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2017 Road to Le Mans

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Circuit de la Sarthe track

The 2nd Road to Le Mans Cup was an automobile endurance event that took place on 15 and 17 June 2017 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, near Le Mans, France. The race featured LMP3 and GT3 category cars competing in their respective classes.

Background

[edit]

The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) formally announced the running of the 2017 Road to Le Mans race for Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) and Group GT3 (GT3) cars that were not allowed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in February 2017.[1][2] The ACO along with FIA World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans Endurance Management, the promoter of the Le Mans Cup, organised the event.[1][3][4] It was held on 15 and 17 June 2017 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, near Le Mans, France.[3][5] This was the second time the event took place, it was the second round of the 2017 Le Mans Cup and served as a support race for the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans.[3]

Colin Noble and Anthony Wells led the LMP3 Drivers' Championship with 25 after winning the season-opening round at Monza. They were seven points in front of the second-placed Jean Glorieux and Alexander Toril and ten ahead of the third-placed Maurizio Mediani and Claudio Sdanewitsch.[6] Phil Keen and Lee Mowle led the GT3 Drivers' Championship with 25 points after winning their class at Monza, seven ahead of Flick Haigh and Joe Osborne in second and ten ahead of Fabio Babini and Emanuele Busnelli in third.[7] The No. 79 Nielsen Racing team led the LMP3 Teams' Championship with 25 points, leading the No. 3 DKR Engineering squad by six points and the No. 55 Spirit of Race by ten points.[8] With 25 points, Lee Mowle's No. 7 squad led the GT3 Teams' Championship by seven points over the No. 75 Optimum Racing and nine points ahead of the No. 46 Ebimotors.[9]

Regulations and entrants

[edit]

Entry to the race was open from 10 March to 6 April 2017.[1][2] A total of 46 cars were permitted to enter the race, an increase of four from the 2016 event. The ACO's selection committee had the discretion to prioritise invitations to the LMP3 and GT3 categories from the ACO's continental racing series, the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) and the Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS), as well as the Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup and the IMSA SportsCar Championship. All current Le Mans Cup entries were automatically accepted.[1][10] Each team was required to sign at least one Bronze-rated driver and their second driver could hold either a Silver or Gold-rated licence.[11] Platinum-rated drivers were barred from participating.[10] A driver was permitted no more than 20 minutes to drive on the track.[11] According to the race's regulations, all teams had to make a mandatory pit stop lasting no less than two minutes between the 22nd and 32nd minutes of both races.[3][4] All competitors in the two categories were eligible to score championship points provided they finished anywhere from first and below. The two pole position winners in each class received one point.[11]

The entry list was published by the ACO on 10 May 2017.[12] The 49-car entry list included 33 LMP3 and 16 GT3 vehicles,[13] an increase of 12 on the previous year's race.[14] In addition to the 21 guaranteed Le Mans Cup entries, there were 12 ELMS entries, two from the ALMS while the rest of the field was filled with one-off entries only competing at Le Mans.[13] Many of the LMP3 entries came from the Le Mans Cup and all but five fielded Ligier JS P3-Nissans.[12] The five non-Ligiers were three Norma M30s and one Ginetta-Juno P3-15 and ADESS-03 each.[13][15] There were seven manufacturers (Aston Martin, Audi, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche) who were represented in the GT3 category.[16] Ben Barker, Richard Bradley, Christian Philippon, Michele Rugolo, and James Winslow were the five drivers and Graff, Gulf Racing UK, Larbre Compétition, Spirit of Race and United Autosports were the five teams competing in both the Road to Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[16][14]

Practice

[edit]

Two one-hour practice sessions were held on the evening of 14 June and morning of 15 June.[11] Noble lapped fastest overall in the first practice session with a time of 3:57.055 set in the No. 79 Nielsen Racing car. He was 1.054 seconds faster than the second-placed Alexandre Cougnaud's No. 18 M.Racing - YMR entry. The highest-placed Norma vehicle was Toril's No. 3 DKR Engineering car in third.[17][18] The GT3 category saw all seven manufacturers take the first seven places.[17] Mediani's No. 95 Spirit of Race Ferrari was fastest in class with a lap time of 4:03.821 that was good enough for 10th overall. Gulf Racing's No. 20 Porsche driven by Barker and Steeve Hiesse's No. 8 SVC Sport Management Lamborghini were second and third in class.[18] Some entries had trouble during the session. John Falb's No. 2 United Autosports Ligier suffered an engine failure after completing two laps and Mark Kvamme's No. 85 EuroInternational entry had to enter the pit lane to repair an open door.[17] Sdanewitsch crashed the No. 55 Spirit Ligier against the wall on the run into the Porsche Curves. The session was prematurely ended with seven minutes left to allow for recovery and repairs to the barrier.[17][18] Sdanewitsch complained of hand pain but was passed fit for the event.[14]

