Before beginning today's opening race of the 2022 European Le Mans Series at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France, I must wish readers of the blog, a very Happy Easter today. Your Easter basket has been filled with goodies, as we go sports car racing again, today. This is the first of half a dozen races scheduled for 2022. Grab a cup of coffee or espresso, and some breakfast. Early birds only need apply for this motor race coming up especially out on the west coast where it is 12:30 A.M. or something like that. Watch this race and then, go back to bed. TDS Racing, on home soil, has pole. Mathias Beche, the Swiss ace put the car on pole along with co-drivers Philippe Cimadomo of France, and Tijmen van der Helm from Holland.
La Marseilles, the French national anthem, is sung before the start of the race and French tricouleur is proudly displayed. Hello, and a warm welcome to a brand new European Le Mans Series season. We are here at Le Castellet, waiting five and some odd months to go race again. We are going to see two races in Italy later in the season along with Spain, Belgium, and Portugal. School is back in session as we are joined by Jonny Palmer and Graham Goodwin in the commentary box. A good morning to everyone. Limited access of fans here at Paul Ricard, but when we get to the Spa Francorchamps event for the World Endurance Championship in a couple weeks, we are going to see fans welcomed back in full.
14 corners here at Paul Ricard, 5.7 kilometers. The middle section is the Mistral straight into Signes corner along with the other sectors. Paul Ricard is a very fast track and has been around since the 1970s. This place is a test track in addition to a racetrack. It used to be called the High-Tech Test Track. In GT, we have to watch Rinaldi Racing including the Bronze rated driver, Memo Gidley, making his return to racing after a massive accident at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2014. DKR Engineering are the defending LMP3 champions. Cool Racing have been on form and so, we will have massive battles in LMP2 and LMP3.
Paul Ricard used to be solely a test track but is now back as a racetrack for sports cars and for Formula 1, in the hills above the French Riviera. The track was built in 1969 and then started racing in 1970. The ELMS has been racing here for a decade plus, about a dozen years. 17 LMP2 cars on the grid today along with 13 LMP3 and a dozen GTE cars. The drivers are getting ready. We will have two, two driver squads in this race. Francesco Dracone who was supposed to be here, he has been called home for a family matter.
Second on the grid is Phil Hanson and Tom Gamble along with Duncan Tappy. Tappy is making his LMP2 debut. Tom Gamble is the defending ELMS champion. TDS Racing by Vaillant on the pole in the #31 entry. The Le Mans Cup championship use a different car if they choose to also race LMP2. Five minutes before we go racing. Tijmen van der Hlem takes the pole as we look at the grid. Three LMP2 cars start caboose on the grid. That will be wild with those three cars scything their way through the field. This race will be wicked. Hot temperatures and an abrasive surface is something to take note of on this Easter Sunday.
Four hours of racing, three stops, two of which will be a certain allotted amount of time. LMP2 and GTE cars will have Goodyear tires and Michelin tires for LMP3. Time for the sole formation lap and then we go racing. This is the point where the driver's nerves begin jangling. Job van Uitert, Nico Jamin, and Julien Canal share the car. Again, we are going to be looking at the GTE field too. We must minimize the gaps. Two lines of cars before crossing the finish line. Race Director Edoardo Freitas, will work on three ELMS races, as well as FIA WEC and as one of two Formula 1 Race Directors as well.
Tijmen van der Helm stays ahead of Phil Hanson. But the cars are going to grid up Noah's Ark style. Watch pit entry. That will be awkward. OK. We are set now to pull the pin. Very patiently the cars work their way to the front straight and we are green! Four wide down to turn one! Side by side into the first corner as Tijmen van der Helm gets swamped by Lorenzo Colombo who ran off the road into Hotel corner for the first time. He has conceded the spot and allows 31 and 22 to pass. van der Helm leads Phil Hanson and Lorenzo Colombo. In LMP3, Morris Smith is in the lead and Pierre Ehret leads GTE in the Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 488 GTE. This is hot and heavy motor racing right from the get go.
Rodrigo Sales is dropping like a stone and he might be able to come back. Through Virage du Garlaband and Virage du Lac through Bridge corner onto the front straight and some shemozzle here look. #3 is off the road, Jim McGuire at the controls in the United Autosport entry. The LMP2 cars that started at the back, just as yours truly predicted, are beginning to go through the field and into Signe corner, the cars are single file. Tires are heavily restricted in ELMS. Trouble for Sam De Haan in the TF Sport Aston Martin. He is stopped and it looks like he has crunched the wall on the start/finish straight.
We have a double yellow flag. Jim McGuire now back on the button. But Sam de Haan, the Silver rated driver is in a wee bit of trouble before he gets rescued or rescues himself. He is still stranded under double yellow flags. He goes a lap down. Pierre Ehret vs. Christian Ried. Ferrari vs. Porsche. Sarah Bovy next and Andrew Haryanto, followed by Michael Fassbender. Safety car deployed. OK. The early gaps will be erased. No danger of going out of sequence as no one has gone to pit lane yet. To the lane comes Jim McGuire. Let's hope the rear panels, the cheese wedges, are not damaged on that automobile.
