Blancpain Endurance Series Round 3: Paul Ricard 1,000 Kilometers

We are into the heart of the endurance racing season for the Blancpain Endurance Series, with the first of the two longer endurance events.  This is the south of France, and the Paul Ricard High Tech Test Track in Le Castellet, France.  1,000 kilometers, 625 miles, and/or 6 hours, is ahead of us.

The opening race at Monza saw Audi win.  Alex Riberas wants to do well.  There are double points on offer for this round of the championship.  Mercedes has also been successful at Paul Ricard, and Yelmer Buurman for Black Falcon hopes to have a good race today after a DNF in 2017.  McLaren is back this weekend and Come Ledogar wants to win his home race.  He is determined to do well and help out his team mates.  They had a good race last time out at Silverstone as well.  The Aston Martin is fast once again.  Matthieu Vaxiviere wants another win after scoring the 1^st place trophy at Silverstone. 

Six hours of action, ahead.  Racing into the darkness, in a test session before the Spa 24 Hours next month.  The track will get quicker as it cools down, and the darkness will fall before the end of the race.  Remember, this year is a 72 second timed pit stop.  One joker pit stop is allowed that does not include refueling.  When do you use it?  Jake Dennis is on pole in the Aston Martin.  We have an extra formation lap that counts inn the race.  Now, will we start?  The answer is yes!  Go!  Ferrari and Aston Martin get swamped right away and Ben Barnicoat leads.  

Jake Dennis will be fuming, as Ben Barnicoat and Christian Klien go one two coming down into the chicane.  Jake Dennis has to do the grunt work.  Contact into turn five.  Onto the Mistral straight, Alex Brundle is shuffled out.  We go down the Mistral Straight for the first time, with no chicane and are on the approach to Signes corner.  Brake, go down a gear, and don’t hiut your rival.  They fly up to the next corner.  #114 started by Stephane Ortelli.  Ben Barnicoat is going for it right now, leading for the first time for McLaren this year.  Barnicoat shares with Come Ledogar and Andrew Watson.  Lexus and Audi are up there.  Christian Klien is running well as Alex Bresenetti is slow.

Jake Dennis drops to 14^th.  The on track scrap is heating up in spades!  Lexus alongside Ferrari into Signes, and runs wide!  Dries Vanthoor can’t move past him.  Ortelli has finally found a spot.  Vincent Vosse wonders what the heck is going on for his car.  But he knows the team has everything available to be winners.  Vosse, team manager for WRT, is himself a former driver.  Don’t count Audi out of this one as we get started.  Now, Dries Vanthoor is going for it and so are Mirko Bortolotti and Thomas Jaeger as the BMW of Jens Klingman, and Jake Dennis, both spin!  Yikes!  Gently, boys.  That’s the #99 Rowe Racing BMW and Klingman is sharing with Tom Blomqvist and Australian ace Chaz Mostert for this race.   Poor old Aston Martin is not doing well so far.  There’s too much argy bargy as we are a half an hour into this motor race.  Through Signes, again, Maro Engle goes three wide and Engel spins, and no chance for BMW to get on track yet either.  No good.  Look again, and, thud.  Engel is at the apex, and the BMW barged him out of the way.

That contact drops Jesse Krohn to 29^th overall.  Mirko Bortolotti wants by the Ferrari! He is being held off by Mikhail Aleshin.  Aleshin is driving cleanly, but at the limit.  The Ferrari has better pace than does the Lamborghini.  Back to the Mistral straight they go, at top speed for one kilometer.  Working lap 20, 43 minutes on the clock.  Into Signes, the Ferrari holds on.  No dice, and here comes Kelvin van der Linde!  Holy cow!  This is a heck of a race.  Bortolotti comes right through.  Open the door, and thanks, I’ll step right in.  Ferrari goes on the  defensive and its’ a drag race.  Turbo V8 vs. normally aspirated V10.  Thomas Jaeger goes through past the Audi.  That’s the AKKA ASP car. Jaeger from Germany sharing with Italy’s Raffaele Marciello, and Brit Adam Christodoulou. 