Glorieux's No. 3 DKR Ligier entry set the overall pace of the second practice session with a lap time of 3:51.935.[19] He was more than five seconds faster than the quickest first practice session lap.[20] M.Racing - YMR's No. 19 Norma car of Yann Ehrlacher was second-quickest. Ehrlacher was followed by the fastest of the Ligiers, Rugolo's third-placed No. 55 Spirit entry.[19][21] The session's six fastest cars lapped faster than Martin Brundle's 2016 pole lap.[19] Six manufacturers occupied the first six positions in the GT3 class.[19] Hiesse's No. 8 SVC Lamborghini was fastest in class with a lap time of 4:01.204 he set in the final minutes of practice.[19][21] He lapped 2.6 seconds quicker than the best category time set during the first practice session.[20] Ahmad Al Harthy's No. 97 TF Sport Aston Martin was 0.324 seconds behind in second.[20] Duncan Tappy's fastest lap set late in the session in Garage 59's No. 24 McLaren completed the top three in class. There were no incidents of note during the session.[21]

Qualifying

[edit]

There were two 20-minute qualifying sessions held on the afternoon of 15 June to set the starting order for both races. The first session saw any one driver be allowed by their teams to participate to determine the starting grid for the first race and each team's Bronze-rated driver partook in the second session to set the starting order for the second race.[1][11] The first session took place in sunny weather conditions.[22] Toril went fastest overall in all three of the circuit's sectors on warm tyres to secure pole position for the first race aboard the No. 3 DKR car with a 3:50.258 lap.[23] Peter Kox qualified the No. 48 Kox Racing vehicle in second and the No. 18 M.Racing - YMR car of Cougnaud was third. Noble qualified the Nielsen car fourth and the second M.Racing - YMR entry was fifth courtesy of a lap from Ehrlacher.[24] Barker's No. 20 Gulf Porsche took pole position in GT3 with a time of 3:56.511. He was 1.3 seconds quicker than Mediani's No. 95 Spirit Ferrari in second. Osborne qualified the No. 75 Optimum Audi in third despite a puncture that restricted him to a single fast lap.[22][24] Tom Onslow-Cole's No. 5 Ram Racing Mercedes and Keen's No. 7 Lee Mowle car completed the top five in class.[23][25]

Falb's No. 2 United Autosports entry set the early pace in the second session before it was stopped with nine minutes remaining for an accident involving Alexander Talkanista Sr.'s No. 90 AT Racing Ligier car at the Porsche Curves.[23][26] Talkanista was transported to the medical centre for a checkup. Glorieux's No. 3 DKR Ligier vehicle was impeded by the stoppage but took pole position for the second race with a 3:52.563 lap set on his final timed effort to complete a qualifying sweep for DKR.[23][24] The No. 2 United Autosports car was second ahead of the two RLR Msport entries of Martin Rich and John Farano in third and fourth.[23] Alvaro Fontes's SPV MotorSport entry completed the top five in LMP3.[24] In GT3, Al Harthy set a lap of 4:00.832 on his first quick run in the TF Sport Aston Martin before the red flag stoppage to secure pole position in the category and was fifth overall. Al Harthy remained in the pit lane after the suspension was lifted. He was almost three seconds quicker than the second-placed Busnelli's No. 46 Ebimotors Lamborghini.[24][26] Haigh's No. 75 Optimum Audi took third, ahead of the two Garage 59 McLarens of Michael Benham and Alexander West in fourth and fifth in class.[26][27]

Qualifying results

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Pole positions in each class are denoted in bold.

