Euan Hankey and Salih Yoluç led the Drivers' Championship with 25 points after winning the season-opening round at Imola, seven ahead of Hiroshi Hamaguchi and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs in second and ten ahead of Nicolas Misslin and Matthieu Vaxivière in third.[4] The No. 34 TF Sport team led the Teams' Championship with 25 points, seven points ahead of FFF Racing Team by ACM's No. 55 squad and ten ahead of the No. 26 Classic and Modern Racing team.[5]
Regulations and entrants
Entry to the event was open from 18 March to 15 April 2016.[2] The ACO's selection committee issued invitations to Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) vehicles from the ACO's continental racing series, the European Le Mans Series and/or the Asian Le Mans Series, as well as Group GT3 (GT3) cars from the GT3 Le Mans Cup (GT3 LMC).[2][6][7] All current GT3 Le Mans Cup full-season entries were automatically accepted while the ACO reserved the right to invite additional LMP3 and GT3 cars to the race.[2] LMP3 teams could field one or two drivers, however GT3 teams could not field only one driver. Each team had to sign a Bronze-rated driver.[6][7] No platinum-rated driver could participate.[7] Each driver was permitted no more than 20 minutes to drive on the track. Michelin supplied the event's control tyres with each class receiving a single slick tyre specification.[2][6]
The entry list was published on 19 May 2016.[8][9] The 37-car entry list included 19 LMP3 and 17 GT3 cars.[10] Several of the LMP3 entries were ELMS competitors and all but two used Ligier JS P3-Nissan cars. The two non-Ligiers were a Ginetta P3-15-Nissan car and a ADESS 03-Nissan car.[8] The GT3 LMC contributed 11 of the 17 entries in the GT3 class,[9] and there were manufacturers represented in the category.[8]AF Corse and Larbre Compétition were the only teams competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Road to Le Mans.[8] The BMS Scuderia ItaliaFerrari 458 Italia GT3 was the lone GT3 car missing from the entry list.[9][11]
Balance of performance
The balance of performance was modified to try to create parity within the GT3 category.[11] Ballast was added to the No. 19 Tockwith Motorsports Audi R8 LMS ultra, the No. 26 Classic and Modern Racing Ferrari F458 Italia GT3, the No. 34 TF Sport Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3, the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia GT3 and the No. 55 FFF McLaren 650S GT3 to effect their handling while the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 was made 10 kg (22 lb) lighter.[11] The Ferrari's power was reduced by a smaller air restrictor whilst the Lamborghini's was increased by a larger air restrictor.[11] New entries are the No. 22 TF Sport Aston Martin, the No. 37 IDEC Sport RacingMercedes-AMG GT3, the No. 44 DKR EngineeringBMW Z4 GT3, the No. 50 Larbre Competition Mercedes-Benz, the No. 57 AF Corse Ferrari and the No. 66 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini, each with a ballast of 10 kg (22 lb).[11]
Practice
Two one-hour practice sessions were held on the evening of 15 June and afternoon of 16 June.[2][6] During the first session, there was light rain and reportedly oil on the track, but track conditions improved.[12][13]Thomas Laurent No. 85 DC Racing's car was fastest, with a lap time of 4:05.758 achieved on his sixth and last lap of the session.[13] He was 4.128 seconds faster than James Winslow's second-placed No. 61 Graff Racing entry. Yann Ehrlacher's No. 18 M.Racing-YMR car was third.[12] Philippe Prette's No. 48 PS Racing car stopped at the Esses with its front-left wheel detached on his out-lap.[13]Viktor Shaytar's No. 57 AF Corse Ferrari was fastest in GT3 at 4:15.418. Shaytar was six-tenths of a second faster than Lonni Martins's No. 17 Duqueine Engineering's car. Klaus Bachler's No. 88 Mentos RacingPorsche 911 GT3 R was third in class.[12][13]
Several cars went off the circuit during the second practice session and race control ended the session after 20 minutes when Jean-Claude Poirier wrecked the No. 31 Graff car into the tyre barrier at Mulsanne corner. Poirier was unhurt and exited the car unaided, but the barriers needed substantial repair and marshals removed excess oil from the circuit.[14][15] Laurent's No. 85 DC Racing entry led overall at 4:21.444.[15]John Falb's No. 77 Graff entry was 1.7 seconds slower in second.[16] Jesus Fuster's No. 11 By Speed Factory Ligier stopped at the pit lane entry, prompting a six-minute Slow Zone at the Ford chicane to recover the vehicle.[14][15] The fastest GT3 car was Egidio Perfetti's No. 88 Mentos Porsche, which was third overall in 4:24.020. Martins's No, 17 Duqueine Ferrari was three seconds and five overall positions behind in second in class.[16] Tockwith's No. 19 Audi had to be driven slowly to the pit lane with a flat rear tyre.[14]
