Proton Competition’s car bearing start number 77 dipped out of the Top Three again after finishing an also‑ran in fourth place on Sunday at Le Castellet just 15 seconds behind the winner in class. Rene Binder was handed a drive-through penalty but the title fight in the European Le Mans Series is far from over as far as he is concerned.

On his return from the South of France, the Austrian driver told his Facebook followers just how his unfortunate race at the Circuit Le Castellet had gone: “We finished fourth, just one second away from the podium and 15 seconds from victory after a drive-through penalty that cost us no less than 18 seconds! My scrap with Clement Novalak in the rain was a real no-holds-barred affair, for sure, but if you want to get back up front from behind in conditions like the ones we were experiencing, which is precisely what I did with our car, you can’t drive like a saint!”

There was the most almighty scrap between the two former F2 drivers, which ultimately ended in a drive-through penalty for Rene, who told us: “It was perhaps a mistake not to give back the position straightaway, but the fact that we didn’t get the penalty until two hours later certainly strikes me as most odd. Whatever! Round 3 is up next with a fresh chance at Le Mans.”

The start number 77 Proton Competition car is currently in fifth place in the interim ELMS Pro/Am standings with its three drivers, Binder/Viscaal/Roda, just six points down on the leaders from Nielsen Racing. Binder: “All is not lost, not yet anyway. We’ve shown that we can be fast in a variety of racing conditions and will do our best to win again at Imola in the third race of the season. For now, though, our full focus has to be one hundred percent on the Le Mans season highlight, most definitely.”

Note: Austrian ace Binder has already achieved three podiums in the legendary 24-hour race and even took a win in the LMP2 Pro/Am classification in 2022.

Photo Credit Paola de Palmas