The UK round of the 2019 European Le Mans Series was won by the No. 28 IDEC Sport Oreca with Memo Rojas taking the chequered flag after the No. 26 G-Drive Racing Aurus pitted for fuel four minutes before the end of the race.
The No. 13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier of Nigel Moore closed down a two minute gap to catch the No. 11 Eurointernational Ligier of Jens Petersen in the final hour of the race. Petersen took the flag first but was given a 30 second penalty for not coming into the pits for a Black and Orange flag earlier in the race.
The No. 13 Ligier was declared the winner but was then handed a 1m43s penalty for not respecting the minimum driving time. So the No. 11 Ligier was handed the win back and the No. 13 Ligier was second.
The No. 88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR was victorious in LMGTE, with Thomas Preining taking the flag 27.8 seconds ahead of the No. 83 Kessel Racing Ferrari of Rahel Frey.
The race started in dramatic fashion with the track being declared wet at the start as the rain clouds on the horizon got closer. The No. 21 DragonSpeed Oreca of James Allen kept the lead while behind the leaders there were a few cars that went off at the first corner, with all rejoining the battle.
In LMP3 the No. 17 Ultimate of Jean-Baptiste Lahaye took the lead ahead of pole sitter Yann Ehrlacher in the No. 19 M Racing Norma.
In LMGTE, it was the No. 60 Kessel Racing Ferrari out in front at the start with Sergio Pianezzola moving ahead of the No. 88 Porsche of Gianluca Giraudi, the Italian dropping back to 3rd as the no83 Kessel Ferrari of Michelle Gatting moved up to second place.
The rain that had been forecasted duly arrived and most of the grid dived into the pits for wet tyres after just five minutes of racing. The No. 21 DragonSpeed of James Allen didn’t pit and stayed out on slicks gambling that the rain would quickly clear. Mikkel Jensen made the same gamble in the No. 11 Eurointernational Ligier and the Dane found himself in the class lead.
The No. 43 RLR MSport Oreca of Matthieu Vaxiviere was revelling in the wet conditions, the French driver moving up the field to take the lead as the No. 21 DragonSpeed Oreca pitted for wets. Vaxiveire held an 18 second lead over the No. 23 Panis Barthez Competition Oreca of Will Stevens.
The No. 66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari of Wei Lu ended in the gravel at T7, bringing out the first Full Course Yellow of the race. The car was quickly recovered and the race went green after only four minutes. A second FCY period was declared ten minutes later when the No. 22 United Autosports Oreca of Phil Hanson went off at Brooklands: the car lost all power and the British driver was forced to retire.
Once again the race went green very quickly after the car was placed behind the barriers at Luffield. The rain had stopped and the track had started to dry out. The No. 43 RLR M Sport Oreca was over 30 seconds ahead of the No. 24 Panis Barthez Ligier of Konstantin Tereschenko. Mikkel Jensen also held a 30 second lead in LMP3 with Christian England in the No. 3 United Autosports Ligier in second. It was a Kessel Racing 1-2 as Sergio Pianezzola led in the No. 60 488 GTE, 15 seconds ahead of the No. 83 Ferrari of Michelle Gatting.
Matthieu Vaxiviere pitted from the lead to hand over to Canadian John Farano, rejoining the track with an 8 second lead. However, the more experienced drivers in the following cars soon caught and passed Farano, who was down to sixth a few laps later with James Allen back into the lead in the No. 21 DragonSpeed.
There were further woes for Farano when he was the innocent victim of a collision between the No. 30 Duqueine Engineering Oreca of Nicolas Jamin and the No.14 Inter Europol Competition Ligier of Sam Dejonghe. The No. 43 Oreca was clipped by the No.14 Ligier and Farano had to return to the pits where a damaged wishbone needed replacing. Nicolas Jamin was given a drive through penalty for causing the accident.
A Safety Car was deployed when the No. 3 United Autosports Ligier of Mike Guasch and the No.24 Panis Barthez Competition Ligier of Timothe Buret collided and the LMP3 car ended hitting the concrete wall hard. The American driver was conscious and taken to the circuit medical centre for checks.