Lorenzo Colombo for Prema Racing, as we saw, he could not stop. The rear bodywork is damaged. That cheese wedge has been sliced. The Aston Martin did take a hit and went off the road. Did the suspension or the exhaust system get damaged? That is the question. Sam De Haan out of the car. Game over. The driveshaft on that Aston Martin and the transmission too, has to be destroyed. A darn shame we will not see Sam de Haan, Ahmad Al Harthy, and Marco Sorensen. The sister car #95 is still in the motor race with Jonny Adam, John Hartshorne, and Henrique Chaves. John Falb and David Droux have passed Yifei Ye. Nick Adcock in LMP3 is up there along with Jean Ludovic Foubert. Pierre Ehret leads Sarah Bovy and the three Porsche's of Christian Ried, Andrew Haryanto, and Michael Fassbender. Then comes the JMW #66 Ferrari.
They have a red car instead of having their longtime yellow livery on the car. The #14, the second Inter Europol entry was also involved in the mess we just saw. That is the Ligier of James Dayson, Mateusz Kapryzk, and Noam Abramczyk. We are back to green. An early bath for Oman Racing. Game over. Pierre Ehret and Sarah Bovy run 1-2 in GT with their Ferrari's. Iron Dames, they want to break through with Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting, and Rahel Frey. Tijmen van der Helm runs wide and Phil Hanson scrap through Signes and at Double Droit de Beauseilles, Phil Hanson moves to the lead! Christian Ried is running well aboard the Porsche. This is one of the last seasons before we see GT3 cars take over in the international sports car championships.
Giacomo Petrobelli moves past Michael Fassbender and Fassbender has Christian Hook right on his six. LMP3 has plenty of drama as well as Sarah Bovy tries Pierre Ehret through Signes but she can't quite make the move yet. 'Round the corner and through. #66 being reported to the stewards for overtaking before the line. Tom Cloet spins the #10 entry, the ex-CD Sport entry for Eurointernational spinning off. There are corner names here at Paul Ricard but if you look at a map they are not listed. Michael Fassbender now right on top of Pierre Ehret. Andrew Haryanto for Absolute Racing has moved up. Ehret has Fassbender all over him. He is a racer and an actor but more of a racing driver, the German, also with Irish citizenship.
Charles Crews is doing all he can to stay in touch with Morris "Mo" Smith. Smith, a Bronze rated driver. Ried, Haryanto, and Petrobelli have all passed Pierre Ehret and Sarah Bovy is gapping the field. LMP2, LMP3, and GTE, in this race. Traffic everywhere. No DRS, no aero aids for these sports cars. Grip, power, and driving skill. Phil Hanson leads the motor race. Ten laps now on the board. van der Helm leads with Lorenzo Colombo next. Check that. This is the second place scrap as Phil Hanson has a two second cushion. Lead change in LMP3. Charlie Crews passes Mo Smith. Crews has the pass and stuck it. Trouble for the #15 RLR M Sport entry for Horst Felbermayr Jr. Another safety car and Felbermayr Jr. spins, and whacks the wall! Crunch!
The front left corner is up, which means that the left rear suspension is busted. The bullets are fine on the corners and the tires are inflated, but the suspension is busted. We remember Horst Felbermayr Sr., his father and Horst Jr.'s son is also racing in the Ligier series. Rest In Peace, Horst Sr. Poor old Francois Perrodo is not running the way he wants to, and had been passed by Yifei Ye. We look in replay and Jim McGuire, we wonder if he was assisted off the road. No further action on the pit stop under yellow for emergency service. Mathias Beche is happy to be back at Paul Ricard and with his team, TDS Racing. Vaillante is a famous French illustrator. Michel Vaillante, a cartoon, about a great French racing driver.
Lunch time for Intereuropol. Some well-deserved refreshment before a later driving stint. Charlie Crews leads LMP3 with co-drivers Gullherme Oliviera of Portugal and Nico Pino of Chile. We have had two short safety car interventions so far. Signes looks like it has been calamity corner. Safety car instructed to run at full speed to allow the LMP2 cars to close up and build their tire and brake temps. Guillherme Oliveira says that they sacrificed qualifying pace for race pace. They want to lead this race and win the thing. Oliveira is going to run the full campaign for ELMS, all half dozen races and now we are back to green. Phil Hanson is going to have Tijmen van der Helm and Lorenzo Colombo as well as Fabio Scherer coming after him.
