Finishing third overall after a madcap race at the Autodromo di Monza, Lorens Lecertua claimed his first podium finish in a GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup round. Alongside his team-mates Baptiste Moulin and Romain Andriolo, the 19-year-old Belgian also secured CSA Racing's first overall podium finish.
That is what they call the glorious uncertainty of sport. At Monza, for the second round of this 2026 Endurance Cup season, the GT World Challenge Europe delivered a completely mad scenario. For three hours, the race was punctuated by incidents and safety car periods. To shine, you had to be fast, employ a good strategy and... have your share of luck.
Lorens Lecertua, his team-mates and the CSA Racing management team made the most of the situation to secure the #555 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO a place on the lowest step of the podium in the overall standings, whilst also taking second place in the Silver Cup. Following his second place in the Sprint Cup at Zandvoort in 2025, this is already the second time the 19-year-old Belgian has secured a podium finish in the overall standings.
"Everyone could see just how crazy this race was," explains Lorens Lecertua. "We started from 41st position on the grid. My team-mates Romain Andriolo and Baptiste Moulin did a brilliant job of avoiding collisions and moving the car up the order. When I took the wheel, there was about an hour and twenty minutes left of the race. I felt I had good pace and was setting consistent lap times."
The young driver from Namur thought he had lost everything, however, when he was sent spinning in the first chicane. "A Porsche I had just overtaken came and hit me from behind," he recounts. "Just when I had done a brilliant job and gained several places, I had to start all over again. But a safety car period came at the perfect time for us. We were able to make our final pit stop then, and I found myself in 10th place. I fought my way back up to 6th and was aiming for the top five, but a final accident caused several cars to retire. And that is how we took third place overall. Stepping onto the podium was just incredible!"
After suffering bad luck in the opening race at the Circuit Paul Ricard, when a crash at the start saw them eliminated within the first few metres, Lorens Lecertua, Romain Andriolo and Baptiste Moulin have taken magnificent revenge.
"Even though we know we benefited from specific conditions, this result will do the whole CSA Racing team a world of good," explains the McLaren GT3 Junior Driver. "It is their first podium in the overall standings and that is something you do not forget. It will give everyone a boost ahead of the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, which obviously remains the most important event of the season."
From 24 to 28 June 2026, the world's biggest GT race will indeed take place in Belgium. Last year, Lorens had the pleasure of stepping onto the podium in the Silver Cup, the category for young professionals and semi-professionals. His goal is clear: to repeat the feat on Sunday 28 June!
