With just one race of the 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup all of the LMP3 and GT3 titles will be decided in Portimão next month. Round 6 of the 2023 season will take place on Sunday 22nd October.
The no16 Team Virage pairing of Julien Gerbi and Gillian Henrion head to the last race of the season with the 21-point advantage they had ahead of the race in Belgium. After being caught up in the melee at the first corner of the race at Spa-Francorchamps and finishing with no points, they would have expected to see their championship lead cut dramatically but in the end their nearest rivals also failed to score any significant points either.
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 also failed to score in Belgium and this has left Audunn Gudmundsson and Colin Noble also on 51-points but in third place due to the fact the CD Sport crew have scored two second place finishes to Team Thor’s one.
With 26-points on offer in Portugal, the championship is between these three crews, with Team Virage just needing to finish in the top seven, or top eight if they take pole position, to be sure of securing the Driver and Team titles.
Four cars are still in the running for the 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup GT3 title, with 19 points between 1st and 4th.
The no10 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin is still out in front with Valentin Hasse Clot and Arnold Robin on 79 points, 12 points ahead of their nearest rivals, the no51 AF Corse Ferrari of Hiroshi Koizumi and Kei Cozzolino, who are on 67 points.
Tim Creswick and Anders Fjordbach in the no86 HCR CaffeineSix Porsche are 14 points behind the leaders on 65 points, while the no19 Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini of Gabriele Rindone and Patrick Kujala is on 60 points after being classified second in Belgium.
With 26-points still available at Portimão, the no10 Aston Martin must finish on the podium to be guaranteed the 2023 titles.
CLICK HERE to see the championship tables after Spa-Francorchamps