17 LMP2 cars in this field, the top 17. LMP3 headed by the #13 Intereuropol entry in 18th spot. They fly down the Mistral and up the slight hill through Signes corner. Three wide in LMP3 on the Mistral straight! Wow! Jim McGuire is trying to stay out of this mess. Tom von Rompuy is really pushing and so are the Cool Racing cars of Mo Smith and Jean Ludovic Foubert. Ross Kaiser is doing all he can to build a lead over von Rompuy. Sarah Bovy leads GTE but has two snarling Porsche's behind. Christian Ried wants by Mike Fassbender I believe. Nope. That's Christian Ried, beg your pardon. Andrew Haryanto takes to the runoff paint.
Mike Fassbender wants to make a kove on the outside and he's got the spot! Jeepers creepers! This is good racing! Well done, Mike Fassbender! Giacomo Petrobelli has to follow Fassbender and here comes Tom Cloet. The LMP3 boys are trying to untangle themselves from the boys and girls in GT3. Petrobelli takes the spot away from Fassbender it looks like. His rearview camera just can't keep up. He needs a periscope. These race cars have radar systems to help them better than rearview mirrors would. We'll have this sorted out in a tad over three hours. The LMP3 blokes have made good their escape over the GTE's.
Nick Adcock in LMP3 is back there as well. Petrobelli is making his move and so is Andrew Haryanto. Fassbender has been passed while Pierre Ehret is monstered by Duncan Cameron. He can't quite make it. This is fabulous racing. Through Virage du Lac and Virage du Pont they go. Warning flag for Pierre Ehret for track limits abuse. #33 excuse me. Through the esses and then to Virage du l'Hotel. Phil Hanson is still your leader. He has 2.2 seconds in hand over Tijmen van der Helm, Lorenzo Colombo and the rest. Duncan Cameron is really going for it and he and Pierre Ehret are both tremendously experienced.
Christian Hook is close to joining that scrap, too, look. Salih Yoluc, Paul Lafargue, Memo Rojas, and Sergio Campana are scrapping in LMP2 at the bottom end of the top ten. Campana sharing with Germany's Marcus Pommer. Josh Caygill is chasing Nick Adcock as well as the Aston of John Hartshorne and company. Michael Fassbender loops the Porsche. There is slight undulation out of turn two and the car goes light before spinning like a top. Down the gearbox, find first gear and get back in the race. Fassbender has Fred Flintstoned his tires. New boots needed. Fuel in the tank as well for #93. Into the lane, too, Sophia Floresch. Duncan Cameron passes Pierre Ehret for fifth place.
The livery on that Ferrari is a tribute to the Spitfire stripes used by the British on D Day. #22 pits from the lead and Prema Racing will take over the lead. #40 for Graff Racing in the lane as well. Two mechanics over the line to perform service for tire changes. Trouble with the rattle gun on the left front tire! Deary me. David Droux and Sophia Floersch. Tijmen van der Helm actually is back to the sharp end in the Vaillante car, the TDS entry. Poor old Michael Fassbender is driving on square wheels right now and his teeth will be chattering before he hits the lane for new boots.
Lorenzo Colombo, the Italian, takes the lead and Julien Canal, too, he is pushing hard. #43 in the lane as well, look. New TotalEnergies Excellium Racing 100 is the new fuel. This is made of leftovers from wine making. It is alcohol based fuel. Rinaldi Racing with the Ferrari's now side by side. Team Virage, Cool Racing, and Muehlner Motorsports are teams to watch. Now, Jean Ludovic Foubert had contactwitu another car and spun and he has exploded a rear tire off that car. Fuel from renewable sources, that is what we use. Another safety car. Sheesh. Three safety cars in the first hour alone as the track is strewn with tire debris as well as carbon fiber bodywork all over the shop.
Game over for the #27 Cool Racing entry, the Ligier. Jean Ludovic Foubert sharing with Antoine Doquin and Nicolas Maulini. Now, it may be that there was contact with the Nielsen Racing LMP2 car, the #24 of Matty Bell, Ben Hanley, and Rodrigo Sales. Game over for the #27. It was definitely hit by an Oreca. Rodrigo Sales was at the controls of the Nielsen car. You know what? #27 is not out of this thing yet. They might just be able to get back in this thing. The marshals clean up the speedway and get rid of the carbon fiber ASAP. Tech, speed, power, aero, and cost, are the differences between LMP2 and LMP3. Both cars are cost capped including the spares package. So, the Oreca is far less expensive than a GTE production car.
In LMP3 you use a 5.6 liter Nissan motor with an Xtrac gearbox no matter what chassis you use of which there are about four or five available like Addess, Oreca, Duqueine, and Ligier. Not Oreca, excuse me. We are closing in on one hour done and dusted. Antoine Doquin says that his co-driver lost control of the car and sustained a lot of damage after making contact with the Nielsen Racing LMP2 entry. It is a big shame for Antoine Doquin racing at his home circuit. They will go get 'em at Imola next time out in mid May. Tires do not like going sideways and that is why they get flatspotted.
