Solenn Amrouche secured her first 24H Series victory in the GTX class at the 24 Hours of Barcelona, overcoming setbacks and late-race drama culminating in an emotional win that also earned the GTX Championship title to her teammates.
Solenn Amrouche took victory in the GTX class at the end of a rollercoaster edition of the 24 Hours of Barcelona, which saw numerous lead changes in class and plenty of plot twists — with the Vortex 2.0 machine of the young Frenchwoman and her teammates ultimately emerging victorious after a dramatic final hour.
Amrouche therefore collected her first-ever victory in the 24H Series, following a second place in the 992 AM class at the Hankook 24H of Portimão earlier this year — on only her third start in the series and her second time at the Barcelona event that wraps up the Creventic season.
Solenn continues her development in endurance racing with another notable result, having contested a multiple program in the Spanish GT-CER championship, as well as the Ultimate Cup. The French racer became vice-champion of the GPX category in GT-CER in 2023, claiming eight podiums, four class wins, and an outright victory. She then started her first 24 Hours race in Barcelona at the end of the season — and aimed to carry momentum into 2024, collecting more experience, this time at the wheel of the new Vortex 2.0 machine.
Despite being slowed down by some technical issues throughout the year, Amrouche has added a class win and a podium to her résumé in the Spanish GT championship. She went on to make her 992 class debut in the 24H Series at Portimão, immediately finishing second in the AM entries. Making her return to the Vortex outfit for the season finale, Amrouche would be sharing the car with her father Lionel, also an expert Vortex racer.
"It was my second 24 Hours Series in Barcelona, and this time I was on the Vortex 2.0", Solenn told us. "I started training three times a week to be ready for the event. It was the first time I was racing in a 24-hour event with my father, Lionel Amrouche, so it was a special moment for me", she added. "We were both thrilled to share this experience."
The weekend was off to a positive start, as Solenn and Lionel Amrouche, who teamed up with Philippe Bonnel and Gilles Courtois in the #701 car, soon proved to be contenders in the GTX category, recording competitive times in the practice sessions. However, it was clear that it would be a closely-fought race, with the #702 sister car and the fast #714 Razoon More Than Racing KTM X-BOW GTX also close in pace.
Qualifying got underway in the afternoon, with Philippe Bonnel taking on driving duties for the first session. He set the third time in class with a 1:49.625 lap, before Solenn Amrouche took over for Q2 and clocked a 1:49.973. Her father Lionel was up next for the final section of qualifying, and his 1:47.264 lap solidified their three-lap average to 1:48.954, resulting in a starting position of P22 overall, as the Vortex drivers noticed a car issue.
"During the qualifying, we experienced a change in the car’s behavior, which placed us last in our GPX category", Solenn commented. "However, we had already decided that qualifications weren’t as crucial for a 24-hour race. Starting 20 meters closer wouldn’t make much of a difference over 24 hours."
On Saturday morning, it was Philippe Bonnel who took the start in the #701 Vortex 2.0, aiming to move forward and climb back up in the GTX class.
The start of the race was untroubled; in the first part of the race, the car remained steadily in third place in class after one hour, in a GTX class led by the #714 KTM, which managed to gain a lap.
The #701 Vortex pitted on lap 48, and Solenn Amrouche got in the car, starting her first stint of the race. Running at a competitive pace, Solenn managed to move into second place in GTX, ahead of the sister car by over 20 seconds, stretching the gap with a solid run.
Meanwhile, the #714 Razoon More Than Racing KTM came to a halt after an accident with the #91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche, triggering the first Code 60 of the race.
The issue for the #714 KTM in the third hour of racing meant that Solenn cycled into the lead in class after the round of pit stops. Solenn completed her stint after a strong run and handed the car over to her father Lionel.
"I took my first stint of 1 hour and 30 minutes, which went very well with relatively fast lap times", Solenn said. "Additionally, I was able to move up to second place in our standings."
At the three-hour mark, the #701 crew had solidified a two-lap lead in class over the sister car. The gap continued to grow over the next three hours, with Lionel Amrouche and Courtois in charge, as the sister car encountered troubles after refueling and lost time in the pits, but rejoined still in second place.
Courtois, however, hit trouble on lap 188, marking the first major technical issue for the #701 Vortex in the race. The class leaders lost almost all their gap but impressively managed to get the car back out on track just one lap before losing the lead to the #702 Vortex. Philippe Bonnel got in and kept the top spot.
The four drivers alternated behind the wheel throughout the next hours, running smoothly in the lead. Once ahead, the team never gave up the GTX lead again, always fighting through potential setbacks. With 16 hours to go, the #701 Vortex was serviced again in the pits, but with the #702 car also losing time for repairs, Bonnel was soon back out, building up a gap once again.
Despite another setback when the car came to a halt at Turn 2 with Bonnel behind the wheel, triggering another Code 60, the team had built almost a one-hour lead over the #702 car. This however put the revived #714 KTM in a position to recover.
After a 45-minute stop, the Vortex was alive again, with Solenn behind the wheel and still holding a solid margin as the GTX class leader. Amrouche kept up the pace, running 1:54 laps, keeping the gap stable to the #714 KTM, and improving lap after lap.
At the end of a brilliant run, Solenn handed the car back to Lionel, who retained the GTX class lead, almost 50 laps ahead of the #714 KTM.
Amrouche perfectly managed her night stint, driving for 1 hour and 45 minutes with no drama, consistently improving and navigating tricky traffic.
In the second half of the race, the team built a healthy margin, running more consistently than both the sister car and the #714 Razoon More Than Racing KTM, which lost significant time for repairs after a front-end collision.
The four Vortex drivers alternated behind the wheel again, and Solenn returned to the driving seat for the final stint of the race as the leading GTX car, having retained the top spot throughout the night and the morning. With the second-placed KTM encountering more trouble, the #702 Vortex returned to second place.
"We moved up to first place, which we maintained until the end", Solenn summarized. "It was very important to me to cross the finish line, so I took the last three-quarters of an hour of the race."
When the stage looked set for a smooth ride to the finish line, however, more drama ensued, as Amrouche's car came to a halt on the back straight just a few minutes into her stint, with a little over 30 minutes to go.
"After just five minutes of driving, a part failed, and I had to be towed in for repairs", she said. "The time seemed to pass so quickly, and I was worried about not being able to cross that crucial finish line, but the team did an incredible job. They managed to repair the car just 2 minutes before the end of the race."
The French team's brilliant work fixed the issue, and Solenn managed to get back out for the final minutes, completing a total of 610 laps and crossing the finish line to win the GTX class at the 24 Hours of Barcelona.
It was a remarkable victory for the young French racer, her first win in a 24H Series race filled with emotions. The victory also handed the GTX class title to her father Lionel and the rest of the crew, with four class wins over the 2024 European 24H Series campaign.
"I had the privilege of crossing the finish line and handing the GTX European Champion title to my father, Lionel Amrouche, as well as to my teammates Gilles Courtois and Philippe Bonnel", an ecstatic Solenn added. "The emotions were very strong."
With two class podiums and a win in two starts in this year's 24H Series, Solenn Amrouche is already looking ahead, eager to continue this streak of successes as she is set to return for her next 24-hour race in January at the series' flagship event in Dubai.
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