Making her Italian GT debut, Laura Van Den Hengel secured her first sportscar racing podium at Mugello, showcasing progress throughout an event that represented a notable learning opportunity for the Dutch racer.
Laura Van Den Hengel made her first appearance in the Italian GT series, achieving her maiden podium in sports car racing by finishing second in the GT Cup Second Division ProAm class in Race 1 at Mugello.
The GT Cup Open Europe regular joined the Italian GT Sprint series in a one-off entry with the Padova-based SP Racing Team, driving the #145 Porsche 992 GT3 Cup car alongside young star Ian Rodriguez.
The partnership proved to be extremely beneficial for Van Den Hengel, who is in her first full season of GT competitions after debuting at the end of last year with a two-event program in GT Cup Open Europe. Despite a monumental leap from karting to the GT3 Cup car, Laura impressed at Paul Ricard and Monza, leading her to return to the series for a full-season campaign in 2024, teaming up with Mertel Motorsport in a Ferrari 488 Challenge.
Laura showed promising speed in the AM class at Portimão and Hockenheim, often battling around the class podium positions before securing her first top five at Spa Francorchamps. Further progress was evident at Paul Ricard, where she achieved a career-best qualifying, although technical issues hampered her race results.
Making the most of the summer break, Van Den Hengel seized the opportunity to make her Italian GT debut, aiming to learn as much as possible from her experienced teammate, a race winner in Italian F4 and FRECA, as well as a European Le Mans Series driver in the LMP2 category.
"Racing with Ian [Rodriguez] was amazing," Van Den Hengel told us. "He's really professional, fast, and a really nice person. We did a good job with the teamwork because he was helping me with the data, the onboard, everything to get me on the right pace," she explained. "For me, it was a next-level experience to work with him."
Despite having extremely limited experience at one of the most challenging racetracks in Europe, Van Den Hengel spent the first day re-adapting to the car and learning the circuit.
"Getting back in the Porsche was also a whole learning experience, and Mugello was really tricky," she said. "So I think that overall, the progress was really good."
With over 50 entries, the GT3 and GT Cup races were split, with 27 GT Cup cars hitting the track for the third round of the Sprint series at Mugello, divided into First (Ferrari and Lamborghini) and Second Division (dedicated to Porsche 991 and 992) due to significant power differences.
In the first practice session, Rodriguez and Van Den Hengel were third fastest overall and led the Second Division, thanks to a 1:53.388 lap by the Guatemalan driver.
In the second session, they set the second fastest time in the Second Division class and were ninth overall, with Van Den Hengel making significant improvements over the first day, especially with a strong second sector.
Things got serious on Saturday morning for the two qualifying session that would set the starting grids. In Q1, Ian Rodriguez ran in the top five overall all session despite several red flag interruptions; after the final red flag, the young star found more time, and placed the SP Racing Porsche in P3 overall and on class pole position for the opening race of the weekend, with a stellar 1:51.768.
Laura Van Den Hengel was behind the wheel for Q2 soon after, improving her time from Friday and running in the 1:56. Initially in the overall top-15 - and between more interruptions - Laura aimed for a strong class result. Unfortunately, a mistake on her final lap in the final sector saw her end P21 overall and third in class, but with big room for improvement.
"My pace in the races was better than I qualified because I wasn't there yet in qualifying; I made a massive mistake - it cost me more than a second," Laura stated.
"And because my fastest time was on the third lap and I was behind a Ferrari, that cost me a lot - I just have to be smarter in qualifying."
Van Den Hengel's theoretical best would have likely put her in the high-1:54 range, with potential for a top-15 overall. "But I didn't, so it's not an excuse," she added with her usual complete transparent, honest and straightforward approach.
Ian Rodriguez started the first stint in Race 1 from third overall and as the leader of the Porsche category. Laura's teammate had a superb start from the second row, immediately going side by side for the lead, taking the outside at turn 1, and then making the move for P1 overall into turn 2, demoting the #177 Ferrari 488 Challenge of Gilles Renmans.
Rodriguez tried to pull away, but both Renmans and Pollini remained close, battling for second. This duel helped Rodriguez, who gained over a second, but Pollini began closing back in once he cleared the Belgian.
Rodriguez and Pollini drove away from the rest of the pack, and while the Guatemalan defended expertly, the faster Lamborghini Huracan ST Evo2 made a pass for the overall lead on lap 6. The battle continued on the following lap as Pollini had to defend after going slightly wide into turn 1, but Rodriguez had to slot back behind.
Soon after, Gilles Renmans had a technical failure and went off, leaking fluid all over the track. This caused a six-car crash behind, with the safety car immediately deployed.
