Huge competition throughout an exciting and sweltering Michelin 12H PAUL RICARD all boiled down to the final few minutes of racing under the night skies of Le Castellet, with Proton Huber Competition taking a richly deserved victory by just 3.4 seconds with its Porsche 911 GT3 R (992).

Following two Code 60 periods during the final half hour of action, a grandstand finish was served-up with the team of Klaus Bachler, Manuel Lauck, Jorg Dreisow and Mark Wallenwein – the latter at the wheel for the decisive final stint – just seeing off a spirited challenge from Red Ant Racing.

“That finish was too tense, too tense for me!”, said a beaming Dreisow, the team also winning GT3 PRO-AM and taking the Michelin 24H SERIES European Series points lead, “After 12 hours, there are so many emotions flowing through my body, it’s unbelievable, unbelievable. Such a win is always a big team event, everybody, the mechanics, the drivers, the tyre man – it’s real emotion.”

Kobe de Breucker in the Red Ant Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO more than halved the gap to the Porsche during a nail-biting final six minutes but he, Kenneth Heyer and brothers Yannick and Ayrton Redant had to settle for a nonetheless excellent second place. TFT Racing’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO of Benjamin Paque, Jordan Boisson, Patrick Charlaix and Nico Bastian completed the overall podium.

Finishing an impressive fourth in GT3 and taking victory in the AM class was the Continental Racing by Simpson Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II shared by Vasily Vladykin, David Pogosian and Andrey Solukovtsev. In the 992 class, Muhlner Motorsport’s Martin Rump, Julian Hanses and Valters Zviedris were strong throughout to take a terrific win in the No.921 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992).

Both lead contenders in the GTX class encountered problems, but it was the Graff Racing Nova NP02 which claimed the win on its debut in the category with Sebastien Page, Luis Sanjuan and Eric Trouillet. In GT4, Venture made it three wins from four races this season with its Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Christopher Jones, Neville Jones and Matthew George.

The Spirit of Race award was presented to Malaysia’s Viper Niza Racing after a monumental effort, their weekend seeming over after a qualifying crash for Dominic Ang. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 was beyond repair, so the team leased another Mercedes from Red Ant, prepared the car, started from the back and took eighth overall and a GT3 AM podium with Ang, Melvin Moh and Douglas Khoo.

GT3

Air temperature was already 32 degrees when the race began at 10:00 local time on Saturday and Axcil Jefferies led from pole for Into Africa Racing by Dragon Racing. Able to pull away to the tune of six seconds during the early laps in the Ferrari 296 GT3, his cause was aided by tight battling behind.

Elia Erhart had moved up into second in the Sainteloc Junior Team Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II, with Nico Bastian holding third for TFT Racing as Kobe de Breucker slipped back from his front row slot in the Red Ant Mercedes.

From sixth on the grid Josef Kral didn’t waste any time, moving up to fourth in the Scuderia Praha Ferrari 296 GT3 pretty quickly. Two superb passes in the space of four laps, first on Bastian and then on Erhart, moved Kral into the reckoning and he took the lead when Jefferies made his first stop.

Staying in the lead for the second hour, from the E2P Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 of Oliver Campos and Khaled Al Marzouq third for Dragon, Kral was over half a minute to the good before the next stops when Sainteloc’s Pierre Kaffer moved through.

Kaffer then pitted at the end of lap 62 after a spin at Signes, following a tangle with the No.81 Era Motorsport Ferrari 296 GT3. Kaffer was deemed at fault, a 20 second penalty going his way, and so Al Marzouq regained the lead for Dragon.

At one third distance Praha was back on top, with Dennis Waszek running more than half a minute clear of Kaffer, while Bachler began to march through to the podium for Proton Huber. Miroslav Vyboh led for Praha into hour five ahead of the first Code 60 of the race later in that hour.

Just as racing was about to resume, with Dragon Racing’s Ferrari in the lead with Xollie Letlaka, the No.98 car stopped on track due to high pressure fuel pump failure – extending the Code 60. Vladykin therefore moved into the outright lead in the No.69 Audi R8.