First qualifying session

[edit]
Final classification of the first qualifying session
Pos. Class No. Team Qualifiying Grid
1 LMP3 3 Luxembourg DKR Engineering 3:50.258 1
2 LMP3 48 Netherlands Kox Racing 3:51.691 2
3 LMP3 18 France M.Racing - YMR 3:51.941 3
4 LMP3 79 United Kingdom Nielsen Racing 3:52.582 4
5 LMP3 19 France M.Racing - YMR 3:53.315 5
6 LMP3 2 United States United Autosports 3:53.346 6
7 LMP3 55 Switzerland Spirit of Race 3:53.578 7
8 LMP3 49 Hong Kong Win Motorsport 3:53.729 8
9 LMP3 99 France N'Race 3:53.852 9
10 LMP3 14 United Kingdom RLR Msport 3:54.105 10
11 LMP3 22 United States United Autosports 3:54.214 11
12 LMP3 11 France Duqueine Engineering 3:54.674 12
13 LMP3 89 France Graff 3:54.820 13
14 LMP3 10 France Duqueine Engineering 3:55.421 14
15 LMP3 98 Belgium Motorsport 98 3:56.351 15
16 GT3 20 United Kingdom Gulf Racing UK 3:56.511 16
17 LMP3 87 United Kingdom RLR Msport 3:57.230 17
18 LMP3 65 France Graff 3:57.320 18
19 LMP3 53 France M.Racing - YMR 3:57.659 24
20 LMP3 86 United States EuroInternational 3:57.679 19
21 GT3 95 Switzerland Spirit of Race 3:57.876 20
22 LMP3 66 France Graff 3:57.959 27
23 LMP3 85 United States EuroInternational 3:58.892 21
24 GT3 75 United Kingdom Optimum Racing 3:59.334 22
25 LMP3 6 Luxembourg DKR Engineering 3:59.521 23
26 GT3 5 United Kingdom Ram Racing 3:59.754 25
27 LMP3 12 Austria SVC Sport Management 4:00.290 26
28 GT3 8 Austria SVC Sport Management 4:00.380 28
29 GT3 7 United Kingdom Lee Mowle 4:00.902 29
30 GT3 24 United Kingdom Garage 59 4:00.906 30
31 GT3 76 France IMSA Performance 4:01.744 31
32 LMP3 44 Spain SPV MotorSport 4:03.155 32
33 LMP3 92 Japan TKS 4:03.582 33
34 GT3 88 United Kingdom Garage 59 4:03.586 34
35 GT3 97 United Kingdom TF Sport 4:05.143 35
36 GT3 46 Italy Ebimotors 4:06.310 36
37 LMP3 15 Spain By Speed Factory 4:08.603 37
38 LMP3 33 Spain BE Motorsport 4:08.956 38
39 LMP3 9 France Duqueine Engineering 4:10.503 39
40 LMP3 23 United States United Autosports 4:10.552 40
41 LMP3 72 France Graff 4:11.637 41
42 GT3 28 Belgium Delahaye Racing Team 4:14.239 42
43 GT3 50 France Larbre Compétition 4:15.155 43
44 LMP3 4 France Cool Racing by GPC 4:18.142 44
45 GT3 93 Switzerland Kessel Racing 4:19.083 45
46 GT3 96 France IMSA Performance 4:20.464 46
47 LMP3 91 Luxembourg DKR Engineering 4:24.993 47
48 LMP3 90 Austria AT Racing No time 48
49 GT3 94 Switzerland Spirit of Race No time 49
Source:[25][28]

Second qualifying session

[edit]
Final classification of the second qualifying session
Pos. Class No. Team Qualifiying Grid
1 LMP3 3 Luxembourg DKR Engineering 3:52.563 1
2 LMP3 2 United States United Autosports 3:55.510 2
3 LMP3 14 United Kingdom RLR Msport 3:59.043 3
4 LMP3 87 United Kingdom RLR Msport 4:00.367 4
5 GT3 97 United Kingdom TF Sport 4:00.832 5
6 LMP3 44 Spain SPV MotorSport 4:00.873 6
7 LMP3 79 United Kingdom Nielsen Racing 4:01.468 7
8 LMP3 11 France Duqueine Engineering 4:01.549 8
9 LMP3 18 France M.Racing - YMR 4:01.565 9
10 LMP3 6 Luxembourg DKR Engineering 4:01.870 10
11 LMP3 65 France Graff 4:02.075 11
12 LMP3 72 France Graff 4:02.185 12
13 LMP3 89 France Graff 4:02.296 13
14 LMP3 92 Japan TKS 4:02.312 14
15 LMP3 10 France Duqueine Engineering 4:02.553 15
16 LMP3 66 France Graff 4:02.943 16
17 LMP3 86 United States EuroInternational 4:03.440 17
18 GT3 46 Italy Ebimotors 4:03.828 18
19 LMP3 85 United States EuroInternational 4:06.267 19
20 GT3 75 United Kingdom Optimum Racing 4:06.396 20
21 LMP3 33 Spain BE Motorsport 4:06.433 21
22 LMP3 53 France M.Racing - YMR 4:06.811 22
23 LMP3 49 Hong Kong Win Motorsport 4:07.107 23
24 LMP3 23 United States United Autosports 4:07.399 24
25 GT3 24 United Kingdom Garage 59 4:07.748 25
26 GT3 88 United Kingdom Garage 59 4:08.129 26
27 GT3 5 United Kingdom Ram Racing 4:08.370 27
28 LMP3 15 Spain By Speed Factory 4:08.496 28
29 LMP3 99 France N'Race 4:08.750 29
30 LMP3 9 France Duqueine Engineering 4:08.787 30
31 GT3 95 Switzerland Spirit of Race 4:10.074 31
32 GT3 8 Austria SVC Sport Management 4:11.256 32
33 LMP3 4 France Cool Racing by GPC 4:11.923 33
34 GT3 55 Switzerland Spirit of Race 4:12.136 34
35 GT3 20 United Kingdom Gulf Racing UK 4:12.465 35
36 LMP3 22 United States United Autosports 4:14.745 36
37 GT3 93 Switzerland Kessel Racing 4:15.044 37
38 GT3 7 United Kingdom Lee Mowle 4:15.364 50
39 GT3 96 France IMSA Performance 4:16.167 38
40 LMP3 48 Netherlands Kox Racing 4:18.421 39
41 GT3 94 Switzerland Spirit of Race 4:18.775 40
42 GT3 28 Belgium Delahaye Racing Team 4:20.604 41
43 GT3 76 France IMSA Performance 4:21.173 42
44 LMP3 91 Luxembourg DKR Engineering 4:23.381 43
45 LMP3 12 Austria SVC Sport Management No time 44
46 LMP3 19 France M.Racing - YMR No time 45
47 GT3 50 France Larbre Compétition No time 49
48 LMP3 90 Austria AT Racing No time 46
49 LMP3 98 Belgium Motorsport 98 No time 47
Source:[29][30]

