Two Way Fight for Drivers’ Crown
The battle to become the first ever Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup Drivers’ Champion will be decided in a straight fight between the SMP Racing pairing of Aleksey Basov (RUS) and Victor Shaitar (RUS) and the TF Sport driver line up of Salih Yoluc (TUR) and Euan Hankey (GBR).
The Russian drivers have the advantage of winning the four races they have entered in 2016, starting with a win on the full circuit at Le Mans in June racing for AF Corse, and then following it up with three wins from pole position in Austria, France and Belgium, giving them a 21 point lead with one race to go. This large lead means that Victor Shaitar and Aleksey Basov only need to finish in 7th, which will give them 6 points, to guarantee them the drivers title when the chequered flag falls on Saturday 22 October.
Their only rivals, Salih Yoluc and Euan Hankey, know that nothing less than a win in Portugal will do to keep their title hopes alive. They have experienced the view from the top step of the podium this year with a win in Imola at the start of the campaign and they have three further podium finishes to their credit but they know that while the Drivers’ title is going to be hard to win, the Teams’ crown is more obtainable for TF Sport.
Aston Martin v Ferrari v Porsche, 100,000€ and an invitation for the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans
Because Victor Shaitar and Aleksey Basov didn’t win at the Road to Le Mans race in the SMP Racing Ferrari in June, the points for the Teams’ title race is different from those for the Drivers Championship.
The current championship leader is the no34 TF Sport Aston Martin, 4 points ahead of the no72 SMP Racing Ferrari and 12 points ahead of the no88 Mentos Racing Porsche. With 26 points still to be won the 120-minute race in Portugal will be crucial in deciding the destination of the 2016 title and the prize money.
With three wins from pole position in the last three races, the no72 SMP Racing Ferrari F488 is the car to beat and another win in Portugal would secure the title for the Russian team. However because the team didn’t enter for the whole of the 2016 season, not competing in Italy or at Le Mans, they are not eligible for the 100,000€ top prize or the invitation to Le Mans 2017 as these are only available for teams who have entered for the full 2016 season. Also if SMP Racing do become 2016 champions, the prize money and the invitation to Le Mans does not pass to the first full season entry.
For the no34 Aston Martin to win the title they need to finish ahead of the no72 Ferrari on the road and at least 12 points ahead of the no88 Porsche. For the Mentos Racing team to win they need to take their first win of the 2016 and hope that the no34 finishes 4th and the no72 SMP Racing finishes 3rd. The single point for pole position could prove vital in deciding who lifts the inaugural Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup title on Saturday 22nd October.
Round 6 of the 2016 Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup will take place at the Autodromo do Estoril on 21/22 October with two Free Practice sessions on Friday and qualifying and the 120-minute race on Saturday.
