It was a beautiful day whether wise at the Spa-Francorchamp circuit in the Ardennes unusual for this time of year.
The race got under way with its usual rolling start but as the cars went for the first corner at La Source chaos erupted with 4 or 5 cars coming together most cars would recover with only 2 with severe damage, Nielsen Racing #Car6 was one of the them after limping around part of the circuit it finished up in the gravel this brought out the first safety car of the day G Drives #Car26 had rear end damage and needed a new rear wing it entered the pits for repairs but on leaving the pits it still had a problem with Rusinov onboard #Car26 pulled over on the Kemmel straight and out of the race, with all the cars recovered it was back to green racing but this wasn’t to last long and the 2nd safety car of the day was out on track #Car 24 of Algarve Pro Racing runs into the back of the RLRM Sport #Car15 this then caused the Ferrari of AF Corse #Car55 to make contact both cars 24 & 55 had to much damage and are out of the race.
Just before the first hour we are back to green and the leaders after one hour of racing are WRT Racing #Car 41 in LMP2, in LMP3 #Car18 of 1 Aim Villorba Corse leads while in LMGTE it’s the Porsche #Car 93 of Proton Racing after the dramatic but exciting first hour the race settles into some kind of rhythm and battles carry on right through the field as we approach the 2nd hour its the WRT Racing #Car41 leading in LMP2 with a new leader in LMP3 #Car19 of Cool Racing is in front while in LMGTE the Iron Lynx #Car83 as taken up the lead, the fight still rages on in the LMP3 class with another lead change DKR Engineering are now in the top spot after a brilliant bit of driving on the Kemmel straight the drama keeps on unfolding as #Car13 of Inter Europol Competition as a big impact with the tyre barriers thankfully the driver Aidan Read is out straight away and ok this brings out our first Full Course Yellow and a flurry of pit stops all the top 6 in LMP2 are in for fuel and tyres , with an hour and 30 minutes remaining its back to green racing.
As we arrive at the final hour WRT Racing #Car14 still leads in LMP2 while in LMP3 DKR Engineering #Car4 leads with the AF Corse #Car88 now leading in LMGTE, all through the field exciting battles are taking place as we move into the final part of the race with only 4 minutes of the 4 hours remaining more drama as #Car5 of MV2S racing in LMP3 class hits the barriers at Eau Rouge its another Full Course Yellow the 2nd of the race but its not for long as the marshal’s do a fantastic job of clearing the car and debris from the track and with only 1 minute and 15 seconds to go we are back green its going to be a minute sprint to the flag, as the chequered flag falls it’s a win for WRT Racing #Car41 and not only that they are crowned LMP2 Champions for 2021 with a race to spare.
In LMP3 DKR Engineering #Car4 win again their 3rd straight victory in the LMP3 class and in LMGTE AF Corse #Car88 return to winning ways and their 2nd victory of the season.
Images courtesy of ELMS
Classification LMP2 (Top 4)
1 Car 41 – Team WRT – R. KUBICA, L. DELETRAZ, Y. YE
2 Car 30 – Duqueine Team – T. GOMMENDY, R. BINDER, M. ROJAS
3 Car 65 – Panis Racing – J. CANAL, W. STEVENS, J. ALLEN
4 37 COOL – Racing – A. COIGNY, N. LAPIERRE, C. MILESI
LMP3 (Top 4)
1 Car 4 – DKR Engineering – L. HORR, M. DE BARBUAT
2 Car 19 – COOL Racing – N. MAULINI, M. BELL, N. KRUETTEN
3 Car 2 – United Autosport – W. BOYD, R. WHELDON, E. CAUHAUPE
4 Car 8 – Graff Motorsport – E. TROUILLET, S. PAGE, D. DROUX
LMGTE (Top 4)
1 Car 88 – AF Corse – F. PERRODO, E. COLLARD, A. ROVERA
2 Car 80 – Iron Lynx – M. CRESSONI, R. MASTRONARDI, M. MOLINA LMGTE
3 Car 83 – Iron Lynx – R. FREY, S. BOVY, M. GATTING
4 Car 93 – Proton Competition – M. FASSBENDER, F. LASER, R. LIETZ
Next stop Portimao for Round 6 and the final race of the 2021 ELMS season on the weekend of 24th October 2021.