Kings of Magny-Cours. Calvet leads the series, the Buggyra Academy France pilots for the first time took the entire podium
Truck racing
July 9, 2024

The race weekend at Magny- Cours brought another milestone for Buggyra Academy France. For the first time in its history, its drivers took the complete podium in a race of the French truck circuit championship. This happened in the first race on Sunday, which was won by Téo Calvet ahead of Raphaël Sousa and José Sousa. Téo added three second places to this success and moved into the lead in the standings.

“It was an amazing weekend. The weather was like Dante’s Inferno on Saturday, and the sun shone again on Sunday. The highlight of a successful weekend was Téo and Buggyra Academy France winning race three. It was the first time this has ever happened and it’s a result to remember. In addition, Téo returned to the front of the championship, so it was a great race all around,” rejoiced Fabien Calvet, head of Buggyra Academy France.

After starting from the front row, Téo held on to leader Thomas Robineau in the MAN for a full 10 laps in the opening race of the weekend. At the finish, the two biggest rivals in the title fight were separated by just three-tenths of a second.

“It was a tough race on a wet track. I was attacking the lead all the time, but it just didn’t go well on the water. At one point, I picked up a gap, but towards the end of the race, I pulled it back. The last three laps were dramatic until the last corner,” Téo described his feelings.

In the second race, the Buggyra driver was only on the fourth row. However, he showed his fighting spirit and gradually worked his way up to the second position. Robineau beat him again, but it was Anthony for a change.

“I had a pretty good run. After the start, it was a real push into the first corner until I ended up in the gravel. But I made it, and by the end, I was fighting for the second place. I managed to overtake Lionel Montagne, so I got more valuable points,” said the French driver.

On Sunday, Téo Calvet managed to take Superpole and claimed pole position. In the race itself, he turned his starting position into a victory. “After the pole position in the morning, I won the third race, so I’m very happy. My opponent took a spill at the start, which was followed by a penalty. I took the lead and held it to the finish,” he said of his winning drive.

The great performance of Buggyra Academy France was underlined by son and father Sousa, who completed the podium, much to the delight of the whole team. “The great thing is that Raphaël Sousa and José Sousa finished right behind me in second and third place. This is an amazing result for Buggyra Academy France. It shows that the academy is working really well and that we are growing,” was Téo’s delight.

On Sunday afternoon, after starting from the fourth row, Téo Calvet repeated his pursuit run from the previous day and again took the second position. But it was not an easy race. After the car hit a fragment of another car, he had to stop his truck. He was lucky in his misfortune, however, and the red flag was soon displayed. That’s why the standings from the previous round counted, in which only four-tenths of a second separated him from the winning Jonathan André.

“The overtaking was fair, we left plenty of room on the track. But then I was hit by a piece, which was hit by the truck in front of me. It hit my radiator and almost all the oil came out of the truck. So I had to stop because it did a lot of damage to the car. Because of the oil, they put up a red flag on the track, so I was still classified second in the end,” the young French driver described the critical moment.

Thanks to his results at Magny-Cours, he moved into the lead in the championship standings with 357 points. Second-placed Thomas Robineau is currently 14 points behind him. After the summer break, the series resumes at Le Mans on the last weekend in September.

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