The seventh and final race of the 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup will take place on the 4.6km ‘roller-coaster’ circuit of the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal, with 40 cars run by 25 teams and driver by 80 drivers from all around the world lining up on Sunday, 22 October to decide who will be crowned 2023 champions.
There are 28 LMP3 entries with four Duqueine M30-D08-Nissans and twenty-four Nissan powered Ligier JS P320s.
After the last race at Spa-Francorchamps where they were caught up in the first corner crash, the no16 Team Virage Ligier of Gillian Henrion and Julien Gerbi remain on 72 points at the head of the standings. However, because their main rivals failed to score any meaningful points the Franco-Spanish pairing remain 21 points ahead of the nearest rivals.
Henrion and Gerbi need to finish in the top seven – or top eight if Gerbi can secure the point for pole position - to clinch the MLMC Team and Driver titles for the first time.
The no2 CD Sport pairing of Kirill Smal and Fabien Michal finished second in Belgium and this moved them up to second place in the championship standings on 51-points. The no77 Team Thor Ligier of Audunn Gudmundsson and Colin Noble is also on 51-points.
With a maximum of 26-points to be won in Portugal the race for the LMP3 title is between these three cars
After securing their second win of the season in Aragon John Melsom and Matt Bell are currently fourth in the standings on 45 points after failing to score in Belgium. With their title ambitions gone, the Anglo-American partnership will be looking for another victory in Portimão to finish the season on a high note in the no4 Nielsen Racing Duqueine and try to secure the Vice Champions position.
John Schauerman and Wayne Boyd travel to Portugal on a high and will be looking to build on the result in Belgium - they won the race - to score another podium in the final race of the 2023 season.
Road to Le Mans race winners Luis Sanjuan and David Droux are in 6th overall on 32 points in the no97 COOL Racing Ligier, just three points behind their teammates Adrien Chila and Cédric Oltramare in the no87 Ligier.
The GT3 title race is a little closer, with four cars and eight drivers all still with a chance of taking the crown.
Round 1 winners Arnold Robin and Valentin Hasse Clot have finished on the podium in four of the six races run so far this season and are currently on 79 championship points. This gives them a 12-points advantage at the top of the standings in the no10 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin Vantage.
Aragon race winners Hiroshi Koizumi and Kei Cozzolino stormed up the table to third place after securing the 25-points for the win in Aragon in the no51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3. The 8 points they took in Belgium puts them on 67 points in second place.
The no86 HCR with CaffeineSix Porsche 911 GT3 R of Tim Creswick and Anders Fjordbach slipped back to third place after finishing 9th in Belgium. The British-Danish pairing is on 65 points, 14 points behind the lead car.
Le Castellet race winners Gabriel Rindone and Patrick Kujala in the no19 Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 are currently lying in 4th overall on 60 points after being classified second in Belgium, 19 points behind the no10 Aston Martin and with 26 points on offer they still have a slim chance of taking the title.
The no42 Steller Motorsport Audi R8 LMS took the GT3 victory in Belgium after the no88 GMB Motorsport Honda, which had taken the chequered flag, was given a 10 second post-race penalty for not reducing speed under Full Course Yellow conditions. Sennan Fielding and Mark Cole took the 25 points in Belgium, but Cole will be replaced by Sylvian Guintoli, 2014 Superbike Champion, in Portugal.
The Portimao Round of the 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup takes place over four days, with Free Practice 1 on Thursday, 19 October, Bronze Driver Collective Test on Friday, 20 October, Free Practice 2 and Qualifying on Saturday, 21 October and the Season Finale on Sunday, 22 October starting at 09h00.
CLICK HERE for the provisional entry list for Round 6 of the 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup.