Stephane Ortelli is also trying to pass one of the Audi’s.  Race lead battle as Ben Barnicoat is being hounded by Albert Costa, and hour and half or so into this race.  #1 Audi in the pit lane.  Dries Vanthoor has dropped behind Albert Costa.  Costa can’t make the pass on Ben Barnicoat.  Dries Vanthoor is right on the Lexus’ gearbox.  Into the pit lane, race leader Dries Vanthoor.  Driver change.  Christopher Mies will take over, and Marco Seefried is going to get into the Lexus.  Trouble for the Audi.  It won’t start.  McLaren back in the lead.  Problems for the Audi.  Vincent Vosse and Thierry Tassin can’t believe it!  Like Vosse, Tassin is also a former driver.  

Could it be game over for WRT Audi?  Steve Kane is up to fourth and Andrew Watson is pressing hard as well.  Kane and Seefried into the corner, and Cane makes the pass.  Wow.  This is Bentley’s best round so far.  Kudos to M-Sport for getting the new Bentley up to speed.  Norbert Seidler is going for it on the inside, and Seidler tries to go through, but Kane slams the door in his face. 

Seidler was right there, however, Kane just went for it.  Poor Dries Vanthoor.  He’s out.  The starter motor has failed on the WRT Audi.  Norbert Seidler now has his hands full with the Ferrari of Davide Rigon!  Oh man!  Rigon makes the pass, but marshals won’t be happy.  In fairness, Marco Seefried gave Rigon room, but Rigon, forced the issue.  The Lexus has more speed into Signes.  The position has been reversed with three hours and 40 minutes to go.  Another banzai move, and yes, Christopher Haase passes Davide Rigon.  Christopher Haase will have his hands full with the Lexus.  Haase is making the undercut on the inside.  The Audi is on the high side.  The cars have concertinaed again.

Nicki Thiim in the V12 Aston Martin is seeing Rigon and Siedler scrap.  But Rigon makes more contact and he’s off the road!  Was that force majeur?  The stewards will have to take a look at that.  Andrew Watson continues to lead this race over Marco Seefried and Stephen Kane.  Davide Rigon still dri9ving the Ferrari, four hours and 38 minutes into this motor race as it is getting dark.  The Lexus seemed to give up the spot.  The #114 Lexus is slow through turn 11.  This is not the Costa/Klien/Seefried entry.  Rather it is the sister car, of Norbert Siedler from Austria, Finn Markus Palttala, and former winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Spa, (overall), Monaco’s Stephane Ortelli. 

Andrea Caldarelli is trying to pass the Audi, but can’t do it.  Darkness has fallen, as we approach four hours into this race.  It’s Andy Soucek in the Bentley battling the GRT Grasser Lamborghini, car #63 shared by Mirko Bortolotti, Andrea Caldarelli, and Christian Engelhart.  The usual team in that car, two Italians and a German.  It is not clear who is driving as we get closer to the end of the 1,000 kilometers here at Paul Ricard. 

Full course yellow as the AKKA ASP #87 Mercedes spins.  That’s another French and Italian trio.  Frenchman Jean Luc Beaubelique shares with countryman Nico Jamin and Italy’s Mauro Ricci.    Stephane Ortelli was spun by the #911 Porsche.  That’s the Manthey Racing car with the factory drivers entered, Dirk Werner, Romain Dumas, and Fred Makowiecki.  Now, Andrew Watson pits and hands over to Come Ledogar.  The safety car is on track.  The gaps will come down.  Everyone is slow, being scooped up with the safety car.  Now it’s less than two hours to go, and we’re back in the races.  The gap is closing.  It’s a grudge match.  Come Ledogar vs. Jules Gounon.  Another full course yellow shortly after.  Working lap 117.

The Rinaldi Ferrari #333 of Luca Ludwig got tapped into a spin.  He stopped, which means he might have a technical issue.  Germany’s Ludwig sharing with the regular drivers in that car including his countryman Alexander Matschull, and Russian racer Rinat Salikhov.  Green flag, again, and the McLaren rockets into the lead!  Jules Gounon is now under attack from Miguel Molina.  Come Ledogar is in a two way scrap with Jules Gounon, and here comes Molina!  Ferrari is back in the game.  Now, Molina throws it inside the Bentley into second.  Turn up the heat!  3.8 seconds is the gap.  Will Ferrari win?  Will McLaren hang on?  Just under an hour and a half to go now.  3.8 seconds behind the lead McLaren.  