Races

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Race one

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The first race commenced at 17:30 local time on 15 June.[11] It was held in sunny weather conditions of from 27.4 to 28.15 °C (81.32 to 82.67 °F) and a track temperature between 35.8 and 36.7 °C (96.4 and 98.1 °F).[31][32] The No. 90 AT Racing Ligier was withdrawn from the race due to damage to the car sustained during qualifying.[32] When the race started, Toril lost the No. 3 DKR Norma entry's pole position advantage to Kox's No. 48 Kox Racing car but reclaimed the overall lead and led by 1.7 seconds by the conclusion of lap one.[32][33] The No. 20 Gulf Porsche of Alex Baker held the GT3 lead on the first lap before it was overtaken by Hiesse's SVC Lamborghini and Raymond Narac's No. 76 IMSA Performance Porsche on the following lap.[32][34][35] The second lap saw the enforcement of the slow zone procedure for the recovery of Andrew Cummings's No. 44 SPV Ligier.[32] Two laps later,[35] Narac passed Hiesse for the GT3 category lead.[32] Following the mandatory pit stops, the No. 2 United Autosports vehicle of Sean Rayhall was promoted to the race lead ahead of Rich's No. 14 RLR Msport entry after setting a series of fast lap times and overtaking the battling duo of Rich and Ricci.[32][33]

Toril had been leading by ten seconds when he was required to reduce his pace for a slow zone enforced by the recovery of Yojiro Terada's No. 91 DKR vehicle after he collided with the barrier and was hit by the second-placed car of Cougnaud, who was running at racing speed. Toril had to retire the No. 3 DKR car from the race due to suspension damage. The No. 19 M.Racing - YMR vehicle of Ehrlacher was forced to retire in the pit lane with technical issues.[32][33][34] Rayhall pulled away for the remainder of the race to claim victory for the No. 2 United Autosports team by 5.6 seconds ahead of the No. 18 M.Racing - YMR car.[33] The No. 14 RLR MSport duo of Alex Kapadia and Rich completed the podium in third, having started in 10th position.[34] The No. 95 Spirit Ferrari was the first across the start-finish line in GT3 but was penalised eight seconds on the final lap because the car's pit stop was deemed to be too short. This demoted the No. 95 Spirit Ferrari to second in the category after the No. 7 Lee Mowle was imposed a two-lap penalty for making its pit stop outside the allocated time period. The TF Sport Aston Martin was thus promoted to the class victory, making Al Harthy the first Omani driver to take a podium result at Le Mans and giving Tom Jackson a win on his GT3 race debut.[33][34]

Race one classification

[edit]

Winners in each class are denoted in bold.

