UPDATE: High Class Racing’s #49 Ligier has been disqualified, meaning the #28 23Events Racing Ligier of Terrence Woodward and James Winslow inherited the LMP3 Pro/Am win.
The #49 was at the pit entry at the end of the race, slowed and was then unable to proceed under its own power due to a clutch issue. Because the car failed to make it to Parc Ferme under its own power, it was disqualified from the race.
Original story:
R-ace GP’s Hugo Schwarze and Hadrien David clinched the Michelin Le Mans Cup LMP3 title today in fine style after an hour and 50 minutes of racing in the series’ first-ever outing at Silverstone.
The pole-sitters won overall after leading most of the race outright, surviving a dramatic final sequence which resulted in a drag race to the finish line with the #29 Forestier Racing by VPS Ligier.
It was the duo’s second win of the year and second on the bounce, and was enough to win them the first title for the new-look P3 class featuring Silver-Silver, Silver-Gold driver pairings.
It was also a historic result for Duqueine, which has become the first LMP3 chassis manufacturer to claim a title in the new LMP3 era with its D09.
“We started the year so badly, but ended up with the title. It was magic. We knew we had to start from pole to fight for the title, we had a clear track, we stayed in front, and everything is thanks to R-ace,” a jubilant David said post-race.
David did well to hold on after soaking up pressure from Romain Favre in the closing laps of the race. Favre pushed and pushed but couldn’t quite find a way through before the two drivers finished the race side by side, a tenth apart.
The #87 CLX Motorsport Ligier JS P325 completed the podium. Pierre-Alexandre Provost took second at the start of the race, but Alvise Rodella couldn’t quite finish the job and dropped to third on the Hanger Straight behind the hard-charging Favre with the end in sight.
Forestier Racing’s #92 car finished fourth, while the #50 23 Events Racing example completed the top five.
LMP3 Pro/Am also delivered its fair share of drama. The #49 High Class Racing Ligier took the class win with 11th place overall, ahead of the #28 23Events Racing and #66 Rinaldi examples in a Ligier 1-2-3. The #64 Ligier led the class for a long stretch, but was dealt a penalty for contact with the Iron Dames Porsche (below). It would finish last of the classified runners.
In GT3, Iron Dames won its first race of the season from pole position following a resilient performance from Vanina Ickx and Marta Garcia in the #83 Porsche 911 GT3 R.
It was a tense finale for the Proton Huber-operated team after a dramatic series of events which saw it handed a pit time penalty for a race start infringement and later lose time to an incident at Luffield.
Garcia, in the car after pole-winner Ickx took the start, was punted into a spin by Pierre Kaffer. Thankfully, the damage was minimal, but it cost the team crucial time and dropped the #83 to third behind the Code Racing Development Aston Martin with 53 minutes on the clock.
All seemed lost, but that wasn’t all she wrote for the Dames, as the #51 AF Corse Ferrari, which led most of the race, was also hit into a spin, by the #71 Rinaldi Racing Ligier. It dropped Alessandro Cozzi behind Garcia with 25 minutes to go.
Former F1 Academy champion Garcia then held on to claim a first Le Mans Cup win for both herself and Ickx. It was an emotional outcome for the pair, who have endured a tough first season racing together.
It was also a historic result for Iron Dames, as it has now won races in the Ligier European Series, Le Mans Cup, European Le Mans Series and FIA WEC.
Behind, the #51 AF Corse Ferrari of Alessandro Cozzi and Eliseo Dunno took second, crossing the line 30 seconds back. The top two were the only cars to finish on the lead lap in the class after a safety car period early in the race, which split the field up.
The intervention was caused by a big shunt at Copse, which saw Bretton Racing’s Ben Stone and Fabrizio Broggi come together after a three-wide moment.
Broggi turned in early, hitting the #62 Bretton Ligier’s left side, sending both cars off track. Both cars were on the spot retirements, but the Porsche came off worse, after veering into the barriers on the driver’s left head-on.
The #23 Biogas Motorsport Ferrari completed the GT3 podium, as Kessel Racing’s two Ferraris ended up fourth and fifth. The Code Racing Development Aston would fall to sixth after having to make an additional stop and being hit with a penalty for not switching the driver ID over on its first visit to the pit lane.
The final round of the Le Mans Cup season is up next, and it is set to take place on October 18th at Portimao.