Scuderia Praha, Proton Huber and Continental Racing all took turns back in the lead, and during the final third all three solidified their respective challenges. Red Ant experienced some concern though, first a time penalty for pitlane speeding and then front-left bodywork detaching itself from the car.

Even so the Mercedes-AMG continued unabated as the podium order continued to ebb and flow, as the sun got ever lower in the evening skies of Le Castellet. Nobody, though, could have predicted the drama of the final 30 minutes.

First a Code 60 was called due to a stranded car on track, so de Breucker – now installed in the Red Ant car – took his chance to make a final stop from the lead. Moments later, the Sainteloc Audi R8 expired in a huge plume of smoke from fifth to trigger another Code 60.

When the action got back underway only six minutes were left and Wallenwein held the lead for Proton Huber by around 10 seconds. De Breucker did all he could, closing to within just over three seconds with a great effort. He was a lap clear of the TFT Racing car and Continental’s Audi was fourth from the lead Ferrari, Scuderia Praha.

992

Rump took the start in 992 for Muhlner Motorsport and quickly grabbed the lead as the pole starting No.888 SebLajoux Racing car slipped back. Rik Breukers, meanwhile, in the Red Camel-Jordans.nl car was electrifying – having had to start 32nd and last on the overall grid after the team had to miss qualifying due to a blown engine. Within just 15 minutes of racing, he was already third in 992.

Patric Niederhauser in the Lionspeed GP Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992) carved through from seventh into the lead, confirming his star status, but after the first round of stops Hanses led for Muhlner with Patrick Kolb second for Lionspeed and Fabian Danz third in the No.909 Red Camel-Jordans.nl.

As the race passed one third distance, Muhlner continued to lead from Red Camel, with Marco Gersager a close third in the Holmgaard Motorsport Porsche. Staying this way for some time, as the halfway point of the race neared Niclas Jonsson had climbed to third for RPM – the team having started near the back having been unable to set a time in one of the qualifying sessions.

In hour six Rik Breukers moved through into the 992 lead from Hanses, but the latter was back into first place after Red Camel’s next stop. Everything continued to go well for Muhlner for the rest of the race and, following a late stop for fuel during the final Code 60, Rump sealed a great victory.

Holmgaard’s quartet of Gersager, Patrick Steen Rasmussen, Jonas and Magnus Holmgaard, took a well deserved second place in 992 as well as the AM win, while third overall in 992 was as good as a win for Ivo, Luc and Rik Breukers and Danz, having fought tooth and nail from last on the grid.

Some issues for both SebLajoux Racing entries prevented an overall podium bid, but the No.910 of Giovanni Scamardi, Jeremy Faligand, Pierre-Arnaud Navarro and Jean-Laurent Navarro took second in AM ahead of the No.888 entry of Paul Meijer, Carlos Rivas, Stephane Perrin and Sebastien Lajoux.

GTX and GT4

Pole position qualifier in GTX, Graff Racing, enjoyed an outstanding first hour by absolutely dominating the class with Trouillet at the wheel of the Nova NP02 – leading by over a lap before the end of hour one. By hour three the Nova was into the overall top eight, driven by Sanjuan, but the dominance was soon halted when the car had to pit due to power steering belt failure.

Taking over the lead at one third distance was the No.703 Vortex 2.0 of Arnaud Gomez, and the Nova ultimately rejoined the race halfway through hour four with Page at the wheel – but some 11 laps off the GTX lead and in last place overall.

More GTX drama came shortly after the first Code 60 period of the race at the end of hour five, the leading No.703 coming to a halt on track and triggering another Code 60 – before retiring with a gearbox issue. Despite its earlier travails, the Nova NP02 moved back into the lead and went on to win comfortably from the No.701 Vortex 2.0 of Lionel Amrouche, Philippe Bonnel and Cyril Calmon.

In GT4, Venture’s Mercedes-AMG controlled the entire 12 hours with another tremendous performance for its third win of the European season. Hamofa Motorsport’s BMW M4 GT4 EVO (G82) of Rob, Kris and Mark Verhoeven battled well but finished 10 laps adrift in second place.

The championship finale, the eagerly awaited Michelin 24H BARCELONA, will take place some 12 weeks from now over the weekend 27/28 September, at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. For full points tables following round four visit www.24hseries.com/standings