The #23 crew of Alex Buncombe, Katsumasa Chiyo and GT Academy winner Wolfgang Reip have taken Nissan’s first-ever overall win in the Blancpain Endurance Series at the Paul Ricard 1000 six-hour race in the south of France.
Following a confusing double-formation-lap start and an early safety car, the polesitting Lamborghini initially looked in control, with Chiyo first having to fight his way up through the pack from seventh to second following a pre-race grid penalty that demoted the car from its front-row grid spot.
The Lamborghini emerged from the first round of stops still in the lead, but Reip chased down Bortolotti (who’d remained aboard) and in the next stint Buncombe in the Nissan passed Venturini in the Lamborghini on track for the lead.
A penalty for a pitstop infringement put paid to the Lambo’s victory hopes, but in the second half of the race the Nissan crew had to withstand tremendous pressure from the #7 Bentley, until a mistake from Steven Kane gave them the breathing room they needed to take the flag.
“We just weren’t quick enough at the end, so we had to push very hard,” said Kane afterwards. “I have to say congratulations to Alex, he drove really well. The last stint was exciting with more than a few moments but unfortunately I made that small mistake and that was it. It’s good points for the championship at least.”
Marc VDS BMW finished third on their first BES appearance of the year after a tremendous recovery drive by Luhr, Palttala and Martin from a pit-lane start. Palttala had got the car into the top 30 after just 40 minutes of running, and although a quicker pit stop saw the #7 Bentley finish ahead of the Belgian BMW in the final reckoning, the battle for third between Martin and Bentley’s Andy Meyrick in the second hour was the highlight of the race.
“Maxime was a bit faster at that point of the race, with a bit better traction out of corners,” said Meyrick. “But with a guy like that you can go doorhandle to doorhandle with no worries – there’s a lot of respect there.” Martin said: “We tended to lose a lot of time in traffic, but our car has strong points besides top speed. It was a fair fight with Andy, we had good stops and we’re looking good for Spa.”
In the end, a slightly loose bonnet caused a slight drama at the final pit stop where Martin took over from Luhr. “It was a very good race and a great job by the mechanics to change our engine at 5am this morning,” said the German. “We’ve got a good feel for the championship and are well prepared for Spa now.”
A typically laid-back Palttala reported on his huge position gains in both stints: “A few were easy, but there were moments in both my stints when I was stuck behind a car for 10-15 laps. I had to wait for a mistake or an opportunity in traffic.”
Bentley’s second place here means its #7 drivers are now second in the Pro Cup championship standings by a single point from WRT Audi men Vernay, Vanthoor and Frijns and just a point behind new leaders the #23 Nissan crew.
Outside the top three, a brave strategic move from ROWE Racing Mercedes to run long in each stint then put Nico Bastian in the #99 car for a 35-minute run to the flag on low fuel and old tyres didn’t quite pay off. The German team finished fourth, 40 seconds off the podium.
Michael Lyons, Alessandro Bonacini and Michael Broniszewski took the Pro-Am class victory and fifth overall in the #11 Kessel Racing Ferrari. “We lost almost all radio at the end, so I just kept pushing and keeping everyone behind. I didn’t really know what was going on!” smiled Lyons afterwards.
The #63 Lamborghini of Zaugg, Bortolotti and Venturini, which looked headed for victory early in the race, eventually came home sixth after being penalised when a mechanic dropped a tyre during a pitstop. The #20 ASP Ferrari finished seventh overall on the back of an odd strategy that was depending on a late-race safety car to come off.
Second in Pro-Am, the #18 Black Falcon Mercedes was eight overall, while ninth went to the best-placed Audi in the race, the #75 ISR car. It was a torrid event for the Ingolstadt marque, with nearly every other car including the new R8s entered by WRT and Phoenix suffering contact damage or mechanical issues during the race.
Elsewhere, Matt Griffin in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari managed to pinch third in Pro-Am and 10th overall from the #70 GT Russian Mercedes in the closing stages of the race, scooping more points to extend his and Duncan Cameron’s lead in the class standings.
Am Cup victory went to the championship leaders Rino Mastronardi, Andrey Birzhin and Fabio Mancini in the #25 Glorax Ferrari. They finished just ahead of Am Cup new arrivals Team Russia By Barwell, Timur Sardarov and Leo Machitski pairing up to great effect to grab a podium on their debut in the class. Silverstone class winners Karim Oijeh and Olivier Grotz rounded out the Am Cup podium in their Boutsen Ginion BMW.
The race as it happened: Hour 1 | Hours 2+3 | Hours 4+5 | Hour 6
Stephen Errity
