Victory for VDS Panis Racing in Drama filled 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
The no20 Algarve Pro Racing topped the LMP2 Pro/Am standings at the chequered flag with Kriton Lentoudis, Ollie Caldwell and Alex Quinn finishing ahead of United Autosports. The LMP3 victory went to the no8 Team Virage Ligier crew of Julien Gerbi, Rik Koen and Daniel Nogales.
Aston Martin become the fourth different LMGT3 manufacturer to win in the ELMS this season when Valentin Hasse Clot in the no59 Racing Spirit of Léman Vantage held off the challenge from Fabien Schiller in the no63 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG on the final lap after a quick late pitstop by the Swiss team put Hasse Clot into the lead. The two cars were just 0.9 seconds apart at the chequered flag.
After the heavy rain during yesterday’s qualifying it was much to the relief of the grid that the weather was warm and sunny in the Ardennes. The 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps got underway with the LMP2 field led by Cem Bolukbasi in the pole sitting no24 Nielsen Racing, the Turkish driver ahead of Jonas Ried in the no9 Iron Lynx Proton and the no48 VDS Panis Racing of Ollie Gray.
The LMP2 Pro/Am field were not so clean through the first turn, with the no99 AO by TF of PJ Hyett tipped sideways by the no29 TDS Racing Rodrigo Sales, with Giorgio Roda in the pole sitting no77 Proton Competition blocked by the no99 Oreca. Sales was later given a penalty for causing the collision. In the meantime Hyett had managed to keep momentum and headed out in the lead of the class ahead of the no27 Nielsen Racing of John Falb and the no20 APR of Kriton Lentoudis, the Greek driver having started at the back of the class grid.
The no17 CLX Motorsport Ligier of Paul Lanchere was also delayed by the LMP2 Pro/Am issues and fell behind the no12 WTM by Rinaldi Racing Duqueine of Torsten Kratz. However, Lanchere was challenging the leader hard and soon regained his lost position at the head of the LMP3 field.
Clement Mateu also made a good start in the no59 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin to get ahead of Duncan Cameron in the pole sitting no55 Spirit of Race Ferrari at the start. Celia Martin in the no85 Iron Dames Porsche put the pressure on Cameron before getting ahead of the Ferrari at the start of lap 3. Martin Berry in no63 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG was moving back up the field after his five-place grid drop after qualifying due to an outstanding penalty from Imola, with the Australian up to third on lap 5.
At the front Gray was challenging Ried for second place, making his move on the Kemmel Straight to take second into Les Combes. The British driver then caught and passed Bolukbasi for the lead a few laps later at Raidillon when the Turkish driver got baulked by an LMP3 car and Gray pounced to take the lead.
The no99 AO by TF, the no27 Nielsen Racing and the no77 Proton Competition all headed to the pits. Roda missed the pit entry and knocked over the bollard, the Italian later being given a penalty for the incident. Hyett took slight longer in the pits than his rivals while the team fitted a new rear deck to the no99 Oreca after the damage it sustained from the hit at T1 at the start of the race.
The first Virtual Safety Car was called after nearly 40 minutes of racing when the no31 Racing Spirit of Leman Ligier of Jacques Wolff went off and got stuck in the gravel at Les Combes.The cars circulated under VSC and then behind the Safety Car for 26 minutes before the race went green again.
Unfortunately, the race didn’t stay green for long after the no22 United Autosports Oreca of Manuel Maldonado speared off the track at speed hitting the tyre wall at T15. The Columbian climbed out unaided but the front of the car was too badly damaged and had to lifted out of the gravel.
At the same time John Falb’s no27 Nielsen Racing Oreca went off at T17 into the barriers.The American was also OK but the car also had to be lifted away. The Safety Car was deployed to allow the marshals to work to clear the two cars.
After another 20 minutes the race went green with Celia Martin in the Iron Dames Porsche getting the jump on the leading no59 Aston Martin and took the lead of LMGT3. At the same time all of the LMP2 Pro/Am field headed to the pits for their stops.
However, after just 4 minutes of green flag running, the no23 United Autosports McLaren went off into the gravel at T11 and the Virtual Safety Car had to be used again. The use of the VSC allowed the pitlane to remain open and those cars that needed to make a stop could do so.
When the race went green once again with just over two hours left on the clock the no10 Vector Sport was leading with Vlad Lomko being caught by Esteban Masson in the VDS Panis Racing Oreca and Nick Yelloly in the no43 Inter Europol Competition. Oliver Jarvis was leading LMP2 Pro/Am in the no21 United Autosports and Fabian Michel was leading LMP3 in the no11 Eurointernational Ligier.