Final classification of the first race
Pos Class No. Team Drivers Chassis Tyre Laps Time/Reason
Engine
1 LMP3 2 United States United Autosports United States John Falb
United States Sean Rayhall 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 55:10.699
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
2 LMP3 18 France M.Racing - YMR France Alexandre Cougnaud
France Romano Ricci 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +5.634
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
3 LMP3 14 United Kingdom RLR MSport United Kingdom Alex Kapadia
United Kingdom Martin Rich 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +9.362
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
4 LMP3 53 France M.Racing - YMR France Natan Bihel
France Laurent Millara 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +1:32.341
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
5 LMP3 87 United Kingdom RLR MSport Denmark Morten Dons
Canada John Farano 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +1:34.498
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
6 LMP3 98 Belgium Motorsport 98 Belgium Eric De Doncker
United Kingdom Andy Meyrick 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +1:35.946
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
7 LMP3 22 United States United Autosports United Kingdom Matthew Bell
United States Jim McGuire 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +1:40.996
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
8 LMP3 89 France Graff Australia Greg Taylor
United Kingdom James Winslow 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +1:43.369
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
9 LMP3 99 France N'Race France Alain Costa
France Jordan Perroy 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +1:53.418
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
10 LMP3 49 Hong Kong Win Motorsport United Kingdom Richard Bradley
Hong Kong William Lok 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +1:53.687
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
11 LMP3 55 Switzerland Spirit of Race Germany Claudio Sdanewitsch
Italy Michele Rugolo 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +1:57.086
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
12 LMP3 79 United Kingdom Nielsen Racing United Kingdom Colin Noble
United Kingdom Anthony Wells 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +1:59.418
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
13 LMP3 65 France Graff France Émilien Carde
France Adrien Chila 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +2:01.871
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
14 LMP3 48 Netherlands Kox Racing Netherlands Peter Kox
Netherlands Nico Pronk 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +2:16.016
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
15 LMP3 86 United States EuroInternational Australia Ricky Capo
Italy Andrea Dromedari 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +2:22.594
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
16 LMP3 66 France Graff Australia Scott Andrews
Australia John Corbett 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +2:23.129
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
17 LMP3 12 Austria SVC Sport Management Italy Marco Cencetti
Italy Marcello Marateotto 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +2:37.210
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
18 GT3 97 United Kingdom TF Sport Oman Ahmad Al Harthy
United Kingdom Tom Jackson 		Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 M 13 +2:42.128
Aston Martin 6.0 L V12
19 LMP3 85 United States EuroInternational United States Mark Kvamme
Venezuela Alex Popow 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +3:02.396
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
20 LMP3 6 Luxembourg DKR Engineering Hong Kong Edgar Lau
France Jacques Wolf 		Norma M30 M 13 +3:09.528
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
21 GT3 95 Switzerland Spirit of Race Italy Maurizio Mediani
Switzerland Christoph Ulrich 		Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 M 13 +3:13.465
Ferrari F136 4.5 L V8
22 GT3 46 Italy Ebimotors Italy Fabio Babini
Italy Emanuele Busnelli 		Lamborghini Huracán GT3 M 13 +3:16.830
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
23 LMP3 72 France Graff France Philippe Cimadomo
France Thomas Dagoneau 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +3:20.460
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
24 GT3 5 United Kingdom Ram Racing United Kingdom Tom Onslow-Cole
Netherlands Remon Leonard Vos 		Mercedes-AMG GT3 M 13 +3:28.139
Mercedes AMG M159 6.2 L V8
25 GT3 8 Austria SVC Sport Management France Steeve Hiesse
France Cédric Mézard 		Lamborghini Huracán GT3 M 13 +3:28.418
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
26 GT3 24 United Kingdom Garage 59 United Kingdom Michael Benham
United Kingdom Duncan Tappy 		McLaren 650S GT3 M 13 +3:39.840
McLaren M838T 3.8 L twin-turbo V8
27 GT3 76 France IMSA Performance France Thierry Cornac
France Raymond Narac 		Porsche 911 GT3 R M 13 +3:52.643
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
28 GT3 88 United Kingdom Garage 59 United Kingdom Chris Goodwin
Sweden Alexander West 		McLaren 650S GT3 M 13 +4:00.087
McLaren M838T 3.8 L twin-turbo V8
29 LMP3 92 Japan TKS Japan Shinyo Sano
Japan Takuya Shirasaka 		Ginetta-Juno P3-15 M 13 +4:02.615
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
30 LMP3 23 United States United Autosports United Kingdom Richard Meins
United Kingdom Shaun Lynn 		Ligier JS P3 M 12 +1 Lap
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
31 LMP3 10 France Duqueine Engineering Switzerland Antonin Borga
Switzerland Lucas Borga 		Ligier JS P3 M 12 +1 Lap
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
32 GT3 75 United Kingdom Optimum Racing United Kingdom Flick Haigh
United Kingdom Joe Osborne 		Audi R8 LMS M 12 +1 Lap
Audi 5.2 L V10
33 LMP3 9 France Duqueine Engineering United States Joël Janco
United States Gerry Kraut 		Ligier JS P3 M 12 +1 Lap
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
34 LMP3 4 France Cool Racing by GPC Switzerland Alexandre Coigny
Switzerland Gino Forgione 		Ligier JS P3 M 12 +1 Lap
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
35 GT3 28 Belgium Delahaye Racing Team France Pierre-Étienne Bordet
France Alexandre Viron 		Porsche 911 GT3 R M 12 +1 Lap
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
36 GT3 94 Switzerland Spirit of Race Netherlands Martin Lanting
Belgium Patrick Van Glabeke 		Ferrari 488 GT3 M 12 +1 Lap
Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8
37 GT3 93 Switzerland Kessel Racing France Deborah Mayer
Italy Claudio Schiavoni 		Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 M 12 +1 Lap
Ferrari F136 4.5 L V8
38 LMP3 44 Spain SPV MotorSport Spain Álvaro Fontes
United Kingdom Andrew Cummings 		Ligier JS P3 M 12 +1 Lap
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
39 GT3 7 United Kingdom Lee Mowle United Kingdom Lee Mowle
United Kingdom Phil Keen 		Mercedes-AMG GT3 M 11 +2 Laps
Mercedes AMG M159 6.2 L V8
40 LMP3 15 Spain By Speed Factory Netherlands Ate de Jong
South Korea Tacksung Kim 		Ligier JS P3 M 11 +2 Laps
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
41 GT3 20 United Kingdom Gulf Racing UK United Kingdom Andrew Baker
United Kingdom Ben Barker 		Porsche 911 GT3 R M 10 +3 Laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
42 LMP3 11 France Duqueine Engineering Switzerland Lucas Légeret
France Nicolas Melin 		Ligier JS P3 M 8 Did not finish
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
43 LMP3 19 France M.Racing - YMR France Erwin Creed
France Yann Ehrlacher 		Norma M30 M 7 Did not finish
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
44 LMP3 33 Spain BE Motorsport Spain Javier Ibrán
Netherlands Dirk Waaijenberg 		Ligier JS P3 M 7 Did not finish
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
45 LMP3 3 Luxembourg DKR Engineering Belgium Jean Glorieux
Spain Alexander Toril 		Norma M30 M 6 Did not finish
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
46 LMP3 91 Luxembourg DKR Engineering France Sylvain Boulay
Japan Yojiro Terada 		ADESS-03 M 4 Did not finish
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
47 GT3 96 France IMSA Performance France Michel Ettouati
France Franck Racinet 		Porsche 911 GT3 R M 1 Did not finish
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
48 LMP3 90 Austria AT Racing Belarus Alexander Talkanista Jr.
Belarus Alexander Talkanista Sr. 		Ligier JS P3 M 0 Did not start
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
49 GT3 50 France Larbre Compétition France Franck Labescat
France Christian Philippon 		Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 M 0 Did not start
Mercedes AMG M159 6.2 L V8
Sources:[36][37]

