FFSA GT Tour: Le Mans Report

The opening round of the 2014 FFSA GT Tour season began at La Sarthe last weekend, featuring yet another competitive grid of 18 GT3 cars beginning their campaigns on the Bugatti circuit.

Race 1

Mike Parisy and Henry Hassid took the first win of the GT Tour season for Sébastien Loeb Racing, after a thrilling battle for the lead which lasted almost the entire hour-long race.

Roland Berville and Anthony Beltoise took pole position in Sébastien Loeb Racing’s sister #50 Audi R8, but immediately lost the lead of the race at the start to the IMSA Performance Porsche 911 GT3 R of Raymond Narac.

Narac tried to create a gap out front, but a five-car train led by Hassid in the #51 Audi kept pace with the IMSA Porsche, keeping him on his toes. “The priority for me was to maintain first place after the first turn, and until the driver change. Henry Hassid tried, but I did not let him by!” said Narac.

David Hallyday in the #42 Saintéloc Audi had made his way up to third place after starting third, and looked primed to take the lead throughout.

At this early stage of the race, Saintéloc Racing were also doing well in the Coupe de France GT class, which was also very close at the front. Fabrice Rossello, competing in only his second season of racing in the #44 Saintéloc Audi was out front with the Duqueine Engineering Ferrari of Gilles Duqueine close behind.

There was a lot of dicing, but not a lot of position changing up front for the top three spots, until the driver changes began. With Nicolas Armindo now behind the wheel of the IMSA Porsche, Parisy and Grégory Guilvert in the #51 and #42 Audis respectively were on a charge behind.

Armindo did an admirable job, keeping the two R8s behind for the majority of his stint; but with just over 10 minutes left in the race, Parisy made his move for the lead, with Guilvert following through opportunistically, making it an Audi 1-2.

“The team worked well in the pits and has shifted strategy. I had to get into a rhythm quickly because my opponents had already been on track for one or two laps,” admitted Parisy. “The situation was not easy because I wanted to take Nicolas Armindo, but Guilvert was very close. I then had to find an opening, and I managed to squeeze through.”

In the final minutes Parisy’s pace was too much for Guilvert and Armindo, as he created a lead of over 10 seconds and was able to cruise to the finish line.

In the Coupe de France GT class, the Team Duqueine Ferrari of Philippe Colançon and Gilles Duqueine managed to take victory, ahead of the Classic and Modern Racing BMW Z4 of Pierre Hirschi and Thomas Nicolle and the pair of Saintéloc Audis which slipped back in the closing stages.

Race 2

The Duqueine Engineering Ferrari 458 of Soheil Ayari and Jean-Claude Police had pole for the second race of the weekend, and recorded a lights-to-flag victory, after a dominant drive by the French duo.

Rain came down at the start of the race and, with many drivers opting for slick tyres – including Nicolas Armindo in the IMSA Porsche starting second – it became a tough task to keep it on the track.

Bruce Lorgeré-Roux, aboard the Sport Garage #4 Ferrari took his chance to take second place off Armindo early. The Sébastien Loeb Racing R8 of Anthony Beltoise, and both Sofrev ASP Ferraris of Olivier Panis (#10) and Ludovic Badey (#20), also got through past the struggling Porsche. They were no match for Ayari, however, whose pace was unmatched during his stint.

“I prayed for rain throughout the formation lap,” said Lorgeré-Roux, “because we made the choice not to use slicks. I managed to pass Nicolas Armindo at the beginning, which was important because I knew that with the Audis behind, it would be tough.”

The Coupe de France class was also hotly contested in the first half of the race. Running in sixth overall was Pierre Hirschi for Classic and Modern Racing, but the Swiss driver was directly under the threat of Gilles Lallement’s Saintéloc Audi, which led the opening laps.

At the halfway mark, Ayari held a 30-second lead over the rest of the field, which was extended to 50 seconds after he handed the 458 over to Police.

Police struggled to maintain the consistent pace of his teammate, however, letting the gap come down to just 10 seconds before the end of the race, as the #4 Sport Garage Ferrari of Gilles Vannelet and Matthew Vincent Lecuyer in the Team Speedcar Audi closed in on the leader.

The Duqueine Engineering 458 of Police was able to hold on, though, and secure the team their first win of the season in the tricky conditions.

“When I saw the rain on the starting line, I knew we had made the right decision with the tyres. The first corner was tricky, especially as Nicolas Armindo was on slicks. Then I did what I had to do. I like the wet conditions in general and the car was excellent,” said Ayari.

Duqueine Engineering also took the win in the Coupe de France GT class, after another successful run for Gilles Duqueine and Philippe Colançon. Classic and Modern Racing took second with their Z4, with the two Saintéloc R8s coming home third and fourth in the class once again.