24h Le Mans
The final support races provided a gripping prelude to this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Like yesterday, pole-sitter Gillian Henrion (Team Virage #16 Ligier JS P4) hit shaky ground as he left the grid but recovered at the Daytona Chicane. He broke clear from the pack, but the fight for the podium was relentless. The drivers put on a great show and stayed hot on each other’s heels. Yesterday the #17 retired due to a gearbox issue with Anthony Nahra at the wheel. Andrei Vajda, (#85 Smart Driving), was in second place when he crashed out of the Porsche Curves and re-joined the track at the back of the field.
With 25 minutes to go, Henrion enjoyed a clear lead nine seconds ahead of the rest. Behind him, the gaps stabilised and Natan Bihel (#53 Mracing) took the lead over Kevin Madsen (#50 Les Deux Arbres) and Ronnie Valori (#23 Monza Garage). All drivers made their regulation pit stop at the end of the fourth lap and all second drivers got their turn at the wheel.
Gillian Henrion notched up his sixth consecutive race and remains unbeaten this season; he’s definitely one to watch. With a string of successful seasons in karting and a 2020 season in Formula 3 under his belt, he now has his sights set on a Hypercar seat at Le Mans. Natan Bihel crossed the line second as a duel raged behind him for third place between Alexandru Mirea in the #44 and George King in #23. The pair wrangled ruthessly to outdo each other, with King coming up trumps after an incredible overtake by the Karting track.
The Fournoux/Rosati team (Ligier JS2 R #10 Zosh - Di Environnement) won the JS2 R class once again, ahead of the #6 ANS Motorsport driven by the Jaubert-Segers duo and the #72 LADC Motorsport (Cocaign-Follenfant).
The tension was palpable as the second Road to Le Mans got underway. Hitting the circuit on Saturday before a throng of spectactors just a few hours ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans naturally piles on the pressure. Torsten Kratz settled into the lead as the 47 competitors began the race. He kept a relatively docile peloton under control in the #11 Duqueine M30 - D08 Nissan, with no major incidents. He had no room for let up though, with a gap of no more than 1.4 seconds. Freddie Hunt in the #76 Ligier JS P320 - Nissan behind him went in for the attack. After starting from fifth place on the grid, he made a series of fast spurts and moved up through the ranks into second position.
The mandatory driver change window opened as Jonathan Brossard lost control of the Nissan #6 Ligier JS P320. The Team WRT #34 Audi R8 GT3 EVO II was the first to hit the pits due to a penalty, and the other teams took the opportunity to switch drivers. An impressive choreography of mechanics came into play when the LMP3 and GT3 teams finally passed through the pits one lap later. Ultimately, the #76 Ligier JS P320 - Nissan driven by Mads Siljehaug took the lead ahead of the #11 driven by Leonard Weiss and Cool Racing’s #25 Ligier JS P320 - Nissan driven by Duncan Tappy retaining third place. In GT3, there were no prizes for the Robin family after an attempt at an early finish. The #55 Honda NSX GT3 that took the lead with Kasper Jensen at the wheel, ahead of Fabio Babini’s #46 Porsche 911 GT3-R. The #34 Audi driven by the French pair came third. The whole field had to wait behind the safety car brought out to evacuate several cars that had stopped on the track. Duncan Tappy took the lead once things got back underway and maintained his position until the end. In GT3, Maxime Robin and Kasper Jensen occupied the whole track as they battled it out for a full lap, with Jensen taking the upper hand to the delight of Honda fans – the last time the Honda NSX raced at Le Mans was in 1996!