Race two

[edit]

The second race commenced at 11:30 local time on 17 June.[11] It again took place in sunny weather conditions but with the air temperature between 23 and 25.3 °C (73.4 and 77.5 °F) and the track temperature at 26 °C (79 °F).[38][39] 49 cars were due to take the start, but the No. 4 Cool Racing by GPC car failed to start for unknown reasons.[37] The No. 3 DKR car of Glorieux maintained its pole position advantage into the first turn.[39][40] Both of the EuroInternational Ligiers and the No. 66 Graff entry retired for unknown reasons on the first lap.[39] Three laps later, Glorieux spun the No. 3 DKR Norma vehicle on the run into the Dunlop chicane and dropped to fourth overall, losing the race lead to Falb's No. 2 United Autosports entry.[40][41] The TF Sport Aston Martin of Al Harthy had held the lead in GT3 for the opening four laps before it was passed by the No. 95 Spirit Ferrari of Mediani on lap five.[39][42] That same lap saw Falb lose the overall lead to Lucas Légeret's No. 11 Duqueine Engineering Ligier car.[40][42] Glorieux overtook the No. 87 RLR Msport of Farano for third overall just before the mandatory pit stops.[39][41]

Following the pit stops, the No. 3 DKR entry of Toril returned to the race lead after overtaking Rayhall's No. 2 United Autosports car and then Nicolas Melin No. 11 Duqueine entry at the Dunlop Curve.[39][40] The No. 87 RLR Msport car of Farano was forced to retire when it suffered a rear suspension failure after mounting the kerbs at the Ford Chicane. Ulrich in the No. 95 Spirit Ferrari was leading GT3 when he spun into the gravel trap at Dunlop Curve and retired after getting stuck in the gravel.[39][41] Jackson thus inherited the category lead until the IMSA Performance Porsche of Narac overtook him at the Esses on lap nine.[39][40][42] The IMSA Performance was later imposed a three-second stop-and-hold penalty for breaching the minimum pit stop time and Narac took the penalty on the final lap.[41] Toril extended his advantage over the rest of the field and secured victory for the No. 3 DKR squad. The No. 2 United Autosports team finished 17.7 seconds behind in second.[40] M.Racing - YMR's No. 19 entry was third after Ehrlacher came from outside the top ten in the second half of the race.[41] This came after Noble spun and crashed the Nielsen car at Tetre Rouge while avoiding a slow Porsche. Jackson inherited the GT3 lead after Narac's penalty and clinched the class win to complete a victory sweep at Le Mans. The No. 24 Garage 59 team took second in class and the SVC Lamborghini was third after Hiesse moved up the order in the final laps.[40][41]

Race two classification

[edit]

Winners in each class are denoted in bold.