Ferrari is the hound.  McLaren is the rabbit.  Christopher Haase spins and goes for it, but is passed by Tom Blomqvist and Fred Makowiecki in the Porsche.  Marco Seefried pits.  Tom Blomqvist pits.  Just an hour to go.  Jules Gounon will finish the race in the Bentley.  Come Ledogar gives up the race lead with an hour remaining.  Pit stop time for the #58 McLaren.  Has #72 done a joker stop?  Not yet.  Come Ledogar is back into this race.  Miguel Molina is now in the pit lane.  This is the joker pit stop.  Go as quickly as you dare.  Sticker Pirelli tires for the Ferrari.  Good work for SMP Racing.  Bentley #8 of Maxime Soulet has a joker pit stop, but the car stalls in the lane!  Oh no!  Bad luck for the Bentley!  Ferrari will lead thios motor race.  Miguel Molina leads Come Ledogar by 8.3 seconds.  Jules Gounon is coming.

Oh dear!  McLaren #58 is under investigation.  There will be a penalty.  It looks like one of the crew members was not positioned properly in the box, and was in danger of standing on the lane separation line between the pit lane and the pit box itself.  Deary me!  Miguel Molina has lost a wheel!  This is good for Bentley!  Bentley is in the pound seats!  The good news is that the Ferrari will get the wheel fixed, but the team cannot believe it.  50 minutes to go.  M Sport thinks “we can win!”  Bentley leads Lexus.  Come Ledogar will come out of the pit lane and have to play catch up.  He’s down to sixth.  #72 is now in the pit lane to fix the wheel and suspension.  The second place Lexus of Albert Costa is gaining speed after being behind.

Costa will get clear road passing one of the Nissan GT-R’s.  The gap is closing.  Simon Gachet drops behind Raffaele Marciello.  The Ferrari is out of it.  Game over for SMP Racing.  1.9 seconds is the gap after five and a half hours of racing.  We have less than 20 minutes to go.  It’s time to move, now!  Less than ten minutes to go.  Five minutes.  Half a second between Albert Costa and the Bentley.  Bentley leads Lexus.  Albert Costa, this is your moment, sunshine.  Go for it.  Penalties are assessed for the #911 and #99 at the end of this race. 

Costa can’t pass into turn one.  Jules Gounon vs. Albert Costa.  Nose to tail they run, and Costa on the outside.  Turn four.  No gap.  Turn five.  No go.  Turn six.  No dice.  The gap widens down the Mistral straight.  Albert Costa is going to win, as we have a pass for the lead!  Albert Costa is leading on the final lap!  Costa is going to win for Emil Frey Racing!  Three, two, one corner to go.  172 laps, and Albert Costa wins as the fireworks go off!  A gap of 2.3 seconds!  Wow!  The team goes berserk with joy!  So, nearly 1,000 kilometers of racing have been completed.  620 miles.

Lexus wins Pro.  Silver Cup honors go the way of the Barwell Racing Lamborghini for Michele Beretta of Italy, Martin Kodric of Croatia, and Englishman Sandy Mitchell.  Pro Am sees a win for one of the AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3’s, this, car #51 with familiar names at the wheel of it.  Duncan Cameron, Irishman Matt Griffin, and a less familiar name, Italian driver Gianluca de Lorenzi.  Am class honors go the way of Garage 59 with their #188 McLaren 650S GT3 shared by Chris Goodwin, Chris Harris, and Alexander West.  Two Brits, and a Swede.

Once again, your winners:

Overall/Pro: #14 Costa/Klien/Seefried     Lexus RC F GT3

               Silver Cup: #78 Beretta/Kodric/Mitchell     Lamborghini Huracan GT3

               Pro Am: #51 Cameron/Griffini/De Lorenzi  Ferrari 488 GT3

               Am : #188 Goodwin/Harris/West                  McLaren 650S GT3

Time for the trophies for Marco Seefried, Albert Costa, and Christian Klien!  An underdog, wins!   Next up, it’s the big one, the 24 Hours of Spa Francorchamps coming up in late July.  For now, it’s bon nuit.