OK. Green racing again. van der Helm, Colombo, Floresch, and the others. Julien Canal and Phil Hanson scrapping with each other. Hanson is looking to make up time. Trying to pass Canal, the Le Mans based driver, is going to be a tall drink of water. Once again, Happy Easter, everyone. We will have more racing on Easter Monday and Tuesday. So stay tuned for that. Even later in the week, we will have more racing. Stay tuned. Wow! At Virage du Lac, Phil Hanson makes his move on Julien Canal and makes it stick. Canal has won in class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans a number of times.
Charles Crews continues leading LMP3 in car #30. Mateus Kaprzyk and Josh Caygill are in their own battle and so are Michael Fassbender and John Hartshorne. Fassbender might have the speed on the Mistral straight and he is actually chasing Pierre Ehret. Rob Hodes is off the road in the Virage Racing car and he makes contact with John Falb. Synchronized spinning with those two and Falb very nearly hits the Virage entry! Egad! Andrew Bentley takes over the #3 United Autosport car from Jim McGuire. Adrian Chilla pits the #11 Eurointernational entry in LMP3. Tijmen van der Helm leads both Lorenzo Colombo. Drive through penalty for DKR Engineering for overtaking under Full Course Yellow.
A puncture on #11 and too many crew members over the line to service Adrian Chilla's car. Somebody spins and continues. We have seen a massive amount of action in the opening hour. Tijmen van der Helm leads LMP2 while in LMP3 it is Inter Europol and GTE it is Iron Lynx. Pit stop time for the #47 Algarve Pro Racing LMP3 of John Falb. Sarah Bovy runs 3.5 seconds ahead of Christian Ried in GTE. Bovy in the lane for her first stop. 73 minutes now on the board. Yifei Ye on a recovery drive passes Phil Hanson and Phil says oh no you don't, sunshine. But then he knows discretion is the better part of valor. Play the percentage game and stay focused.
Car #14 leading LMP3 is in the lane. This is #13. This I believe is Charles Crews. Mateus Kapryzk is going to pit next time by. Tony Wells and Tom Cloet follow. In GTE, many cars have not stopped. Takeshi Kimura and Claudio Schiavoni have to pit. Memo Gidley has already made his stop. JMW in the lane having to pay a penalty from earlier while Kimura takes over the GTE lead in the red Ferrari. So used to that car being yellow. Second placed LMP3 car in the lane, Tony Wells in the car. Tom Cloet stays out and Mateusz Kapryzk in the lane. More drive through penalties for track limit abuse. Sophia Floresch all over Yifei Ye and Ye actually slices past two cars! Wow! #24 has made it to pit lane.
Fabio Scherer absolutely got mugged there. Ye, Floresch, Hanson, and now Scherer pits. New bodywork for the LMP3 Intereuropol #14. Mateus Kaprzyk at the wheel of it in for a nose change. We have the length of an IMSA WeatherTech sprint race left to go. Duncan Cameron is slowing in GTE. BHK Motorsports of Sergio Campagna has Paul Lafargue all over him and we have a Full Course Yellow coming. Cameron has reached Beauseille corner. This is the first Full Course Yellow as Duncan Cameron has a flat tire and trouble for the #34 entry stopping on the road. One of the Duquien's in the pit lane, the #30 black and green entry.
Press Officer for ELMS, Geoff Carter, informs us there is a Full Course Yellow. One tire for the Spirit of Race Ferrari. Back to the race is the #47 Algarve Pro Racing entry now with Australian Alex Peroni driving. Peroni sharing with James Allen, another Australian, and American John Falb. The WEC LMP2 cars do not have dive planes but they do in ELMS. LMP2 pit stops, wholesale pit stops indeed. The top six are all in the lane. Rear bodywork change at Racing Team Turkey. Car #2 is back in the race as we are still under Full Course Yellow running at 80 kilometers an hour.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Full Course Yellow removed as Ferdinand Habsburg is the new driver in the #9 Prema Racing entry. Philippe Cimadomo is now second. He has Nicklas Kruetten and Duncan Tappy coming fast. Jack Aitken now at the controls of the Racing Team Turkey entry after Salih Yoluc's stint. Nico Kruetten passes Philippe Cimadomo. Lorenzo Colombo says that he had a tricky start in his first ELMS race. So far so good. He wants to be consistent. Colombo is also driving for Prema in the World Endurance Championship. We hope to see Juan Manuel Correa back in the car soon.
Prema leads in the hands of Ferdinand Habsburg. Debris on the road and to the side of the track. We have not found a rhythm in this race yet. We are an hour and a half into the event so very close to halfway. Charles Crews leads LMP3. Pit stop time at Ferrari and the Carguy team it appears. Spin for the #3 of Andrew Bentley into turn 14. He was the cork in the bottle there. Memo Gidley leads GTE over Michael Fassbender and Sarah Bovy. Christian Ried is next followed by Andrew Haryanto and Takeshi Kimura. So, Ferrari, Porsche, Ferrari, Porsche, Porsche, and Ferrari. Good battle between Markus Pommer and Ugo de Wilde. BHK Motorsport vs. Muehlner Motorsport. Ugo de Wilde is gaining speed. He wants past Markus Pommer but catching is one thing and passing something completely different.
