A 31 car entry has been posted for the final race of the 2021 Michelin Le Mans Cup season at Portimao on with three of the four championship titles still to be decided.
The 2-hour race at Portimão will see 27 LMP3, 3 GT3 and the H24 Racing Hydrogen Electric car also on the entry list for further development – though it is not clear whether the H24 will run in the race, or will agaion measure its pace in Free Practice and/ or Qualifying.
GT3
With the Team championship won by Iron Lynx in Belgium last month, all eyes will be on who can take the drivers’ title in Portugal.
Three GT3 cars are entered for the last race, with each holding a championship contender.
Nicolas Leutwiler (89 pts) holds a comfortable 15-point advantage over his teammate Julien Andlauer (74 pts) but the French driver cannot win the title as he will be racing alongside his Swiss teammate.
With just three cars on the grid, Leutwiler just needs to take the chequered flag to secure the 2021 Michelin Le Mans Cup Drivers’ Championship.
Paolo Ruberti (#8 Iron Lynx Ferrari) is currently on 71 points, 18 behind Leutwiler, and will be joined by Gabriele Lancieri after the Italians won in Belgium last month to secure the Teams Championship and the automatic entry for the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans for Iron Lynx.
Doriane Pin is on 67 points and is mathematically able to snatch the drivers’ championship but would need both the #2 Porsche and #8 Ferrari to not finish the race in Portugal. Once again, the French driver is joined by Manuela Gostner in the #9 Iron Lynx Ferrari.
LMP3
The LMP3 grid at Portimão will consist of 27 cars with 19 x Ligier JS P320 and 8 x Duqueine M30-D08.
Both the LMP3 Team and Driver titles are yet to be decided and there are five teams still in the title hunt, with the top three split by just 14 points.
While the winners will be decided, what is for sure is the team trophy will be won by a new team.
DKR Engineering has won the Team Championship every year since 2017, but this year the team from Luxembourg is not in the running.
Colin Noble and Tony Wells lead the championship in the #7 Nielsen Racing Ligier with 73 points, 11 points ahead of their nearest rivals.
Alexander Mattschull and Nicolas Varrone in the #66 Rinaldi Racing Duqueine are second on 62 points with the #69 Cool Racing Ligier of Maurice Smith and Matt Bell on 59 points.
Scott Andrews and Gerald Kraut (#22 United Autosports Ligier) are on 51.5 points, as is John Schauerman in the no23 United Autosports Ligier, with both cars mathematically still able to challenge for the 2021 titles.
Swiss team ANS Team JSE Management will make their second outing in Michelin Le Mans Cup with the #6 Ligier JS P320-Nissan driven by Switzerland’s Jonathan Brossard and French driver Nicolas Schatz.
Nielsen Racing will meanwhile enter a second car for the season finale with the #27 Ligier JS P320 for Andrew and Jeremy Ferguson, regular entrants in their Ligier JS P4 in the Ligier European Series.
