead from pole as Alonso’s championship assault was ruined after contact on the race start.