The Pro drivers are in the cars. We watch Jack Aitken and he is really pushing. Job van Uitert will be driving later in this race with a new team at Panis Racing owned by former F1 driver and Monaco Grand Prix winner Olivier Panis. FIA World Endurance Championship organizers will welcome fans back and have paddock and pit lane walks at the Spa Francorchamps race coming up. Your 2020 tickets will still be valid for the upcoming race. It will be a traditional Saturday event. Marcus Pommer, Ugo de Wilde, and Alessio Rovera are really pushing. AF Corse now has an LMP2 Oreca 07 with Rovera in the seat. Pommer will have his hands full.
There is an LMP3 car there too. Look out. That is the sole remaining Cool Racing entry. Mikey Benham at the controls. Jack Aitken fastest of all at 300 kilometers an hour, 186 miles an hour. Rovera slips past Ugo de Wilde and now he has to try and pass Markus Pommer I believe. Through Hotel corner and everyone is on the straight and narrow. Memo Gidley leads GTE over Sarah Bovy and Michael Fassbender. Reigning champions WRT of course have two cars in World Endurance and that is why they are not in ELMS in 2022. Pommer tries to pass underneath and now into the paint it is Ugo de Wilde pushing, pushing, pushing.
This is all for position. Duncan Tappy in and out of the pits. Did he have a slow puncture? Good question. Ferdinand Habsburg now leads Nicolas Kruetten and the Panis Racing entry. Intereuropol and Charles Crews leads LMP3. GTE is next up in the order and the leader remains Memo Gidley in the Rinaldi Racing Ferrari. Memo Gidley is back in racing which is wonderful. Fabrizio Crestani spotted crossing the pit lane blend line in the #33 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari for a drive through penalty at 60 clicks. On the flip side, the sister Rinaldi car is pressing on well with their LMP2 machine. Charles Crews leads LMP3 with Bailey Voisin next up.
We are closing in on halfway. #22 slides through Boseilles corner and Duncan Tappy passes Philippe Ciamodomo. Markus Pommer is the next car on his shopping list. Ferdinand Habsburg now leads by seven seconds with 50 laps completed. He leads Nicolas Kruetten and, in the lane now is Eric Trouillet sharing with David Droux and Sebastien Page. Sebastien Page getting into the car for his stint. Jack Aitken is running well for TF Sport/Racing Team Turkey ahead of AF Corse. So, we are getting closer to halfway in round one of the half dozen races that make up the 2022 ELMS season. We have not talked about the #30 Duqueine. Duqueine Team and their Orca has Richard Bradley, Rashad de Gerus, and Memo Rojas.
De Gerus runs ahead of Jack Aitken. Christian Ried and Andrew Haryanto are in a battle of the Porsche's in GTE. Ferdinand Habsburg leads now by 6.9 seconds. Nikolas Kruetten is gaining on Ferdinand Habsburg. Ferrari #32 in the lane from the GTE race lead for Rinaldi Racing. Memo Gidley will get out and will be replaced by either Pierre Ehret, the German, or Argentina's Nicolas Verrone. Sophia Florsch says she is looking for a podium with a two-driver team. Florsch sharing with Bent Viscal for Algarve Pro Racing in the #19 Oreca 07. Florsch from Gruenwald, Germany just outside Munich. Florsch was going the open wheel route but she had a horrid crash at the Macau Grand Prix a few years back in an a single seater. She did drive formerly with Richard Mille Racing.
#93 in the lane and Michael Fassbender finishes his stint while Richard Lietz takes over and Zacharie Robichon will likely finish. Michael Fassbender is based in Lisbon, Portugal. So, Jack Aitken wants by Richard de Geres and Aitken is faster, leading the Pro-Am sub class in LMP2. We are halfway home. Good scrap here between Proton and Carguy. Fred Schandorff vs. Lorenzo Ferrari. Ferrari vs. Porsche. How ironic, someone with the Ferrari last name, driving a Porsche. Very strange. Jack Aitken meanwhile just screams past Richard de Geres. de Geres is only 18 years old, a rookie. Nicolas Kruetten very nearly tags the Ferrari! In replay, oh, it is the other way 'round, and the Ferrari tagged Kruetten! Yikes!
An hour and 55 minutes left on the clock. Bovy, Varrone, Cressoni, the GTE leaders, all in Ferrari's. One or two LMP2 fuel stops. Ferdinand Habsburg, Nico Jamin, and other LMP2 cars pit. Iron Lynx lead GTE. Sarah Bovy is still in the Iron Lynx Ferrari 488 GTE. #9 continues as the overall race leader. The incident between the CarGuy Ferrari and the Cool Racing LMP2 will be investigated by the stewards after a major clunk between the prototype and the Ferrari. No relation between Enzo Ferrari and Lorenzo Ferrari. Ferrari is a common Italian surname. Amato Ferrari, is the AF behind AF Corse. They will be racing the Ferrari hypercar in World Endurance next year.
