The no79 Ecurie Ecosse / Nielsen Ligier of Colin Noble and Alasdair McCaig took their second win in a row in a nail biting finish that saw the top four LMP3 cars split by less than two seconds at the chequered flag after two hours of racing.
The Scottish duo looked as if they would lead home a 1-2 finish for the team but Colin Braun in the no32 United Autosports Ligier got ahead of the no2 Ecurie Ecosse / Nielsen car of James Littlejohn with seven minutes left on the clock, with Dino Lunardi in the no98 Motorsport98 Ligier snapping at their heels right up to the final lap of the exciting race.
In the GT3 class it was win number five for the 2018 champions Sergio Pianezzola and Giacomo Piccini as they stormed from pole position to the chequered flag in the no8 Kessel Racing Ferrari F488 to finish their season off in style. The Italians finished 55 seconds ahead of their nearest rivals, the no71 AF Corse Ferrari of Pierguiseppe Perazzini and Marco Cioci.
Cold Start for a Red Hot Race in Portugal
With air temperatures hovering at 10 degrees and track temperatures a little higher the Race Director decided to start with two formation laps instead of the normal one, to try and get some temperature into the Michelin tyres.
When racing started the drivers found the conditions a little tricky and saw the no43 Keo Racing Ligier of Peter Scheuschner spin at the first corner and was collected by the no 40 Graff of Adrien Trouillet.
The no3 DKR Engineering Norma of 2018 champion elect Jens Petersen went ahead at the start. The no8 Kessel Racing Ferrari of Sergio Pianezzola also got a good start, leaping into the top 10 overall and seven places ahead of his GT3 rivals.
The Safety Car was deployed before the end of the opening lap due to the debris at Turn 1, which the marshals cleared quickly and efficiently so that racing could resume.
The no30 CD Sport Ligier of Fabien Lavergne, which had been excluded from pole position after technical checks from an issue with the front splitter, was making rapid progress from the back of the grid and after 20 minutes was running 9th and catching the leaders.
The no24 Cool Sport Ligier of Antonin Borga was challenging Petersen for the lead and took the lead at Turn 4 after 15 minutes. Petersen then lost further places to pro drivers Job Van Uitert and Alex Kapadia. Van Uitert’s car was damaged when he lunged down the inside of Petersen’s Norma, the German losing control under braking into the Turn 6 hairpin. The Norma then struggled for grip with front damage, with Petersen slipping further down the order.
As the pitstop window opened the bronze drivers pitted, while the pro drivers stayed out for a little longer. The no14 RLR MSport Ligier of Job Van Uitert had to spend an extra 30 second in the pits to repair the number panel damaged in the earlier incident with Jens Petersen, dropping John Farano down to fourth.
After the pitstops were completed the no59 RLR MSport Ligier of Ross Warburton was leading, with the no21 DB Autosport Norma of Jacques Wolff catching and passing the Englishman’s car. John Farano’s no14 RLR MSport Ligier was third, with Laurents Hörrs’ no30 Cool Racing Ligier now fourth after Fabien Lavergne’s charge from the back of the grid, with Colin Noble in the no79 Ecurie Ecosse / Nielsen rapidly closing the gap.
Giacomo Piccini was holding a commanding lead in the GT3 category as his rivals scrapped over the minor podium positions further down the field.
A Full Course Yellow was declared with forty two minutes remaining after the no4 Brookspeed International Ligier of Nicolas Rondet became beached in the gravel at T12 after contact with the flying no79 Ecurie Ecosse/ Nielsen Ligier of Colin Noble. The no4 Ligier was dragged out by the marshals and racing resumed in less than five minutes.
At the front of the field Warburton was caught and passed by Wolff, with Hörrs moving up to second and then closing the gap to the lead car by as much as two second a lap. Just as the German got within two seconds he was served a stop and go penalty for a pitstop infringement.
Colin Noble was now running in second but 13 second back down the road. However the Scotsman was lapping far faster than the bronze rated Wolff and with 11 minutes left on the clock Noble caught and passed Wolff at Turn 6 to take the lead. The battle had allowed Noble’s teammate James Littlejohn in the no2 Ligier to catch up, with Colin Braun in the no32 Ligier in third. Dino Lunardi in the no98 Motorsport98 Ligier had also made rapid progress. He joined the lead trio as the last ten minutes of the race descended into an epic battle for the final win of the 2018 season, with the top four cars covered by just 1.6 seconds.
Littlejohn was challenging Noble for the lead but Braun saw an opportunity with one minute to go and got alongside to take second place on the run into Turn 1. This battle gave Noble a little breathing room and he took the chequered flag for the second time in two races. Colin Braun was second in the n32 United Autosport Ligier, the American crossing the line just ahead of Littlejohn’s Ligier. Lunardi missed a podium finish by just 0.2 seconds.
The no8 Kessel Racing Ferrari of Giacomo Piccini took the chequered flag well ahead of the no71 AF Corse, with the no77 Kessel Racing Ferrari in third.
CLICK HERE for the provisional result from Round 6 of the 2018 Michelin Le Mans Cup
