The entry list ran to 34 cars, 8 in the LMP1 class, 7 in the LMP2 class, 10 in the LMGTE Pro class and 9 in
the LMGTE Am class, with 91 drivers from 28 different nationalities, including former F1 World Drivers’
Champions Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso. As was to be expected, the qualifying sessions on the
Saturday morning saw the pair of Toyota TS050-Hybrids claim the front row of the grid, in the order # 7 of
Conway/Kobayashi/Lopez and # 8 of Buemi / Nakajima / Alonso. The fastest of the other LMP1 class runners
was the # 11 SMP Racing entered BR Engineering BR1-AER of Aleshin / Petrov / Button, albeit a fraction
over 2secs off the pole position time. In the LMP2 category it was the # 37 Jackie Chan DC Racing entered
Oreca 07-Gibson of Jaafar / Tan / Jeffri that claimed the class pole position, just 0.187sec quicker than the
sister # 38 car of Tung / Aubry / Richelmi. The LMGTE Pro class pole position went to the # 66 Ford Chip
Ganassi Team UK entered Ford GT of Muecke / Pla, just 0.078sec quicker than the # 97 Aston Martin Racing
entered Aston Martin Vantage of Lynn / Martin, the whole class being covered by less than 1.5secs. In the
LMGTE AM class it was the # 56 Team Project 1 entered Porsche 911 RSR of Bergmeister / Lindsey /
Perfetti that claimed the class honours by a fraction over 0.2sec from the similar # 77 example entered by
Dempsey-Proton Racing of Ried / Andlauer / Campbell, with all cars in this class being covered by only just
over 1.2secs.
The cars were waved off on their green flag formation lap by the familiar face of Dr Ulrich, who oversaw Audis
domination of the prototype class for many years, until their withdrawal in 2016. When the lights went out and
the field charged into the right hand kink at the end of the pit straight, the # 1 Rebellion entry and the # 17
SMP entry touched, spinning the Rebellion and slowing its sister car which had to take avoiding action, as did
the following pack. Two turns later the # 31 LMP2 Oreca briefly came to a stop, causing the following GT cars
to dive left and right to avoid hitting it, some collecting (fortunately only) superficial damage on the way.
Although everybody managed to keep running, these incidents upset the qualifying order somewhat, which
meant that there were some exciting comeback drives through the course of the race.
At the head of the field the pair of Toyotas swiftly pulled away from the pursuing pack, and it wasn’t long
before they were lapping the GT cars. In fact, by the end of the race they were 4 laps ahead of the next LMP1
car, 12 laps ahead of the LMP2 class winner, 25 laps ahead of the LMGTE Pro class winner and 29 laps
ahead of the LMGTE AM class winner, such was their superiority. This was despite unscheduled or extended
stops to have nose and rear wing sections changed. However, their domination all came to nought in post
race scrutineering, as the under-body skid blocks on both cars were found to have too great a degree of
deflection, resulting in their disqualification. Initially Toyota Gazzo Racing lodged an appeal, but later withdrew
it. The net result of this was that the race win was taken by the # 3 Rebellion of Beche / Laurent / Menezes
form the sister # 1 example driven by Jani/Lotterer, with the sole remaining SMP entry, the # 17 example of
Sarrazin / Orudzhev taking 3rd place.
In the LMP2 class, despite drive through penalties and punctures, the pair of Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca
07-Gibson entries that had been quickest in qualifying emerged as comfortable victors. The # 38 example of
Tung / Aubry / Richelmi lead home the # 37 car of Jaafar / Tan / Jeffri, with the # 36 Alpine A470-Gibson
driven by Lapierre / Negrao / Thiriet completing the class podium, although it was 2 laps in arrears at the
chequered flag.
The LMGTE Pro class win went to the # 51 AF Corse entered Ferrari 488 GTE EVO driven by Calado / Pier
Guidi, after a number of other class contenders hit problems of one sought or another. These included the
sister # 71 car of Bird / Rigon, which was running well up the order until it was hit in the right rear by the # 17
LMP1 SMP entry, causing a puncture and substantial damage to the body. The team managed to effect
temporary repairs, but the time lost put it well out of contention for a good result. The overall race results also
changed in this class following scrutineering, as the car that had finished 2nd on the road, the # 91 Porsche
911 RSR of Lietz / Bruni, failed the ground clearance test and was disqualified. This elevated the # 67 Ford
GT of Priaulx / Tincknell to 2nd in class, and the # 92 Porsche of Christensen/Estre to 3rd place, so some
consolation for the Porsche GT Team. In the LMGTE Am class the # 90 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage of
Yoluc / Adam / Eastwood had a great virtually race long battle with the # 56 Team Project 1 Porsche 911
RSR entry driven by Bergmeister / Lindsey / Perfetti, only for both cars to receive separate time penalties,
which handed the class win to the # 77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR driven by Ried / Andlauer
/ Campbell, with the TF Sport and Team Project 1 entries finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively after great
come-back drives.
.... Ferrari Chassis Numbers >>>
Race Podiums
Overall & LMP1
1st - # 3, Rebellion Racing, Rebellion R13-Gibson, M. Beche/T. Laurent/G. Menezes
2nd - # 1, Rebellion Racing, Rebellion R13-Gibson, N. Jani/A.Lotterer
3rd - # 17, SMP Racing, BR Engineering BR1-AER, S. Sarrazin/E. Orudzhev
LMP2
1st - # 37, Jackie Chan DC Racing, Oreca 07-Gibson, J. Jaafar/M. Tan/N. Jeffri
2nd - # 38, Jackie Chan DC Racing, Oreca 07-Gibson, H. Tung/G. Aubry/S. Richelmi
3rd - # 36, Signatech Alpine Matmut, Alpine A470-Gibson, N. Lapierre/A. Negrao/P. Thiriet
GTE Pro
1st - # 51, AF Corse, Ferrari 488 GTE EVO, J. Calado/A. Pier Guidi
2nd - # 67, Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK, Ford GT, A. Priaulx/H. Tincknell
3rd - # 92, Porsche GT Team, Porsche 911RSR, M. Christensen/K. Estre
GTE AM
1st - # 77, Dempsey-Proton Racing, Porsche 911 RSR, C. Ried/J. Andelauer/M. Campbell
2nd - # 90, TF Sport, Aston Martin Vantage, S. Yoluc/J. Adam/C. Eastwood
3rd - # 56, Team Project 1, Porsche 911 RSR, J. Bergmeister/P. Lindsey/E. Perfetti
Keith Bluemel
08/2018
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