On the evening of 16 June, a 30-minute qualifying session was held to set the race's starting order.[2][6][12] Qualifying was held in dry, cool weather.[17][18]Martin Brundle's No. 2 United Autosports entry was second for most of qualifying until improving his lap time to 3:55.748 at the end to claim overall pole position and his second at Le Mans after the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans.[17][19] Charlie Robertson's No. 32 Team LNT entry was 0.185 seconds slower in second. Laurent's No. 85 DC Racing, Ehrlacher's No. 18 M.Racing-YMR, and Giorgio Sernagiotto's No. 7 Scuderia Villorba Corse finished third through fifth.[19][20] Pierre Nicolet's No. 24 OAK Racing Ligier slid into the gravel trap at Tertre Rouge corner, crashing into the barriers midway through qualifying.[18][19] Qualifying was stopped for the first time due to debris on the circuit but Nicolet returned to the pit lane.[18][19][20] Perfetti's No. 88 Mentos Porsche took pole position in GT3 with a 4:04.494 lap. He was nearly seven-tenths of a second faster than Aleksey Basov's No. 57 SMP Racing Ferrari.[20] Hamaguchi's No. 55 FFF Racing Team by ACM McLaren took third, ahead of Misslin's No. 26 Classic and Modern Racing Ferrari and Mads Rasmussen's No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari.[20][21] A second stoppage ended qualifying two minutes early, as Hamaguchi spun into the tyre barriers at Karting Corner.[18][20] Hamaguchi was unhurt.[18]
It was dry and overcast before the event.[23] The air temperature was between 16.35 and 17.7 °C (61.43 and 63.86 °F) and the track temperature was between 20 and 21.75 °C (68.00 and 71.15 °F).[24] The race commenced at 11:10 Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00),[2][6] which was led by the starting polesitter Brundle.[25] Second-place starter Robertson battled Brundle as he crested the hill approaching the Dunlop chicane and braked later on the inside to take the race lead, despite Brundle appearing to have caught Robertson off guard when the race began.[26][27] Winslow began quickly, moving from sixth to third before passing Brundle for second at the Mulsanne corner.[28][29] Meanwhile, Perfetti maintained his lead in GT3 with the No. 88 Mentos Porsche, gradually pulling away from Basov's No. 57 SMP Ferrari.[29]
During the first lap, Hamaguchi dropped from third to fifth in class, but he began duelling Misslin's No. 26 Classic and Modern Racing Ferrari for fourth while being challenged by Yoluç's No. 34 TF Sport Aston Martin until Yoluç's driver error while attempting to pass Hamaguchi at the Forza chicane gave him a temporary reprieve, allowing him to pull way slightly.[26][29] On lap four, when Robertson began to pull away from the rest of the race, Brundle was close behind Winslow and passed him to retake second place overall.[29][30] The following lap saw Phil Hanson's No. 44 Tockwith Audi driven slowly to the pit lane due to a failed front right tyre, while Martins overtook Basov for second in GT3 at the Indianapolis corner, but Basov retook the position at the same corner the following lap.[26][29]Roberto Lacorte caused the race's first Slow Zone by going into the gravel trap at the Forza chicane. The No. 7 Scuderia Villoriba Corse car was recovered after five minutes and the Slow Zone was lifted.[29]
At this point, cars began making mandatory pit stops to allow teams to change drivers.[29][31] Robertson and Brundle made their pit stops on the same lap, however both drivers lost a significant amount of time to DC Racing's No. 85 team, and Laurent took the overall lead after the pit stops, having relieved his co-driver Alexandre Cougnaud who was fourth during his stint.[28]Christian England had relieved Brundle but he spun the No. 2 United Autosports car exiting the Dunlop chicane.[23] On his second lap, Lawrence Tomlinson lost control of the rear of the No. 32 Team LNT entry, which became stuck in the gravel at the Dunlop chicane.[27][28] Tomlinson's spin activated the race's second Slow Zone, dropping him from second to tenth overall.[29][30] The No. 88 Mentos Porsche received a ten-second stop-and-go penalty for speeding in the pit lane.[31] Shaytar's No. 57 SMP Ferrari now led the GT3 category lead as Hankey's No. 34 TF Aston Martin, Vaxivière's No. 26 Classic and Modern Ferrari and Quaife-Hobbs's No. 55 FFF Ferrari battled for the final places on the podium in class.[29]
The podium ceremonies that were held following the completion of the race.
With ten minutes remaining, Hankey spun the No. 34 TF Aston Martin following the Dunlop chicane when scything his way by slower LMP3 cars. This moved Vaxivière, Quaife-Hobbs and Bachler to second, third and fourth in GT3.[29] Romano Ricci's No. 18 M.Racing-YMR entry was third overall, but Falb's No. 77 Graff car was gaining on him and, on the suggestion of his engineer, passed him at the first chicane to take third on the final lap,[28][29][32] having passed Dean Koutsoumidis's sister No. 61 Graff car on lap 11.[26][30] Both Quaife-Hobbs and Bachler gained second and third in GT3 when Vaxiviere's Classic and Modern Ferrari sustained a puncture on the final lap.[28][33] Laurent pulled away from the field and held the No. 85 DC Racing car's lead for the final six laps to win the race for himself and Cougnaud.[30][31] The No. 2 United Autosports car recovered to finish second, 16.863 seconds behind.[31] Falb competed alone in the No. 77 Graff entry, finishing third overall.[28] The No. 57 AF Corse Ferrari won the GT3 category by 11.238 seconds over the No. 55 FFF McLaren,[30][31] propelling the team and drivers Basov and Shaytar to third in the Drivers' and Teams' Championships.[4][5] The No. 88 Mentos Porsche completed the class podium in third.[30][31]
Race result
The minimum number of laps for classification (70% of the overall winning car's race distance) was seven laps. Class winners are in bold and ‡.[30][34]
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