The race was red-flagged to allow marshals to clean up the track.
On the restart with 28 minutes to go, the pit window opened immediately, and a few cars pitted. Rodriguez stayed out and continued to battle Pollini, with the two immediately opening a gap again. Ian moved back into the overall lead when Pollini pitted on lap 11, just as Diego Di Fabio crashed during the pit stop sequence.
Rodriguez pitted on lap 14, handing over to Laura Van Den Hengel from the overall lead and P1 in the Second Division. Laura rejoined in P5 overall and retained the class lead. She held on well but eventually lost out to Pegoraro, who was always at the top of the Porsche class, though Eugenio Pisani was making up ground behind.
Second Division AM driver Fabio Fabiani got stuck in the gravel, triggering another safety car with 13 minutes to go. Meanwhile, Pisani had sneaked past Van Den Hengel for the ProAm class lead on lap 17.
On the restart for the final 5 minutes, Laura had to defend from Andrea Palma and the two traded positions. The class leader, Pisani, went for a move into turn 2 on Pollini, causing the Lamborghini to spin, which resulted in Pisani receiving a 25-second penalty.
Van Den Hengel battled with Dalokay and Jacoma in the final laps, consistently retaining her overall top ten position, as her pace switched on towards the end of the race.
In a strong finish, Laura clocked her personal best lap of 1:56 on the final lap, crossing the line in ninth overall and second in the Second Division ProAm, securing a podium in her Italian GT debut.
This marked the first-ever trip to the rostrum for Laura Van Den Hengel in her seventh race weekend in GT racing. It was a significant achievement in a new environment and a confidence boost for the talented Dutch racer, although she wasn’t fully satisfied with her performance.
"Ian did beyond amazing because he was battling up front against Lamborghinis and Ferraris with a significant horsepower difference, so it's incredible," Van Den Hengel recalled after the race. "It shows how talented he is, battling like a pro."
"That was quite nerve-wracking knowing that I had to take over, but our strategy was to just stay ahead of the Porsches. It was chaotic; the cars are very aggressive, and I wasn't really settled at the start of my stint. Once [my pace] settled towards the end, I improved a lot, but I wasn't really satisfied with the race because it took me too long to get settled in. I know I can do much better."
Looking ahead to Sunday, Laura was now in a stronger position - knowing she could achieve another podium or even higher.
Starting from P21 overall and third in the Second Division ProAm class, Laura aimed to move ahead of her Porsche competitors.
She made a clean start, advancing to P18 overall and climbing the class order: she engaged in battles with Hancock's Lamborghini, trading positions and eventually moving ahead of the faster car, then focusing on hunting down the Porsches of Abbati, with more intense battles ensuing.
Laura moved up to 17th overall, steadily gaining positions with excellent racecraft and holding her own. A safety car was deployed for debris on the main straight, potentially offering an opportunity to close the gap to the front runners ahead of the driver change.
"I overtook a Ferrari and a Lamborghini - it was just a matter of time. I had good positioning to take on more cars, and then we were in the right place for the driver change," Laura said about her very positive first part of the race.
"So I was very confident, and the racing was really good. Lap times were okay - in the battles, it's not really fast, but I was way more confident, and I think I could hold a top ten or top 15 overall with that pace."
Laura restarted from P17 with 37 minutes to go, already making up positions. However, she had to make an evasive move as a Porsche ahead went deep into a corner but attempted to rejoin in a half-spin towards Laura's #145 blue and silver Porsche 992 GT3 Cup car. She reacted quickly, but her car veered towards the barriers, resulting in her going off and triggering another safety car.
It was an unfortunate end to the race, as she caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"We know for sure we could have secured another podium because there wasn’t a big time gap to the first Porsche, and the pit window was just three minutes away. So we were definitely aiming for the podium," she continued.
"We went through the onboard footage, and I asked the engineer to review it and be honest about the crash, but there was nothing I could do. If I had kept the car on the same line, with the other car headed towards me, the damage would probably have been worse. So I think I managed to control the damage by hitting the wall."
Despite the unfortunate ending, Laura Van Den Hengel came away with her first podium in her sports car career and, importantly, with valuable learning experiences as she continues to hone her skills. There were surely lessons to learn and positives to take home.
"I think I showed that I can race," she summarized. "It's more about finding the pace earlier; that will be my biggest focus now."
Van Den Hengel will return to her Ferrari 488 Challenge for the fifth and penultimate round of the GT Cup Open Europe championship at Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, on 28-29 September, aiming to capitalize on the progress shown in her latest outings.
Comments