AF Corse has their LMP2 car but no Ferrari's in GTE for this event save for one. That is Spirit of Race from Switzerland. Niklas Kruetten and Nico Jamin are very close together as finally, Sarah Bovy brings the #83 Iron Dames entry to the pit lane and now either Rahel Frey or Michelle Gatting will be driving. It is Rahel Frey at the controls. Trouble for Team Virage and the #51 Oreca. Rahel Frey concedes a place to Henrique Chaves in the Aston Martin through Hotel corner. Nico Jamin has been closing up on Ferdinand Habsburg. Habsburg is a way ahead.
Duncan Tappy passes Nicolas Kruetten as well. Bengt Viscal tries passing Philippe Ciamadomo but there's no dice there. Third in LMP3 is Aleksandr Buhkandtsov. Ferdinand Habsburg now under pressure from Nico Jamin. Duncan Tappy is also coming in a hurry. Jamin reeling in Habsburg for the race lead. Charles Crews pits the #13 Intereuropol car in LMP3. Intereuropol have not taken a long stop just yet. Prema vs. Panis. Ferdinand Habsburg vs. Nico Jamin. Duncan Tappy is next up, two seconds adrift. Richard Lietz is now fifth in GTE ahead of Lorenzo Ferrari and Fredric Schandorff. Charles Crews is debriefing with the team. Crews has finished his stint and in will either be Nico Pino or Guillherme Oliveira. 69 laps now completed.
Nielsen Racing's #7 Ligier in LMP3 is now driven by James Littlejohn. Jamin is applying the blowtorch little by little to Ferdinand Habsburg. Into the lane comes the #22 United Autosport car. They are off strategy. Duncan Tappy at the controls. Ferdinand Habsburg from Salzburg, Austria is fending off the challenge of Nico Jamin. Jamin is beginning to play games with Habsburg and get inside his head. Gabriel Aubry is another driver to watch, reeling in Sebastien Page, 3.3 seconds up the road. Philippe Cimmadomo is in the pit lane for service.
Bengt Viscal is reeling in Niklas Kruetten. 1996 Monaco Grand Prix winner Olivier Panis, owner of Panis Racing says the team is pleased but there is still an hour and a half to go. Julien Canal, Nico Jamin, and Job van Uitert are the drivers. Guilherme Oliviera has Finn Gehrsitz behind although Finn Gehrsitz, the German, is a way behind. The GTE battle continues as well. Richard Lietz has the #93 Proton Competition Porsche chasing Rahel Frey in the Iron Dames Ferrari. Lietz is closing in and Sebastian Alvarez briefly delays this battle, does the Silver rated Mexican driver. James Littlejohn ahead but nothing is in it between Rahel Frey and Richard Lietz.
Lietz closing in on Rahel Frey down the Mistral straight and he makes the move into a podium place in GTE. Ferrari's #32 and #60 lead in class. Richard Lietz, the Austrian, is one of the senior Porsche factory pilots as Matteo Cressoni is now in the lane for tires. He will have to pit one more time before the race is done and dusted. Cressoni sharing the #60 Iron Lynx Ferrari with Davide Rigon and Claudio Schiavoni, the all-Italian trio. Reshad De Gerus is chasing Patrick Pilet in LMP2. Nico Lapierre takes over at Cool Racing and Marcus Pommer in for BHK Motorsport. Felipe Fernandez Laser is not driving the #93 Porsche today. #55 stays ahead of Iron Lynx.
Felipe Fernandez Laser has been rated again as a Gold driver and so he could not drive but he was driving in Michelin Le Mans Cup yesterday. Felipe Fernandez Laser was with Glickenhaus when they ran against GT3 cars years ago. #19 into the lane and Sophia Floresch gets back into the car. Pit stop as well for the #30 entry. Markus Pommer will be chasing down Thomas Laurent. Prema Racing as well as Panis Racing are in the pit lane. We are looking at hydrogen power and alternative fuels for endurance racing in the near future. Charlie Eastwood now at the controls of the Racing Team Turkey LMP2 and Mathias Beche is still in the #31 entry. Louis Deletraz now at the wheel of the #9 and Job van Uitert in the #65.
Sophia Floresch is coming up fast as well. Duncan Tappy leads the motor race but is on a different pit cycle. We see a marriage proposal on a carbon fiber piece of bodywork! Wow! To Kate, we would like to know the answer. Will you marry the mechanic? RLR M Sport may have to buy a hat. Alex Kapadia runs ahead of Paul Loup Chatin. No. That I believe is James Littlejohn ahead of Mark Richards. We are getting close to the final hour of the motor race here. Malthe Jakobsen barely drove in Le Mans Cup yesterday and wants to win the ELMS race. We have had a little bit of everything in this race. Leading LMP3 is the #13 car driven by Guilherme Oliveira.
