UPDATE: The #88 AF Corse Ferrari, which finished third on the road in GT3, was handed a Stop & Go plus 5 seconds, converted post-race to a time penalty of 45 seconds.
This was because, according to the decision posted last night on the noticeboard, “the Stewards determined that Car 88 was responsible for multiple contacts with the rear of Car 18 (High Class Racing’s Porsche).
“In addition,” the bulletin continues, “Car 88 went to overtake Car 18 at Turn 2 towards the end of the race and whilst passing Car 18 did not allow Car 18 sufficient room to remain on the track and therefore gained an unfair advantage.
“The Stewards find Car 88 responsible for the multiple collisions and for gaining an unfair advantage and therefore impose the above penalty.”
This penalty dropped the Ferrari to seventh in the final classification and promoted Kessel Racing’s #74 Ferrari 296 to the final podium spot.
Reigning ELMS LMP3 champion Adrien Chila and David Droux fought their way to victory in fine style during Round 2 of the Le Mans Cup season at Le Castellet today aboard the COOL Racing #97 Ligier JS P320.
The Franco-Swiss duo combined to deliver their first win of the young campaign in what turned out to be an uncharacteristically quiet Le Mans Cup encounter which featured a number of minor dramas but zero safety car interventions for major incidents.
The COOL Racing Ligier took the lead in the second half of the race after the mandatory stops, when Droux found a way past Minhea Stefan in the #44 Team Virage Ligier that led at the halfway mark.
Stefan’s teammate Jamie Falvey took the start and managed to keep R-ace GP’s pole-sitter Fabien Michal honest in the opening laps, before taking the lead after 23 minutes through traffic at Double Droit de Beausset. The Virage team’s time at the head of the field wouldn’t last through the second stint though. Stefan would come home second, unable to find a way back past Droux before the end of the race.
“I came out of the pits in P2, so I had to go for a gap and overtake. I wanted to manage the tyres after issues in Barcelona so I was worried, but I had good pace and my teammate did an amazing job to get me so close to the lead,” Droux said.
Behind, R-ace GP’s Duqueine was forced to fight back through the field in the second half of the race after Michal lost time to a spin at the exit of the final turn before pitting, then a pit stop handicap time penalty imposed on the team due to Michal’s performance level at Barcelona.
The combination of Michal’s error and the pit penalty left his teammate Hadrien David with a mountain to climb in the closing stages. David emerged eighth after the pit stops, but was consistently the fastest driver on track and managed to claw his way back to an impressive third place.
David’s stint was spirited and reached a crescendo with 20 minutes remaining when he made a forceful move up the inside at the final corner to get past MRacing’s Alexandre Cougnaud.
At that time he was 17 seconds adrift of Stefan, and would eventually cross the line having reduced the gap to under a second. This gap would be extended to 5.7 seconds though after he was handed a five-second time penalty for forcing Cougnaud off the circuit.
Cougnaud came home fourth, just ahead of Colin Noble in Team Thor’s Ligier. The High Class Racing JS P320 that won last time out ended up sixth.
In GT3 AF Corse’s #51 Ferrari 296 made it two wins in two races to start the season after a flawless run for Matthew Kurzejewski and Alessandro Balzan.
Kurzejewski enjoyed a lengthy battle with pole-sitter Celia Martin early in the race, before handing over to Balzan who emerged from the pit lane in the lead.
The switch occurred because the Iron Dames Lamborghini was handed a pit stop time penalty for a race start infringement by Martin. Karen Gallard was handed the tough task of regaining the lead in her stint but was unable to reel Balzan in and attempt a pass.
She did however secure a fine second for the team, and crossed the finish line 18 seconds clear of the #88 AF Corse Ferrari which was involved in a fight for the final podium spot with the High Class Racing Porsche for almost the entire race.
Scott Malvern and Riccardo Agostini swapped places multiple times towards the end, with Agostini eventually securing the Italian team a second set of trophies.
The Kessel Racing Ferraris, led by the #74, ended up fourth and fifth. Fran Rueda and David Fumanelli found a way past Malvern, who was nursing a damaged car after late contact with Agostini.
Malvern eventually took a disappointing sixth ahead of the Steller Audi that was in the running for a podium early before being penalised for contact with the #12 before the stops.
Next up is the Le Mans Cup field are the Road To Le Mans races at the Circuit de la Sarthe next month, held in the build-up to the Le Mans 24 Hours.
