World Rally Championship driver Thierry Neuville scored victory on his historic circuit-racing debut at the Imola Classic.
The 2024 WRC champion traded his rally machinery for a Ford Escort RS1600 and his own BMW M3 E30, competing in the Heritage Touring Car Cup at the Le Mans Classic Series event at the Emilia-Romagna circuit. The field also featured former British Touring Car Championship champions and race winners Jake Hill, Steve Soper and Rob Huff.
Neuville has contested full-time WRC seasons for the past 15 years, but he has also made occasional appearances in circuit racing, winning a TCR Germany touring car race in 2019.
Sharing the Escort with historic racing regular Raphael de Borman, Neuville took a commanding victory in the 1972–1981 class during the opening one-hour race. He was forced to retire his BMW in the second race because of a technical issue.
“During two test sessions on Thursday, I was able to discover the beautiful Imola circuit while driving the BMW M3 E30 for the first time,” Neuville wrote on Instagram.
“Friday and Saturday were all about fine-tuning the setups of both cars and gradually reaching their limits. We were able to take class pole position with the Escort and secure P2 in the M3.
“Sunday was race day, with two one-hour races. Despite a serious penalty that classified me as a Gold driver, Raphael and I managed to win HTC Race 1. In HTC Race 2, I unfortunately had to retire after one lap due to technical issues.
“As well as having a lot of fun in the cars, I enjoyed the atmosphere in the paddock, meeting new passionate people and spending time with the LifeLive Motorsport team, who took great care of me and our customers.”
Having indicated that he plans to reduce his WRC commitments next year, Neuville hopes to return to the Le Mans Classic Series in 2027.
“Let’s see what next year brings, but hopefully I will find another opportunity to be part of this series again in 2027,” he added.