Pescarolo returns to victory

And yet, at the start of the race, all eyes were on the Oreca / Aston Martin. Starting at a sprint race pace, these two teams quickly faced some disappointments, which benefited Boullion and Tinseau. It was first of all Oreca who got down on one knee when number 11, that of Nicolas lapierre and Olivier Panis, returns to the pits for an intervention on the fuel tank.

The turning point in the race, however, came after around 1h15 of a fierce battle, when Stefan Mücke had no choice but to find refuge in a sandbox to avoid a slower car. The collision between the Aston Martin and the Pescarolo was narrowly avoided.

Then follows a crossover in the lead. Henri Pescarolo's men shift their strategy. Thus, the name of the leader changes with the rhythm of supplies. But at the end of the race, by significantly increasing the pace and regularly taking two seconds per lap from his opponents, Jean-Christophe Boullion forced destiny. A final splash & dash three laps from the finish changes nothing. Christophe Tinseau and Jean-Christophe Boullion won ahead of the Aston Martin of Stefan Mücke, Tomas Enge and Jan Charouz. The Oreca of Tiago Monteiro and Bruno Senna completes the podium.

With this victory, his eighth, Jean-Christophe Boullion becomes the driver with the greatest number of successes in Le Mans Series. “I was not aware of this statistic,” he concedes upon arrival. “In any case, it will evolve, because we will win again. The car was not perfect in qualifying, but we worked a lot and this morning, in warm-up, we felt clear progress. In the race everything went very well. The car was comfortable to drive, which allowed me to increase the pace when necessary at the end of the race. This is a great success for Henri and the whole team. »

This victory consolidates the first place of Christophe Tinseau and Jean-Christophe Boullion in the drivers' ranking.

In LMP2, Oliver Pla and Miguel Amaral did not leave the slightest hope to their opponents. Leaders from start to finish, the two men thus seized first place in the championship.

With only two cars entered in LMGT1, the victory of the Luc Alphand Aventures Corvette took shape when the Saleen Larbre Compétition was slowed down by a stubborn flat bottom.

Finally, in LMGT2, the fight was fierce until the finish. Raymond Narac and Patrick Pilet fail 5 seconds from the Ferrari de Gianmaria Bruni et Rob Bell. L?équipe française peut regretter ces quelques minutes perdues dans les stands pour réparer l?aile arrière droite de la Porsche aux couleurs d?IMSA Performance

This first edition of the Le Mans Series in Portugal will remain a great sporting success, on a superb Algarve circuit. The only downside is these desperately empty stands! Even the presence of Pedro Lamy in the paddock and a concert after the race were not enough to attract the many tourists attracted by the Algarve region.