The race started behind the safety car after heavy rain in the hour before the start left a lot of water on the track. The no30 CD Sport Norma of Fabien Lavergne led the 26 strong grid behind the safety car for ten minutes before the race went green and track action could begin in earnest.
The no24 Cool Racing Ligier of Antonin Borga moved up the order to second place from eighth but had to come in to serve a 60 second stop and go penalty for a tyre infringement in FP2 (Stewards Decision no9). In the GT3 category the no35 Krypton Motorsport Mercedes of Marco Zanuttini held the leadfrom the no51 and no71 Ferraris, while Sergio Pianezzola in the no8 Kessel Racing Ferrari had to come in for a drive through penalty incurred from the Road to Le Mans.
The no59 RLR M Sport Ligier of Alex Kapadia was another car moving rapidly through the field from 20th on the grid. Kapadia had set the fastest lap of the race at that point and after 35 minutes of racing had moved up to second place ahead of the no99 N’Race Ligier but still 35 seconds behind Lavergne’s leading Norma.
The track continued to dry and after 40 minutes of racing the drivers were actively seeking out the damp patches on the track to try and cool their Michelin wet tyres which were starting to overheat in the dry conditions. Alex Kapadia in the no59 RLR MSport Ligier had to head to the pits early as he had no grip from his wet tyres and came in to fit Michelin slicks from second place.
The no8 Kessel Racing Ferrari was moving back up the order after the earlier drive through penalty, with Pianezzola catching and passing the no51 Spirit of Race Ferrari of Christoph Ulrich to move into second place behind the no35 Krypton Motorsport Mercedes.
The pit window opened and many of the cars headed to he pits to change drivers and their tortured Michelin wets for a fresh set of slicks. Just as the pit window opened the no23 United Autosports Ligier of Richard Meins had to be recovered from the gravel trap at T4, bringing out the first Full Course Yellow of the race. The race went green again after four minutes but another Full Course Yellow was declared within a few minutes as the no14 RLR MSport Ligier of Job Van Uitert lost a wheel and the car had to be moved to a safe location.
After the pitstops the no8 Kessel Racing Ferrari of Giacomo Piccini took the lead of the GT3 class ahead of the no71 AF Corse Ferrari of Marco Cioci, with the no35 Krypton Motorsport Mercedes of Stefano Pezzucchi back in third place. The Mercedes was soon on the move using it’s superious straight line speed to move ahead of Cioci and then Piccini with 18 minutes of the race remaining. However the Mercedes had a problem and Pezzucchi’s car started dropping down the order, promoting Piccini back into the lead.
While Piccini drove to the chequered flag to take the GT3 win, the battle for the LMP3 win went down to the wire.
The no79 Ecurie Ecosse / Nielsen Ligier had fought its way to the front after the pitstops, with Colin Noble looking like he had the speed to take the win in Austria. However the no3 DKR Engineering Norma of Leonard Hoogenboom closed the gap and a ding-dong battle ensued. Lap after lap Hoogenboom tried to get close to Noble’s Ligier, but the Scot was using all of the skills at his disposal to keep the flying Dutchman at bay. As the cars entered the final lap it looked like the no79 Ligier was going to take the win. However Hoogenboom got a better run out of turn 3 as the battling duo passed the no8 Kessel Racing Ferrari.
The Dutch driver got close enough to challenge Noble into T4, who moved across to defend the inside line but the no3 Norma was already there. There was contact and the no79 Ligier went off into the gravel and Hoogenboom went through to take the chequered flag with Noble recovering to take second place. The collision was judged to be a racing incident, with no further action.
Jens Petersen and Leonard Hoogenboom took the top step of the podium for the third time in 2018, with Alasdair McCaig and Colin Noble joining them. Third place went to the no40 Graff Norma of Adrien Chila and Marc-Antoine Dannilou.
The GT3 podium was a Ferrari 1-2-3 and was headed by Sergio Pianezzola and Giacomo Piccini. Marco Cioci and Piergiuseppe Perazzini were second, just ahead of Christoph Ulrich and Maurizio Mediani.
Round 5 of the 2018 Michelin Le Mans Cup will take place at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday 22 September.
CLICK HERE for the result from Round 4 at the Red Bull Ring.