After twenty minutes the race resumed only for a second Safety Car to be deployed almost immediately as the No. 37 Cool Racing Oreca and the No. 19 M Racing Norma collided, the Oreca ending up in the middle of the track and was hit by the No. 30 Duqueine Engineering Oreca.
With an hour to go the race resumed with the No. 39 Graff Racing Oreca of Jonathan Hirschi out in front of the field. The Swiss driver was judged to have acted dangerously during the Safety Car period and was given a drive through penalty. The No. 26 G-Drive Racing Aurus of Jean-Eric Vergne took the lead with Memo Rojas in the No. 28 IDEC Sport Oreca following.
Jens Petersen in the No. 11 Eurointernational Ligier was nearly a lap ahead of the No. 13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier of Nigel Moore, the British driver lapping over five second faster than the leader.
In LMGTE the No. 83 Kessel Racing Ferrari of Rahel Frey was leading with the no88 Proton Competition Porsche of Thomas Preining closing rapidly. The Austrian passed the Swiss driver on the run into Stowe Corner and started to open up a gap. The No. 51 Luzich Racing and no60 Kessel Racing Ferraris were battling hard for third place with the No. 60 488 getting the upper hand.
With 30 minutes to go Ben Hanley in the No. 21 DragonSpeed was out in front, passing the No. 26 G-Drive Aurus for the lead. However, it was short lived when Ben Hanley had to pit and Jean-Eric Vergne went back into the lead ahead of the No. 28 IDEC Sport Oreca and the No. 39 Graff Oreca 07. It looked like Vergne was heading for the Russian team’s third win in a row, but the French driver had to pit for a ‘splash and dash’ fuel stop. This put Rojas into the lead and the victory.
The No. 11 Eurointernational Ligier was being caught by the No. 13 Inter Europol Ligier but it looked like Petersen was going to hold on. But disaster struck when the team received a black and orange flag to bring the car in to repair a damaged splitter.
The German driver stayed out and took the chequered flag but was issued with a drive through penalty converted to a 30 second time penalty, dropping the No. 11 Eurointernational Ligier down the order. This promoted the No. 13 Ligier of Martin Hippe and Nigel Moore into the class winning position.
However, it all changed again when the No. 13 Ligier was handed a 1m43 second penalty for not respecting the driving time for the bronze driver. This switched the two cars around again so Mikkel Jensen and Jens Petersen were declared the LMP3 winners of the 4 Hours of Silverstone. The No. 2 United Autosports Ligier of Wayne Boyd, Garret Grist and Tommy Erdos took the final podium place.
In LMGTE the No. 88 Proton Competition Porsche crossed the line to take a debut ELMS win for Thomas Preining, Gianluca Giraudi and Ricardo Sanchez, with the No. 83 Kessel Racing Ferrari of Michelle Gatting, Manuela Gostner and Rahel Frey taking their second podium finish of the 2019 season. By Melissa Warren