Duncan Tappy has to stop before Louis Deletraz as we look again at the leaders. Job van Uitert is reeling both of these guys in. Deletraz going for the lead and he has out muscled Duncan Tappy on older tires. Tappy has the older tires compared to Deletraz. Sophia Florsch is closing in as well. Duncan Tappy finishes his driving for this race and Tom Gamble, the Gold rated driver, takes over at United Autosport. Duncan Tappy is still a Silver rated pilot. Mark Richards in the 360 Racing car is pinged for abusing track limits. Richards sharing the #6 Ligier with Ross Kaiser and Terrence Woodward, an all British team. Gianmaria Bruni will take over the Proton Porsche, the #77 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR-19.
#37 of Nico Lapierre passes the #34 entry of Charlie Eastwood I believe. He is closing in on Sophia Florsch and Louis Deletraz, both. Job van Uitert is also in the fight yet. Sebastian Alvarez has spun his DKR Engineering Duqueine in the one and only gravel trap at Le Castellet in turn seven. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Full Course Yellow. Kay van Berlo and Matt Bell have pitted. Rahel Frey says that the Full Course Yellow has messed up the timing for Iron Dames, but of course, Frey has been in a battle with the Porsche, the #93, with more top speed than the Ferrari. They will keep pushing, with Michelle Gatting finishing out the race for the Iron Dames.
The Duqueine for DKR has been cleared up but splattering gravel out from underneath. Who will win? What happened at RLR M Sport? Kate said yes! Really? Wow! Zacharie Robichon has Michelle Gatting right in his rearview camera. So, the Canadian will have to push hard. Robichon taking over from Richard Lietz. To the lane comes (under Full Course Yellow), Sophia Floresch. The undertray of one of the cars came off. 48 minutes to go. Algarve Pro might punt and add fuel if they brim it and get another Full Course Yellow. They could use a splash and a dash too. We will go back to green flag racing. Finn Gehrsitz in LMP3 in the lane.
9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Full Course Yellow removed. Zacharie Robichon reacts well but still has Michelle Gatting right on his six out of Virage du Pont. This is the battle for third in GTE. Josh Caygill has taken over the #2 United Autosport car and stays in the LMP3 lead. Nico Pino is whittling Josh Caygill's lead down and Malthe Jakobsen is now third. Malthe Jakobsen completed his longer pit stop. Jonny Adam is lapped by the overall leader Louis Deletraz. We are just five laps away from this race being 100 laps old. Final pit stops yet to come.
Lapierre 1.4 seconds behind van Uitert. This is the battle for second as Louis Deletraz continues to lead for Prema Racing connected with Iron Lynx. Deletraz, van Uitert, Lapierre, Eastwood. Jazeman Jafaar has taken over the Virage Racing entry. Nico Pino has passed Josh Caygill for the LMP3 lead. Zach Robichon is still being monstered by Michelle Gatting. Davide Rigon and Nico Verrone have their own battle. Charlie Eastwood is pressing his way past the GTE machinery. Nico Lapierre is really pushing on right now. Lapierre closing up on Job van Uitert and Charlie Eastwood in a Pro-Am car is really pushing for Racing Team Turkey. One more pit stop to go in LMP2.
Louis Deletraz has completed 100 laps. The lead battle in GTE is still hot and heavy between #60 and #32. 9.6 seconds to Zach Robichon in the Porsche. #43 closing, the LMP2 Inter Europol car in the hands of Pietro Fittipaldi. Markus Pommer is next but a lap down. Fittipaldi sharing with David Heinemeier Hansson and Fabio Scherer. Tom Gamble passes Alex Kapadia. United Autosport wants a safety car but there is no sigjn of one as we see Nico Lapierre making his final pit stop. Tires ready after the fuel load for Nico Lapierre and Cool Racing. Now the tires will be changed. One tire only! Wow. The front left tire takes a pasting around Paul Ricard. Maybe the lollipop man checked the tire pressure.
Louis Deletraz continues to lead. Deletraz uncorks fastest lap of the race at 1:44.370. He can do 13 more laps before having to make a final pit stop. Leading GTE, Davide Rigon, being caught by Nico Verrone. Memo Gidley says Rinaldi Racing' strategy has been wonderful and he has high praise for his co-drivers, looking for a podium finish. We are used to seeing Memo Gidley in an LMP3 car. Daytona 2014 and Memo's accident, meant he had to recover from a massive accident there. He is prepared though to be racing again. Paul Loup Chatin and Charlie Eastwood scrap. Chatin off the road and Eastwood pushing still. Here comes the #88 car too. That was an audacious move by Paul Loup Chatin through Virage de l'Hotel. The leaders are in the lane for final stops. Panis Racing and Prema Racing alike. Tom Gamble enters the fight too.
