COOL Racing are LMP3 champions after dramatic race in Portugal
The no85 R-ace GP Duqueine was leading the championship but an extra 42 seconds on the mandatory pitstop and then a Safety Car period at the wrong time dropped Fabien Michal and Hadrien David out of contention.
Their nearest rivals in the no97 COOL Racing Ligier, Adrien Chila and David Droux, also had their problems, with a 10 second penalty being added to their race time meaning Droux had to take the chequered flag at least 10 seconds ahead of the seventh placed car to take the time. A late Full Course Yellow to recover the stranded no99 More Motorsport Ligier gave Droux the breathing room he needed to secure the title in 4th place.
The race win went to the no77 Team Thor Ligier, with Audunn Gudmundsson and Colin Noble standing on the top step of the podium in the last race for the Icelandic team. The no7 Nielsen Racing Ligier of Tony Wells and Wayne Boyd.The no20 High Class Racing Ligier of Jens Moller and Tommy Foster took the final podium place to secure third place in the championship standings behind the no85 R-ace GP Duqueine.
In the GT3 class it was a fourth win of the season for the no51 AF Corse Ferrari 296, with Matt Kurzejewski and Alessandro Balzan underlining their championship winning season with a perfect weekend in Portimao.
Starting from pole the no51 Ferrari was passed by the no90 Blackthorn Aston Martin of James Swift and the no12 Kessel Racing Ferrari of David Fumanelli after the Italian had started at the back of the grid.
After the first Safety Car period Kurzejewski went back up to second place ahead of the Aston Martin.
After the second Safety Car and the pitstops, the no12 Kessel Racing Ferrari was leading by nearly 90 seconds but with bronze driver Frederic Jousset in the car Alessandro Balzan now in the no51 Ferrari, started to close the gap.
A spin for Jousset reduced the gap further and with 10 minutes of the race remaining Balzan took the lead to win the race ahead of the no88 AF Corse Ferrari of Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini, which was enough to secure them the vice champions position, with the no12 Kessel Racing Ferrari finishing in third.
Results are HERE
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