Race results
1 #28 Idec Sport P. LAFARGUE / P. CHATIN / M. ROJAS Oreca 07 – Gibson LMP2 M 118 4:00:27.086 8 64 1:43.997 204.3
2 #26 G-Drive Racing R. RUSINOV / J. VERGNE / J. VAN UITERT Aurus 01 – Gibson LMP2 D 118 4:00:37.041 9.955 9.955 8 118 1:44.110 204.0
3 #39 Graff T. GOMMENDY / A. COUGNAUD / J. HIRSCHI Oreca 07 – Gibson LMP2 M 118 4:00:45.049 17.963 8.008 7 57 1:45.265 201.8
4 #21 DragonSpeed H. HEDMAN / B. HANLEY / J. ALLEN Oreca 07 – Gibson LMP2 M 118 4:00:46.457 19.371 1.408 7 2 1:43.954 204.4
5 #24 Panis Barthez Competition T. BURET / K. TERESCHENKO Ligier JSP217 – Gibson LMP2 D 118 4:01:07.089 40.003 20.632 6 89 1:46.627 199.2
6 #25 Algarve Pro Racing O. PLA / J. FALB / A. PIZZITOLA Oreca 07 – Gibson LMP2 D 118 4:01:11.642 44.556 4.553 6 118 1:45.529 201.3
7 #23 Panis Barthez Competition R. BINDER / W. STEVENS / J. CANAL Oreca 07 – Gibson LMP2 D 118 4:01:30.9771:03.891 19.335 6 22 1:45.468 201.4
8 #32 United Autosports R. CULLEN / A. BRUNDLE / W. OWEN Ligier JSP217 – Gibson LMP2 M 117 4:00:57.108 1 Lap 1 Lap 7 116 1:45.758 200.9
9 #31 Algarve Pro Racing T. KIM / H. ENQVIST / J. FRENCH Oreca 07 – Gibson LMP2 D 117 4:01:10.754 1 Lap 13.646 6 26 1:46.457 199.6
10 #35 BHK Motorsport F. DRACONE / S. CAMPANA / G. FINDLAY Oreca 07 – Gibson LMP2 D 117 4:01:42.962 1 Lap 32.208 7 35 1:46.482 199.5
11 #20 High Class Racing A. FJORDBACH / D. ANDERSEN Oreca 07 – Gibson LMP2 D 116 4:01:32.954 2 Laps 1 Lap 7 110 1:45.872 200.7
12 #34 Inter Europol Competition J. SMIECHOWSKI / A. TAMBAY / L. DUNNER Ligier JSP217 – Gibson LMP2 M 116 4:02:09.127 2 Laps 36.173 7 113 1:47.114 198.3
13 #27 Idec Sport P. LAFARGUE / W. CAVAILHES / S. ADLER Ligier JSP217 – Gibson LMP2 M 114 4:01:50.337 4 Laps 2 Laps 6 24 1:48.903 195.1
14 #11 Eurointernational M. JENSEN / J. PETERSEN Ligier JS P3 – Nissan LMP3 M 111 4:02:29.063 7 Laps 3 Laps 4 26 1:55.016 184.7
15 #13 Inter Europol Competition M. HIPPE / N. MOORE Ligier JS P3 – Nissan LMP3 M 111 4:03:44.120 7 Laps1:15.057 5 54 1:55.966 183.2
16 #2 United Autosports W. BOYD / G. GRIST / T. ERDOS Ligier JS P3 – Nissan LMP3 M 110 4:00:31.607 8 Laps 1 Lap 5 21 1:55.106 184.6
17 #6 360 Racing T. WOODWARD / J. DAYSON / R. KAISER Ligier JS P3 – Nissan LMP3 M 110 4:01:54.617 8 Laps1:23.010 5 102 1:55.444 184.0
18 #7 Nielsen Racing A. WELLS / C. NOBLE Norma M 30 – Nissan LMP3 M 110 4:02:06.642 8 Laps 12.025 5 48 1:55.728 183.6
19 #5 360 Racing J. CORBETT / A. LASKARATOS / J. WINSLOW Ligier JS P3 – Nissan LMP3 M 109 4:00:28.555 9 Laps 1 Lap 3 108 1:56.398 182.5
20 #88 Proton Competition T. PREINING / G. GIRAUDI / R. SANCHEZ Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE D 109 4:01:14.418 9 Laps 45.863 5 105 1:58.169 179.8
21 #17 Ultimate M. LAHAYE / J. LAHAYE / F. HERIAU Norma M 30 – Nissan LMP3 M 109 4:01:35.280 9 Laps 20.862 5 21 1:55.472 184.0
