Malthe Jakobsen and Maurice Smith in the #69 Cool Racing Ligier JSP320 Nissan took their first win this season, some 11 seconds ahead of the #23 United Autosport Ligier JSP320 Nissan driven by Wayne Boyd and John Schauerman. The #22 sister car shared by Andres Latorre Canon and Garnet Patterson took third spot on the podium, some 13 seconds behind the winning car.
Jerome de Sadeleer kept the pole sitting car in the lead at the start of the race. He stayed ahead of Fabien Michal in the #37 CD Sport Ligier JSP320 Nissan and Leonard Weiss in the #11 WTM Racing Duqueine M30 D08 Nissan. On lap 12, Weiss overtook Michal. A few laps later, De Sadeleer, on a restart from a Safety Car for one of multiple incidents, lost grip, whilst attempting to get away from the pack before the start line, spun and collided with Weiss eliminating both of the leading cars.
This triggered a further safety car episode. Soon after the restart, the #37 CD Sport Ligier JSP320 Nissan driven by Fabien Michal took the lead ahead of Alexander Mattschull in the #10 Racing Spirit of Le Mans Ligier JSP320 Nissan and Tony Wells in the #7 Nielsen Racing Ligier JSP320 Nissan.
Cars stopped for their compulsory driver changes. Mads Siljehaug led the race in the #76 Reiter Engineering Ligier JSP320 Nissan ahead of Adam Eteki in the #37 CD Sport Ligier JSP320 Nissan and the #77 Team Thor Ligier JSP320 Nissan driven by Michael Markussen. The #69 Cool Racing Ligier JSP320 Nissan eventually overtook the #77 at the restart of another safety car episode. Eteki and Jakobsen then fought out a terrific battle, the CD Sport driver fending off the young Dane whose Ligier had minor front end damage, robbing the car of a little straight line speed.
The race took a decisive turn on lap 38 when the #37 overtook the Reiter car as the latter gradually lost pace and slipped down in the ranks.
With 20 minutes left in the race, the top two cars cruised to the chequered flag while the #23 reached third place. Unfortunately, as the race came to an end, the #37 received a drive through penalty for abusing track limits (converted to 30 seconds time penalty immediately after the race) and slipped to sixth place while the #22 United Autosport was bumped up to third.
Further down in the ranks:
-The #33 Team Virage driven by Rob Hodes made contact at Tamburello with Shan Lynn in the #2 United Autosport Ligier JSP320 Nissan and Klaus Habbelen in the #30 Frikadelli Racing Team Ligier JSP320 Nissan during the first lap. This incident triggered a first safety car episode.
-The #6 ANS Motorsport Ligier JSP320 Nissan driven by Jonathan Brossard went off at Tosa on lap 15 and retired, Brossard was penalised for dangerous driving after driving the wrong way down the track in recovery, a move that saw Klaus Abbelen off the road and into retirement in the Frikadelli Ligier.
-The #73 TS Corse Duqueine M30 D08 Nissan and the #72 Team Virage Ligier JSP320 Nissan retired on track respectively on lap 29 and on lap 41. Both events triggered a full course yellow episode.
-The #32 United Autosport Ligier JSP320 driven by Andy Meyrick suffered a tire failure at Variante Villeneuve and retired on track just as Meyrick looked set to secure a good result.
GT3: A second consecutive victory for the Honda NSX GT3
Meanwhile, in GT3, the #44 GMB Motorsport Honda NSX GT3 shared by Gustav Birch and Jens Moller won with an 11-second gap ahead of the #99 Bullitt Racing Aston Martin Vantage driven by Stephen Pattrick and Theo Nouvet. Emanuele Busneli and Fabio Babini took the last spot on the podium in the #46 Ebimotors Porsche 911 GT3 R, some 21 seconds behind the GT3 winning car.
Once the green light was lit, poleman Emanuele Busneli quickly lost the lead to Jens Moller in #44 GMB Motorsport Honda NSX GT3 while Stephen Patrick remained in third place in the #99 Bullitt Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3. Moller and Busnelli kept on fighting for the lead while Christian Poulsen in the #55 GMB Motorsport eventually joined the top three ranks. On lap 15, the #6 Jonathan Brossard’s incident had ripple effects on the #46 and Busneli dropped down to 4th position.
After the second safety car episode, the #44 led the #55 and the #99. The three leading cars pitted for driver and tire changes while Fabio Babini replaced Busneli in the #46 and returned to third place. Babini eventually managed to overtake the #55. The top two positions remained unchallenged until the chequered flag.
The H24 Racing Prototype Takes The Chequered Flag
The #24 H24 Racing hydrogen prototype finally had its maiden race in an ACO competition.
Stephane Richelmi took the start in 38th position, from the penultimate row of the grid. After the first safety car episode, he was 29th overall, ahead of many GT3 and LMP3 cars. He then progressively slipped down in the ranks. The car pitted for hydrogen on its 13th lap as the second safety car episode occurred.
The Monegasque returned on track in 38th place and made his way back in the ranks as multiple racing incidents occurred in other categories. The car was back in the pits on lap 23 for a rather long stop.
Richelmi then returned on track in 34th position for an additional ten-lap stint before pitting one last time. The #24 eventually took its first chequered flag in 32nd position overall with 38 laps covered.
“We picked up a lot of information during this race,” said Richelmi. “It’s a massive achievement. Our first half of the race was really amazing but afterwards, the car faced high temperatures. We are hoping for cooler temperatures during our next race at the Road To Le Mans.”
