Alex Kapadia was the star man during last weekend’s Masters Endurance Legends races at Circuit Paul Ricard in support of the French Grand Prix.
Driving an ORECA 03 Nissan, Kapadia took Pole Position for both races, and scored two wins, seeing off stiff competition, particularly in Race 2, from the Peugeot 908X driven by Kriton Lendoudis.
Race 1
After securing Pole, Kapadia put on a dominant display during the first opening Masters Endurance Legends race of the weekend at Formula 1 venue.
Kapadia cruised clear of his rivals aboard his ORECA-Nissan 03, building a lead of 2.5 seconds on the opening lap of the race, which took place in warm and sunny conditions on Saturday evening.
Both Kapadia and nearest opponent Michel Frey had to make trips to the pits (as a handicap to balance the field) during the 13-lap race and ultimately maintained their positions, with Kapadia crossing the finish line 21.4 seconds to the good.
Frey’s pit stop dropped him to third, but he overhauled non-stopping Richard Dean’s Morgan Pescarolo 01 into Virage du Pont on the antepenultimate lap to reclaim second spot.
Dean was nonetheless able to climb onto the podium after working his way past Kriton Lendoudis’ Peugeot 908X, the pair coming across the line separated by just two seconds.
Michel Lecourt in his #33 Ferrari 333 SP preserved fifth in his Ferrari 333 SP, as Christian Philippon (Morgan P01 Evo), Travis Engen (Audi R8 LMP1), Keith Frieser (ORECA FLM 09), Tommy Dreelan (ORECA FLM09) and Darius Ahrabian (Lola Lotus LMP2 Coupe) completed a competitive top 10.
In the GT class, honours went to the #29 Panos GTR1 of Xavier Tancogne, who beat Alex Caffi’s #76 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR to the finish by 7.5 seconds, with pole sitter Yoshiki Ohmura (Ferrari 458 GTE) coming home third.
Race 2
Alex Kapadia doubled up during a tense and dramatic second Masters Endurance Legends race of the weekend at Circuit Paul Ricard.
As he did in Saturday’s first race, Kapadia converted pole position into a comfortable advantage over his opponents, who jostled over second spot.
Michel Frey initially held the position but he was usurped by Kriton Lendoudis along the Mistral Straight, moments after the Peugeot 908X driver had been promoted to third when Richard Dean (in his Larbre-run Morgan LMP2) went wide at the Verrerie S.
Kapadia pitted his ORECA Nissan 03 for his mandatory drive-through but this time, lost his lead, and emerged seven seconds behind new leader Lendoudis, setting up a chase towards the chequered flag, with Kapadia in hot pursuit.
But drama struck on the penultimate lap when Lendoudis clashed with GT driver Adrian Newey (#43 Ferrari 430 GTC) through the right-hander at Sainte-Baume, sending both spinning into the run-off.
That cleared the path for Kapadia, who passed his stricken rival to claim another victory, 14.9 seconds clear of Dean.
Michel Lecourt moved his Ferrari 333SP from fifth to third in the wake of Lendoudis’ clash and the retirement of Michel Frey’s ORECA 03, who pulled into the pits late on, while Lendoudis came home in fourth spot. Lendoudis received a post race time penalty for causing the collision.
In the GT class, Xavier Tancogne and his stunning Panoz GTR 1 triumphed once more as they finished comfortably clear of Yoshiki Ohmura, as Olivier Tancogne surged from last to third in the #92 Dodge Viper GTS R.
“For us it was a perfect weekend, we got pole, the win and fastest laps in both races,” Kapadia told DSC. “It was great to see the series looking so strong in front of a good crowd at the French Grand Prix support races.
“The Mike Smith Motorsport (supported by T Sport) ORECA was perfect all weekend, and it was really cool to drive it round the newly-resurfaced Paul Ricard. There was so much grip, it was absolutely insane.
“The first race was a lights-to-flag win, and we pulled out enough of a gap that after our stop we were still ahead.
“Then in the second race, it was tense. I ended up seven seconds heind Lendouis after my drive-through, with just four laps to go. But I got past the Peugeot at Turn 7 on the back straight, after he had contact with Adrian Newey’s Ferrari. It was a fair hit.
“I was driving really well, but he upped his pace and probably would have won it had it not been for the crash.
“It’s shaping up to be a good battle for the rest of the year, it will be tough to beat the Peugeot, but will be exciting to do it.”
Photos courtesy of Masters Historic