22 #83 Kessel Racing M. GOSTNER / R. FREY / M. GATTING Ferrari F488 GTE EVO LMGTE D 109 4:01:42.219 9 Laps 6.939 5 81 1:59.107 178.4
23 #19 M Racing L. MILLARA / L. LÉGERET / Y. EHRLACHER Norma M 30 – Nissan LMP3 M 109 4:01:48.025 9 Laps 5.806 5 22 1:55.471 184.0
24 #8 Nielsen Racing N. YAMANAKA / J. LITTLEJOHN Ligier JS P3 – Nissan LMP3 M 109 4:01:58.525 9 Laps 10.500 5 21 1:56.145 182.9
25 #60 Kessel Racing S. PIANEZZOLA / N. CADEI / G. PICCINI Ferrari F488 GTE EVO LMGTE D 109 4:02:06.107 9 Laps 7.582 5 79 1:58.292 179.6
26 #15 RLR MSport M. MORTENSEN / C. OLSEN / M. RICH Ligier JS P3 – Nissan LMP3 M 109 4:02:16.501 9 Laps 10.394 5 25 1:55.454 184.0
27 #9 Realteam Racing E. GARCIA / D. DROUX Norma M 30 – Nissan LMP3 M 109 4:02:23.780 9 Laps 7.279 6 107 1:56.464 182.4
28 #51 Luzich Racing A. PIER GUIDI / N. NIELSEN / F. LAVERGNE Ferrari F488 GTE EVO LMGTE D 109 4:02:24.970 9 Laps 1.190 6 21 1:58.859 178.7
29 #55 Spirit of Race D. CAMERON / M. GRIFFIN / A. SCOTT Ferrari F488 GTE EVO LMGTE D 108 4:01:56.435 10 Laps 1 Lap 5 98 1:58.639 179.1
30 #66 JMW Motorsport J. SEGAL / M. CRESSONI / W. LU Ferrari F488 GTE EVO LMGTE D 106 4:02:08.801 12 Laps 2 Laps 5 97 1:58.518 179.2
31 #77 Dempsey – Proton Racing C. RIED / R. PERA / M. CAIROLI Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE D 93 4:02:47.744 25 Laps 13 Laps 5 81 1:58.616 179.1
Not classified
45 Carlin H. NEWEY / H. TINCKNELL / B. BARNICOAT Dallara P217 – Gibson LMP2 D 79 4:00:41.350 5 70 1:46.488 199.5
37 Cool Racing N. LAPIERRE / A. BORGA / A. COIGNY Oreca 07 – Gibson LMP2 M 77 2:38:56.532 5 44 1:45.404 201.5
30 Duqueine Engineering N. JAMIN / P. RAGUES / R. BRADLEY Oreca 07 – Gibson LMP2 M 77 2:39:00.692 5 52 1:45.387 201.6
3 United Autosports M. GUASCH / C. ENGLAND Ligier JS P3 – Nissan LMP3 M 63 2:13:39.090 2 22 1:55.085 184.6
43 RLR MSport J. FARANO / A. MAINI / M. VAXIVIERE Oreca 07 – Gibson LMP2 D 56 1:51:09.985 3 27 1:46.307 199.8
14 Inter Europol Competition P. SCHEUSCHNER / S. DEJONGHE Ligier JS P3 – Nissan LMP3 M 52 1:51:15.533 1 22 1:56.303 182.7
10 Oregon Team D. FIORAVANTI / G. GRINBERGAS / L. BONTEMPELL Norma M 30 – Nissan LMP3 M 32 1:11:56.649 2 29 1:55.901 183.3
22 United Autosports P. HANSON / F. ALBUQUERQUE Oreca 07 – Gibson LMP2 M 15 33:17.434 2 2 1:44.370 203.5
Circuit Best Laps by Class
LMP2 Ben HANLEY 31/08/2019 1:41.798 208.7 Kph
LMP3 Yann EHRLACHER 31/08/2019 1:53.468 187.2 Kph
LMGTE Thomas PREINING 31/08/2019 1:55.322 184.2 Kph
Circuit Race Records by Class
LMP2 James ALLEN 31/08/2019 1:43.954 204.4 Kph
LMP3 Mikkel JENSEN 31/08/2019 1:55.016 184.7 Kph
LMGTE Thomas PREINING 31/08/2019 1:58.169 179.8 Kph
CAR 11 DRIVE THROUGH PENALTY CONVERTED IN 30SEC FOR NOT RESPECTING THE BLACK AND ORANGE FLAG
1 MINUTE 43 SECONDS PENALTY TO CAR Nº 13 DUE TO STEWARDS DECISION Nº 16
30 SECONDS PENALTY TO CAR Nº 17 DUE TO STEWARDS DECISION Nº 17.
