Team Virage and Racing Spirit of Léman Securing 2023 Titles in Portugal
The race was won by the no7 Nielsen Racing Ligier of Tony Wells and Josh Skelton, which meant that the no16 Team Virage Ligier of Julien Gerbi and Gillian Henrion secured the title. Gerbi had been hit by the no48 Murphy Prototypes Duqueine while leading the race and lost a lap while the car was recovered from the gravel trap. Henrion was 21st in LMP3 when the race was stopped but their nearest rivals needed to win the race to deny them the championship titles.
The no63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan won the GT3 class, finishing in 11th overall, with Hiroshi Hamaguchi and Vincent Abril standing on the top step of the podium for the first time in 2023. The no10 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin Vantage finished second to secure the team title, adding it to the LMP3 title they won in 2022, the first time a team has won back-to-back titles in different classes. Valentin Hasse Clot and Arnold Robin were confirmed as 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup GT3 Drivers Champions.
Rain, Rain and More Rain
With rain falling and the track being declared wet, the race was started behind the safety car. The no17 IDEC Sport Ligier of Patrice Lafargue slid off the track into the gravel at T15, the French driver rejoining one lap down after being recovered by the marshals.
The race went green after 14 minutes behind the Safety Car, with the spray causing everyone to drive with caution. Julien Gerbi was leading in the no16 Team Virage Ligier, with the no11 CD Sport of Shahan Sarkissian less than a second behind in second place and challenging the Spanish driver for several laps.
The no64 Team Parker Racing Porsche of Alex Martin was also holding the GT3 lead, with the no63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini of Hiroshi Hamaguchi closing up and challenging for the lead. Tim Creswick was third in the no86 HCR by CaffeineSix Porsche but was being followed closely by the no10 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin of Arnold Robin.
The no59 Team Virage Ligier of Oscar Bittar was lying in third but spun off when he was challenged by the no48 Murphy Prototypes Duqueine of Torsten Kratz. The Stewards looked at the incident, but no further action was required.
The first Full Course Yellow was declared on lap 10 to clear debris left by a collision between the no97 COOL Racing Ligier and the no67 Haegeli by T2 Racing Duqueine, with the no67 car being judged to be at fault and issued a penalty.
Racing resumed within 60 seconds and Gerbi was still leading from Sarkissian, with Kratz gaining on the leading pair. Kratz forced his way past Sarkissian on lap 15 at T10 but then ran into the back of the leading Team Virage Ligier, punting Gerbi off the track into the gravel trap. Another Full Course Yellow was declared to recover Gerbi’s Ligier, regaining the track one lap down and out of contention for the victory and potentially the championship. With Team Virage holding a 22-point advantage, the no2 CD Sport and no77 Team Thor Ligiers had to win the race to take the titles, so all was not lost for Team Virage.
Torsten Kratz was issued a penalty for the incident with Gerbi and this dropped the Murphy Prototypes Duqueine out of contention.
The race went back to Green with the leading GT3 cars were still fighting hard for the lead as the pitstop window approached, with Hamaguchi getting ahead only for Martin regain the lead at the next corner. In the wet conditions it was nail biting stuff for both teams.
Oscar Bittar was moving back up the field from his earlier spin and was challenging Tony Wells in the no7 Ligier for 4th place after 50 minutes of racing. The pitlane opened and the drivers came in to perform their pitstops and hand over to their teammates.
The no7 Nielsen Racing Ligier, now with Josh Skelton at the wheel, overtook Belen Garcia in the no25 360 Racing to move into second place in LMP3, 36 seconds behind the no11 CD Sport Ligier of Franck Chappard. Kirill Smal in the no2 CD Sport Ligier moved up to third, with Smal knowing he had to win the race to secure the LMP3 title. The other title contender was the no77 Team Thor Ligier of Colin Noble, which was lying in 6thplace after the pitstops.
Another FCY was declared to recover the no4 Nielsen Racing Duqueine, which was stranded at T4, which took seven minutes before the green flag was waved to resume the race.
The rain had started to fall even harder, which increased the spray on the track. Chappard slid off the track in the no11 Ligier but managed to keep the car heading in the right direction to retain the lead.
Valentin Hasse Clot, in the no10 Aston Martin, caught and passed the no64 Team Parker Racing Porsche to move up to second, 13 seconds behind Vincent Abril in the leading Iron Lynx Lamborghini. With 33 minutes left on the clock the Safety Car was deployed to recover two cars that had gone off into the barriers, including the no64 Porsche.
After several minutes behind the Safety Car and with heavy rain falling all around the track, the race was Red Flagged for safety reasons and the result declared. The no11 CD Sport Ligier was still first on the road but a 10 second penalty for not reducing speed under Full Course Yellow procedure within the required time, which dropped the car back to third behind the no7 Nielsen Racing and no2 CD Sport Ligiers.
The no63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini took its first win of the 2023 season, finishing ahead of the 2023 MLMC Championship winning car, the no10 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin and the no18 Team Parker Racing Porsche of Nick Jones and Scott Malvern.
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