Final classification of the second race
Pos Class No. Team Drivers Chassis Tyre Laps Time/Reason
Engine
1 LMP3 3 Luxembourg DKR Engineering Belgium Jean Glorieux
Spain Alexander Toril 		Norma M30 M 13 57:07.299
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
2 LMP3 2 United States United Autosports United States John Falb
United States Sean Rayhall 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +17.706
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
3 LMP3 19 France M.Racing - YMR France Erwin Creed
France Yann Ehrlacher 		Norma M30 M 13 +43.746
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
4 LMP3 89 France Graff Australia Greg Taylor
United Kingdom James Winslow 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +50.362
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
5 LMP3 6 Luxembourg DKR Engineering Hong Kong Edgar Lau
France Jacques Wolf 		Norma M30 M 13 +52.909
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
6 LMP3 99 France N'Race France Alain Costa
France Jordan Perroy 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +1:10.912
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
7 LMP3 18 France M.Racing - YMR France Alexandre Cougnaud
France Romano Ricci 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +1:20.340
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
8 LMP3 65 France Graff France Émilien Carde
France Adrien Chila 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +1:21.832
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
9 LMP3 98 Belgium Motorsport 98 Belgium Eric De Doncker
United Kingdom Andy Meyrick 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +1:33.721
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
10 LMP3 92 Japan TKS Japan Shinyo Sano
Japan Takuya Shirasaka 		Ginetta-Juno P3-15 M 13 +1:35.661
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
11 LMP3 49 Hong Kong Win Motorsport United Kingdom Richard Bradley
Hong Kong William Lok 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +1:44.682
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
12 LMP3 48 Netherlands Kox Racing Netherlands Peter Kox
Netherlands Nico Pronk 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +1:52.735
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
13 LMP3 11 France Duqueine Engineering Switzerland Lucas Légeret
France Nicolas Melin 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +1:54.646
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
14 GT3 97 United Kingdom TF Sport Oman Ahmad Al Harthy
United Kingdom Tom Jackson 		Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 M 13 +1:57.323
Aston Martin 6.0 L V12
15 LMP3 53 France M.Racing - YMR France Natan Bihel
France Laurent Millara 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +1:58.342
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
16 LMP3 90 Austria AT Racing Belarus Alexander Talkanista Jr.
Belarus Alexander Talkanista Sr. 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +1:59.396
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
17 GT3 24 United Kingdom Garage 59 United Kingdom Michael Benham
United Kingdom Duncan Tappy 		McLaren 650S GT3 M 13 +2:02.335
McLaren M838T 3.8 L twin-turbo V8
18 GT3 8 Austria SVC Sport Management France Steeve Hiesse
France Cédric Mézard 		Lamborghini Huracán GT3 M 13 +2:06.659
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
19 GT3 5 United Kingdom Ram Racing United Kingdom Tom Onslow-Cole
Netherlands Remon Leonard Vos 		Mercedes-AMG GT3 M 13 +2:10.789
Mercedes AMG M159 6.2 L V8
20 LMP3 22 United States United Autosports United Kingdom Matthew Bell
United States Jim McGuire 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +2:34.870
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
21 GT3 88 United Kingdom Garage 59 United Kingdom Chris Goodwin
Sweden Alexander West 		McLaren 650S GT3 M 13 +2:40.446
McLaren M838T 3.8 L twin-turbo V8
22 LMP3 72 France Graff France Philippe Cimadomo
France Thomas Dagoneau 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +2:42.329
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
23 LMP3 44 Spain SPV MotorSport Spain Álvaro Fontes
United Kingdom Andrew Cummings 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +2:43.760
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
24 GT3 7 United Kingdom Lee Mowle United Kingdom Lee Mowle
United Kingdom Phil Keen 		Mercedes-AMG GT3 M 13 +2:44.880
