Petit Le Mans : A podium and the ILMC title for Signatech-Nissan !

It was mission accomplished for the ORECA 03 entered by Signatech-Nissan for the 14th edition of the Petit Le Mans, with a podium finish that gave them the Teams title Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. After more than 9:30 hours of racing, the trio of Mailleux/Vernay/Ordoñez finished in 3rd place in the LMP2 class, after having led for a good portion. In LMPC, the finish went down to the wire with the ORECA-FLM 09 of PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports driven by Lewis/Richard/Dobson coming out on top. After battling nearly every lap for 300 laps, the Intersport Racing team, composed of Marcelli/Ducote/Drissi missed out by just 172 thousandths ! Third in the race, Jeannette/Gonzalez take the American Le Mans Series title, tied with Eric Lux (Genoa Racing) who finished fourth. The LMPC class was hotly contested all year and it came down to the last minute to determine a champion.

LMP2. Philippe Sinault : « With the title in hand, the essential work is done »

Arriving at Road Atlanta, Signatech-Nissan could take the Teams title in Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. With a third place, the objective is met, as Team Manager Philippe Sinault (Team Manager) underlined at the finish : « We came here with the goal to win the championship. To do this we had to finish in the points. The team did an excellent job during the week and this is our reward. » At the top of the leaderboards right from the start, the No. 26 ORECA 03 was for a long time in the lead before being held up by a steering rack issue : « Managing the race is complicated here and we are proud not to have committed any errors. We lost time while we were fighting for the win. The performance and potential of the car were there. » During the first half of the race, the trio of Mailleux/Ordoñez/Vernay reigned over the competition, with several lead changes with the Level 5 Motorsports car : « We took turns in the lead and the drivers managed the traffic situation perfectly, which isn’t easy with so many cars on such a small track. Our goal is met now with the ILMC title. »

Lucas Ordoñez was given the task of crossing the finish line at the end : « I wanted to mark the occasion by asking Lucas to finish. His story is wonderful. This result is the icing on the cake for our first year with the ORECA 03. » Only one race remains for Signatech-Nissan before the end of the season : « With the title in the bag, we’re going to do everything we can to finish strong and win in Zhuhai. »

LMPC. Henri Richard : « It’s a win full of fun… »

Once again the LMPC class was a hotly contest battle that saw Intersport Racing and PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports fighting to the end. It wasn’t until the final lap that Lewis/Richard/Dobson (PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports) were declared the victors with only. 172 thousandths’ gap over Marcelli/Ducote/Drissi (Intersport Racing).

None of the six drivers gave an inch during the 368 laps covered by the eventual winner. « It was just fun » said Henri Richard after the podium. « To be totally honest, I didn’t know what place I was in because the team didn’t want to tell me in order to keep pressure off. It was the first time that I drove this car here and the team gave us a fantastic car. I gave the controls to Ryan, who took it to the finish. It’s a win full of fun for us today. »

The two title hopefuls were both fighting for the lead, but Jeannette/Gonzalez/Junco Jr (CORE Autosport) and Lux/Zügel/Grogor/Julian (Genoa Racing) were held up. At the end, the CORE Autosport foursome reached the 3rd step on the podium, ahead of Genoa Racing. After the final tally, it was discovered that three drivers are champions ! Jeannette, Gonzalez and Lux ! « It’s been a fantastic year and I had a lot of fun sharing the drive with Ricardo, » explained Gunnar Jeannette. « The team really went far since Sebring. » In its first year in the category, CORE Autosport takes the Teams title ahead of Genoa Racing.

Four at the Petit Le Mans and championship leader with only a three point lead arriving in Georgia, Eric Lux is also champion after an exciting race : « The start was pretty chaotic with a lot of traffic. The whole season has been tight, and the competition has been intense at each event. At the end of the day we are all racers and we all want to have intense battles, like was the case today and during the whole championship. »

The second CORE Autosport ORECA-FLM 09 of Dalziel/Montecalvo/Bennett finished in fifth place after an incident in the final laps. Contact in the early part of the race kept Performance Tech Motorsports (Boon/Nicolosi/Lueders) from contesting for the win. The trio crossed the line in sixth position.

Although the American Le Mans Series 2011 season is now complete, the final ILMC round will be held in Zhuhai in November.