24h Le Mans
The sun was shining for the first Endurance Racing Legends race which got underway at 10:30 this morning under the guidance of a safety car. Legendary cars from the Nineties and Noughties returned to the track for a new showdown. Regulations require all cars to pit during the race.
James Cottingham (#15 Dallara SP1 2002) slipped straight into the lead, with Florent Moulin (#16 Dallara SP1 2001) less than a second behind him. Shaun Lynn (#7 Bentley EXP Speed 8 2003), who had started from pole, was still in contention at the end of the first lap. Martin Short (#88 Dallara SP1 2002) made an early pit stop and GT1B class favourite Darren Turner (#9 Aston Martin DBR9 2007) suffered mechanical issues at the start of the race.
Experienced Le Mans driver Emmanuel Collard (#26 Porsche 911 GT1 1997) sustained a one-minute penalty after breaching the safety car protocol. After a series of stops and starts, the prototypes got back in the game.
Shaun Lynn’s Bentley overtook Florent Moulin on the sixth lap, to glide into second place. Then came a plot twist just eight minutes before the end! Lap-time record holder (3:45.263) James Cottingham was enjoying a comfortable lead until he lost control of his Dallara SP1 and came off at the Porsche curves, causing him to retire from the race. Mike Newton (#25 Lola-MG EX257 2004) got to secure third place.
Top 5 of Race 1:
