DC Racing Claims Road to Le Mans Victory

Alexandre Cougnaud and Thomas Laurent claimed victory in an eventful Road to Le Mans race for GT3 and LMP3 cars at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

The No. 85 DC Racing Ligier JS P3 Nissan moved into the lead after the mandatory stops and then pulled away from the rest of the field.

Laurent eventually finished 16.863s clear of the pole-sitting No. 2 United Autosports Ligier JS P2 Nissan of Martin Brundle and Christian England.

John Falb took the final podium position in the No. 77 Graff Ligier JS P3, passing the No. 18 M.Racing – YMR Ligier on the final lap.


Brundle lost the lead on the run down to the Dunlop Chicane. Charlie Robertson passed the former Le Mans winner and rapidly pulled away from his rival.

At the end of the sixth lap, with a slow zone in place, both drivers came in for their mandatory stop. By then the Ginetta had a 6.132s advantage over the Ligier..

Yann Ehrlacher and Alexandre Cougnaud completed one more lap and gained time when the slow zone was removed. As a result the No. 18 and No. 85 Ligiers moved into first and second place during the pit stops.

Lawrence Tomlinson was unable to challenge for the lead after the stops, spinning off into the gravel at the Dunlop Chicane on his second lap. The LNT boss eventually finished 28th overall.

In GT3 victory went to the No. 57 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 of Alexey Basov and Victor Shaitar. The Russian pair grabbed the lead after the No. 88 Mentos Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R was given a 10-second stop-go penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

On the final lap Klaus Bachler recovered a podium finish for Mentos Racing, as Mathieu Vaxiviere suffered a puncture. This promoted the No. 55 FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren 650S GT3 to second and Mentos Racing to third.