Mercedes AMG M159 6.2 L V8
25 LMP3 23 United States United Autosports United Kingdom Richard Meins
United Kingdom Shaun Lynn 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +2:46.265
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
26 LMP3 15 Spain By Speed Factory Netherlands Ate de Jong
South Korea Tacksung Kim 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +3:14.532
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
27 LMP3 9 France Duqueine Engineering United States Joël Janco
United States Gerry Kraut 		Ligier JS P3 M 13 +3:16.006
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
28 GT3 93 Switzerland Kessel Racing France Deborah Mayer
Italy Claudio Schiavoni 		Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 M 13 +4:34.396
Ferrari F136 4.5 L V8
29 LMP3 79 United Kingdom Nielsen Racing United Kingdom Colin Noble
United Kingdom Anthony Wells 		Ligier JS P3 M 12 +1 Lap
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
30 LMP3 12 Austria SVC Sport Management Italy Marco Cencetti
Italy Marcello Marateotto 		Ligier JS P3 M 12 +1 Lap
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
31 GT3 50 France Larbre Compétition France Franck Labescat
France Christian Philippon 		Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 M 12 +1 Lap
Mercedes AMG M159 6.2 L V8
32 GT3 28 Belgium Delahaye Racing Team France Pierre-Étienne Bordet
France Alexandre Viron 		Porsche 911 GT3 R M 12 +1 Lap
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
33 GT3 94 Switzerland Spirit of Race Netherlands Martin Lanting
Belgium Patrick Van Glabeke 		Ferrari 488 GT3 M 12 +1 Lap
Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8
34 GT3 96 France IMSA Performance France Michel Ettouati
France Franck Racinet 		Porsche 911 GT3 R M 12 +1 Lap
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
35 LMP3 91 Luxembourg DKR Engineering France Sylvain Boulay
Japan Yojiro Terada 		ADESS-03 M 12 +1 Lap
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
36 GT3 46 Italy Ebimotors Italy Fabio Babini
Italy Emanuele Busnelli 		Lamborghini Huracán GT3 M 12 +1 Lap
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
37 GT3 95 Switzerland Spirit of Race Italy Maurizio Mediani
Switzerland Christoph Ulrich 		Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 M 11 +2 Laps
Ferrari F136 4.5 L V8
38 GT3 75 United Kingdom Optimum Racing United Kingdom Flick Haigh
United Kingdom Joe Osborne 		Audi R8 LMS M 11 +2 Laps
Audi 5.2 L V10
39 LMP3 87 United Kingdom RLR MSport Denmark Morten Dons
Canada John Farano 		Ligier JS P3 M 7 Did not finish
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
40 LMP3 10 France Duqueine Engineering Switzerland Antonin Borga
Switzerland Lucas Borga 		Ligier JS P3 M 6 Did not finish
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
41 LMP3 14 United Kingdom RLR MSport United Kingdom Alex Kapadia
United Kingdom Martin Rich 		Ligier JS P3 M 5 Did not finish
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
42 LMP3 33 Spain BE Motorsport Spain Javier Ibrán
Netherlands Dirk Waaijenberg 		Ligier JS P3 M 5 Did not finish
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
43 LMP3 55 Switzerland Spirit of Race Germany Claudio Sdanewitsch
Italy Michele Rugolo 		Ligier JS P3 M 3 Did not finish
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
44 GT3 20 United Kingdom Gulf Racing UK United Kingdom Andrew Baker
United Kingdom Ben Barker 		Porsche 911 GT3 R M 3 Did not finish
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
45 LMP3 85 United States EuroInternational United States Mark Kvamme
Venezuela Alex Popow 		Ligier JS P3 M 0 Did not finish
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
46 LMP3 86 United States EuroInternational Australia Ricky Capo
Italy Andrea Dromedari 		Ligier JS P3 M 0 Did not finish
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
47 LMP3 66 France Graff Australia Scott Andrews
Australia John Corbett 		Ligier JS P3 M 0 Did not finish
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
48 GT3 76 France IMSA Performance France Thierry Cornac
France Raymond Narac 		Porsche 911 GT3 R M 13 Disqualified
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
49 LMP3 4 France Cool Racing by GPC Switzerland Alexandre Coigny
Switzerland Gino Forgione 		Ligier JS P3 M 0 Did not start
Nissan VK50VE 5.0L V8
Sources:[37][43]

References

[edit]
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