Nicklas Nielsen to the inside of Eastwood and Gamble is shut off. Gamble has to hold station. Nicklas Nielsen biding his time with his GT experience. In the lead, the #19 Algarve Pro Racing entry. Deletraz now second ahead of Job van Uitert. Bent Viscaal now at the controls of the #19 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca. Louis Deletraz wants things to go pear shaped for the other teams of course. Charlie Easstwood runs ahead of Tom Gamble. Gamble and Nielsen battle and the Briton is far more experienced in LMP2 compared to Nicklas Nielsen stepping up from GTE. Gianmaria Bruni passes Michelle Gatting. We still see Ferrari leading GTE.
Gamble gets the pass made down the Mistral straight on fresher tires. Richard Bradley has had a splash and a dash. Bradley is between Tom Gamble and Nicklas Nielsen. Bradley is a lap down. Nicolas Pino leads LMP3 for Intereuropol Competition by 34 seconds over Josh Caygill. Caygill is being harried by Malthe Jakobsen, the Dane. Very sideways and onto the paint for the #14 sister LMP3 car of Intereuropol Competition for Frenchman Noam Abramczyk. To the lane comes the #19. Prema Racing will now cycle back to the sharp end. Fuel only for #19. APR have run very well. So, the third place battle is now between Bent Viscaal and Job van Uitert, for second and third. This is the battle of the Dutchmen.
No tires for #19. Drama everywhere with 15 minutes left. Zacharie Robichon has now been passed by Gianmaria Bruni for third in GTE. Wow. So, the Proton Competition cars are in a battle and we see Bruni is catching the Rinaldi Ferrari and we have a scrap here bwetween IDEC Sport and United Autosport. Tom Gamble scraps with Paul Loup Chatin. Jazeman Jafaar is ahead but not on the same lap after trouble for co-driver Rob Hodes. GTE leader, a very late stop for Davide Rigon and there will be a driver change for driver time sake. A spot of bother for Iron Lynx. #32 passes for the lead and here come both Proton Porsche's! Gianmaria Bruni and Zacharie Robichon, along with Michelle Gatting.
Matteo Cressoni, the Silver driver on the team is now at the wheel of the #60 to finish the race. So, teams got mugged on strategy due to the Full Course Yellows. Charlie Eastwood fending off Nico Lapierre for seventh in LMP2. Malthe Jakobsen is catching Nico Pino hand over fist. Tom Gamble and Nicklas Nielsen both pit. Charlie Eastwood stays out. A splash and a dash for both #22 and #88. Nielsen Racing #24 has pitted for the final time. Malthe Jakobsen is closing up fast. The Lapierre and Eastwood battle rages on. They both got balked by a GTE Porsche. Lapierre wants in but Eastwood closes the door.
The overall lead in each class up for grabs. Lapierre dusts Eastwood. Bish, bash, bosh. Eastwood wriggling all over the road. Mikkel Jensen all over the back of Jonny Adam. Ferrari vs. Aston Martin. The Duqueine car of Richard Bradley, #30 goes way wide and cedes a spot to #43 of Pietro Fittipaldi in one of the Inter Europol machines. Job van Uitert dropping tenths behind Bent Viscaal. The gaps closing in all three classes. Louis Deletraz will have two more laps to run. Varrone vs. Bruni for the lead and the win in GTE. Deletraz 11.3 seconds ahead of Viscaal. Pino being monstered by Jakobsen in LMP3.
Varrone in the Ferrari, Bruni in the Porsche. Varrone has to watch the road ahead and ignore the Porsche but both of them run wide in Signes corner. 60 seconds to go. Final lap. Prema Racing on debut are set to win. GTE close. 2.8 seconds the margin in LMP3. Pino leads Jakobsen by 1.5 seconds. The clock is at zero. Who is going to win? #17 Malthe Jakobsen has passed for LMP3 and the lead. Prema Racing are going to win at Paul Ricard! Algarve Pro finish second overall ahead of Job van Uitert. Malthe Jakobsen romping away in LMP3 and in GTE it is Rinaldi Racing and Ferrari winning by thousandths of a second!
Overall/LMP2: #9 Deletraz/Habsburg/Colombo Prema Racing Oreca 07
LMP2 Pro Am: #34 Aitken/Eastwood/Yoluc Racing Team Turkey Oreca 07
LMP3: #17 Jakobsen/Benham/Smith Cool Racing Ligier JS P320 Nissan
GTE: #32 Ehret/Gidley/Varrone Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 488 GTE Evo
Pierre Ehret, Memo Gidley, and Nicolas Varrone win GTE. Varrone was dehydrated and tired in practice and now he wins! Wow. What a finish. The next race in European Le Mans Series is in a month or so and will be the first of two events in Italy, the 4 Hours of Imola at the Autodromo Enzo E Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy, next month, on May 15th. See you there. Au revoir for now, from Paul Ricard.
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