It had all changed in LMGT3 with Lorcan Hanafin in the no63 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG leading from Sarah Bovy in the Iron Dames Porsche, with Erwan Bastard in the no59 Aston Martin catching and passing Bovy as the race resumed. Lorcan Hanafin lost the lead as Erwan Bastard put the no59 Aston Martin down the inside of the no63 Mercedes-AMG at La Source a lap later.
Masson soon regained the lead, passing Lomko on the Kemmel Straight, with Yelloly getting up into second as the Vector Sport Oreca seemed to be struggling.
Paul Lanchere in the no17 CLX Ligier caught and passed the no11 Eurointernational for the lead of LMP3, but the French driver was given a Drive Through Penalty for a start infringement.
Racing was suspended once again when debris was dropped on the Kemmel Straight, but this only required a short Full Course Yellow for the marshals to do their work. One the race went green the no17 Ligier came in for the earlier penalty before coming back in a lap later for the driver change.
Theodor Jensen was now at the wheel of the no17 Ligier but was being challenged by Daniel Nogales in the no8 Team Virage. Jensen held off the determined challenge by the Spaniard, with Nogales spinning at Les Combes while trying to pass the lead car. Nogales retained second but had lost a lot of ground.
Another Full Course Yellow was declared when the no60 Proton Competition Porsche of Alessio Picariello hit the no74 Kessel Racing Ferrari of Miguel Molina at T18/T19. The badly damaged Porsche was left stranded at the side of the track and had to be recovered by the marshals. Once again the track staff worked quickly and after just 4-minutes the race went green again with an hour left on the clock.
In LMP3 the no11 Eurointernational hit the no4 DKR Engineering Ginetta, pushing the car around and damaging the front end of the no11 Ligier. The leading no17 CLX Ligier was nearly a minute ahead but was given two penalties, a Drive Through for not respecting the earlier Drive Through Penalty and also a 10 second added to the next pitstop for overtaking beyond track limits.
After serving the two penalties Adrien Closmenil was about the no17 Ligier in 4th place and was fighting his way back to the front of the field. The no11 of Ian Aguilera was ahead of Closmenil, with the French driver closing on the Mexican. However, the no17 suddenly went off track at T7 and stopped in the gravel, bringing out the third FCY period. The Ligier was recovered to the track, but Closmenil pulled off almost immediately and stopped, retiring the car on the spot.
The race went green with 20 minutes left. Charles Milesi was leading in the no48 VDS Panis Racing Oreca, 11 seconds ahead of the no18 IDEC Sport of Mathys Jaubert, with Tom Dillmann in the no43 IEC Oreca in third. Alex Quinn was leading LMP2 Pro/Am in the no20 APR, with the no29 TDS Racing of Mathis Beche in second.
LMP3 was now headed by Rik Koen in the no8 Team Virage Ligier, 20 seconds ahead of Gillian Henrion in the no15 RLR MSport.
In LMGT3 the battle raged between the no63 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG of Fabien Schiller and the no59 Aston Martin driven by Valetin Hasse Clot. With just six minutes left on the clock the no63 Mercedes headed down the pitlane for a splash of fuel, with the no59 Aston Martin doing the same two laps later.
Hasse Clot emerged from the pitlane just in front of Schiller’s Mercedes. The two cars battled for two laps, crossing the line just 0.9 seconds apart after four hours of racing. Ben Tuck brought the no57 Kessel Racing Ferrari home in third ahead of Michelle Gatting in the Iron Dames Porsche.
Charles Milesi took the chequered flag in the no48 VDS Panis Racing Oreca to claim the team’s second victory in a row, just ahead of the no18 IDEC Sport of Mathys Jaubert. However, IDEC Sport were issued a three-minute Stop and Go penalty after the chequered flag, which dropped the former championship leaders down the order. The no43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca crossed the line in third but was moved up to second, with the no24 Nielsen Racing of Filipe Albuquerque taking the final podium position.
Alex Quinn brought the no20 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca home in 5th overall, ahead of the no21 United Autosports of Marino Sato, the Japanese driver moving up to second on the final lap when the no29 TDS Racing headed to the pitlane and into retirement. The no99 AO by TF Oreca finished third in class.
Team Virage secured the LMP3 win with Rik Koen taking the chequered flag a lap ahead of the no15 RLR MSport Ligier of Gillian Henrion and Reece Gold in the no88 Inter Europol Competition.
The next race is the Goodyear 4 Hours of Silverstone on Sunday 14 September, Round 5 of the 2025 European Le Mans Series.
Results are HERE
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