The no98 Motorsport98 Ligier of Eric De Doncker and Gillian Henrion also came through the field to secure their first victory of the season. The defending LMP3 Pro/Am champions finish over eight seconds ahead of Round 1 winners Jacek Zielonka and Leo Sami Robinson in the no62 Bretton Racing Ligier, which keeps them at the head of the LMP3 Pro/Am points standings.
The victory in GT3 went to the no17 Kessel Racing Ferrari, with Lorenzo Innocenti and David Fumanelli battling their way through the two hour race to finish 18 seconds ahead of the no51 AF Corse Ferrari of defending class champions Alessandro Cozzi and Eliseo Donno, with the no10 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin finishing third to keep Valentin Hasse Clot and Philipp Sager at the top of the championship standings.
SAFETY CAR ON LAP ONE
The race got underway with all cars making it as far as Turn 8 when the no87 CLX Motorsport Ligier of Alexander Jacoby span across the track at speed, collecting the no8 BWT Muecke Motorsport Ligier of Maksymillian Angelard. With both drivers emerging unharmed but with both cars badly damaged and debris spread across the track, the Safety Car was quickly deployed to allow the circuit to be cleared safely.
Racing resumed after 20-minutes with the no12 Brutal Fish by Campos Ligier getting a Drive Through Penalty for a start infringement dropping Arthur Rogeon from the lead to 18th place and putting the no4 Nielsen Racing of Mikaeel Pitamber in the lead. The South African was being challenged by the no9 ANS Motorsport Ligier of Maxwell Dodds, with Dodds taking the lead.
Stefan Aust in the no71 Rinaldi Racing had worked his way to the front of the LMP3 Pro/Am field ahead of the no34 Inter Europol Competition Ligier of Alex Bukhantsov, with the no58 GG Classics Ligier of James Sweetnam also challenging the leading cars. However, a steering failure put Aust into the pits and into retirement.
Sebastian Moreno in the no11 Code Racing Development Aston Martin was leading GT3 and pulling away from the pack led by the no17 Kessel Racing Ferrari of Lorenzo Innocenti.
At the pitstops Dodds pitted from the lead but a required repair to the rear of the car dropped the ANS Ligier down to 18th place when Louis Iglesias rejoined. The French driver then set about regaining lost ground, moving quickly back up the field, setting several fastest laps as he did so. By the final 20 minutes Iglesias had moved into the top 5 and was looking for a podium finish.
Meanwhile Gillian Henrion in the no98 Motorsport98 Ligier had taken over from Eric De Doncker and was soon challenging Leo Robinson in the no62 Bretton Racing Ligier. Henrion finally made a move that worked when the two cars were negotiating traffic, but Robinson was not going to give in quietly and was soon challenging Henrion for the lead. Eventually Henrion found some traffic to put between the two cars, and he finally pulled out a gap.
The no10 Code Racing Development Aston Martin led until the pitstops with Morena handing over the car to Ethan Ischer with a big lead. However, it all went wrong not long after the handover when the car suffered what appeared to be right rear suspension failure. Ischer was forced to limp back to the pits and into retirement.
David Fumanelli had managed to rejoin the race after a good pitstop and was in the lead of GT3. However, the no17 Kessel Racing Ferrari had to fend off a determined challenge from the no51 AF Corse Ferrari of Eliseo Donno, with contact being made as they battle for position. Fumanelli did eventually get ahead of the no51 Ferrari and pulled away to the chequered flag.
Back at the front of the field the no19 Brutal Fish by Campos Ligier of Matus Ryba was leading but Colin Queen was closing the gap after moving ahead of Zac Scoular in the no86 R-ace GP Duqueine and the no12 Brutal Fish by Campos Ligier of August Raber. Raber’s race came to an end with 35 minutes remaining when he pitted the car with a problem, which eventually forced the team to retire the car.
Queen finally got ahead of Ryba with five minutes left on the clock but the no19 Liger was not giving up, challenging the no50 Ligier into the Chicane. However, Ryba spun, relieving the pressure on Queen and allowing Enzo Peugeot in the no85 R-ace GP Duqueine to take second place. Ryba rejoined but had the recovering Louis Iglesias all over his rear wing, the no9 Ligier taking third place on the final lap. However, a post race penalty of 5 seconds was given to Iglesias as he was judged to have overtaken off track and gained a lasting advantage. This dropped the no9 ANS Motorsport Ligier to 4th and put the no19 Brutal Fish by Campos Ligier back up to third.
The next race will be Round 3 of the 2026 Michelin Le Mans Cup, the Road To Le Mans, on Friday 12 June.
CLICK HERE for the result from Round 2 of the 2026 Michelin Le Mans Cup.
