2019 Road to Le Mans

The 4th Road to Le Mans was an automobile endurance event composed of two 55-minute races contested by 49 teams of two drivers each racing Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) and Group GT3 (GT3) cars. It took place on 13 and 15 June 2019 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, near Le Mans, France, as a support event for the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans and it was the third round of the 2019 Le Mans Cup. The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) organised the fourth Road to Le Mans race along with the Le Mans Cup promoter Le Mans Endurance Management.

A Norma M30-Nissan car shared by Adrien Chila and Nicolas Schatz of Graff won the first race after starting from fifth position and taking the lead when the Lanan Racing team of Michael Benham and Duncan Tappy were penalised for an unsafe release during the mandatory pit stops. The DKR Engineering pair of Marco Cencetti and Marcello Marateotto finished in second and Colin Noble and Anthony Wells of Nielsen Racing were third. The GT3 category was won by the Luzich Racing duo of Fabien Lavergne and Mikkel Mac from SPS Automotive Performance's Tom Onslow-Cole and Valentin Pierburg. The second race was won by the DKR duo of Laurents Hörr and François Kirmann after overtaking Jacques Wolff in the final four laps. Benham and Tappy repeated their first race result in second and Chila and Schatz completed the overall podium in third. Lavergne and Mac led every lap in GT3 and completed a victory sweep at Le Mans by 1.2 seconds ahead of Beechdean AMR's Ross Gunn and Andrew Howard.

The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) organised the 2019 Road to Le Mans for Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) and Group GT3 (GT3) cars along with the Michelin Le Mans Cup promoter Le Mans Endurance Management, the ACO's event organisation branch. It took place at the 13.626 km (8.467 mi) Circuit de la Sarthe, near Le Mans, France on 13 and 15 June 2019. This was the fourth running of the race, the third round in the 2019 Le Mans Cup and it served as a support event for the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans.^[1][2][3]

Michael Benham and Duncan Tappy led the LMP3 Drivers' Championship with 50 championship points following victories at Paul Ricard and Monza. They were 13 championship points ahead of the second-placed Laurents Hörr and François Kirmann and 20 in front of Colin Noble and Anthony Wells in third.^[4] Sergio Pianezzola and Giacomo Piccini led the GT3 Drivers' Championship with 44 championship points and one class victory, three ahead of the second-placed Fabien Lavergne and Mikkel Mac.^[5] The No. 25 Lanan Racing team led the LMP3 Teams' Championship with 50 championship points, leading the No. 3 DKR Engineering squad by 13 championship points.^[6] With 44 championship points, the No. 8 Kessel Racing team led the LMP3 Teams' Championship by three championship points over the No. 71 Luzich Racing squad.^[7]

Entry to the race was open from 11 March to 4 April 2019 and a maximum of 50 cars could participate.^[8] A selection committee invited all current Le Mans Cup entrants and selected one-off entries to the race. All full-time Le Mans Cup entrants automatically earned invitations. Teams competing in Le Mans-based endurance racing series such as the Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS), the Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup, the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) and the IMSA SportsCar Championship received priority in getting invitations.^[1][2][8] Each car was piloted by two drivers and each team had to sign a Bronze-rated driver and either a second Bronze-rated or a Silver or Gold-rated racer. A driver was permitted no more than at least 20 minutes to drive on the track and the race regulations dictated a change of driver during the mandatory pit stops.^[8] According to the race's regulations, all teams had to make a mandatory pit stop lasting no less than two minutes between the 22nd and 32nd minutes of both races. All full-time Le Mans Cup competitors in both classes were eligible to score championship points provided they finished anywhere from first and below. The two pole position winners for each of the two races in each class received one championship point.^[8]

The entry list was published by the ACO on 23 April 2019.^[9] The 50-car entry list included 33 LMP3 and 17 GT3 vehicles.^[10] In addition to the 34 guaranteed Le Mans Cup entries, there were 11 ELMS entries, one each from the ALMS and the FIA World Endurance Championship while the rest of the field was filled with one-off entries only competing at Le Mans.^[1][11] There were two manufacturers represented in the LMP3 and they were Ligier and Norma with Adess and Ginetta cars absent.^[9] There were six manufacturers (Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche) who were represented in the GT3 category.^[2][9] Ferrari was the most represented manufacturer in GT3 with nine cars while Lamborghini and Porsche were represented by just one team each.^[10] A crew of three disabled drivers sharing a modified Ligier JS P3-Nissan was entered by Filière Frédéric Sausset by SRT41 as preparation for a potential future entry to the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans.^[12][13] Pianezzola was the only driver and Graff, Inter Europol Competition, Kessel Racing, RLR Msport, Spirit of Race, TF Sport and United Autosports were the seven teams to participate in both the Road to Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.^[14][15] There were four entries that were listed as reserves.^[9]

Two one-hour practice sessions were held on the evening of 12 June and the morning of 13 June.^[8] Noble set the fastest time of the first practice session with a lap of 3:54.896 done in the No. 2 Nielsen Racing Norma M30 car. The No. 24 United Autosports Ligier entry driven by Wayne Boyd was second, ahead of Hörr's No. 3 DKR Norma vehicle. The session was temporarily stopped when the No. 74 Cool Racing Ligier went off the circuit and crashed into the wall.^[16] Mac aboard the No. 71 Luzich Ferrari lapped fastest in the GT3 class with a time of 3:58.083 that was good enough for sixth overall. Valentin Pierburg in the No. 40 SPS Automotive Performance Mercedes was second-quickest. The No. 95 Bentley Team Africa Le Mans car stopped on the circuit, necessitating a short Slow Zone period for its recovery.^[16]

The circuit was declared wet for the beginning of the second practice session and rain fell on Le Mans to create a slippery surface for drivers and squads.^[17] Matt Bell was the pace setter in the No. 22 United Autosports Ligier car with a lap time of 4:00.120, more than five seconds slower than the previous day's pace. Bell was almost a second faster than Benham's No. 25 Lanan entry in second.^[17] Pianezzola led the GT3 category with a 4:09.140 lap set in the No. 8 Kessel Ferrari and was fast enough for sixth overall. Flick Haigh's No. 97 TF Aston Martin was 0.120 seconds slower in second.^[17]

There were two 20-minute qualifying sessions held on the afternoon of 13 June to set the starting order for both races. The first session saw any one driver be allowed by their teams to participate and determine the starting grid for the first race. Each team's Bronze-rated driver partook in the second session to set the starting order for the second race.^[8] In dry weather conditions,^[18] Hörr carried the No. 3 DKR Norma entry to provisional pole position early in the first qualifying session until Tappy's No. 25 Lanan car lapped faster than him. Hörr set the fastest first and second sectors to set a LMP3-category lap record of 3:49.570 to achieve pole position. Tappy's effort was good enough to secure second place.^[19] Yann Ehrlacher qualified the No. 19 M Racing vehicle in third position, ahead of Noble's No. 2 Nielsen entry and Nicolas Schatz's No. 39 Graff car.^[18] Ross Gunn took the maiden Le Mans Cup pole position of his career with a lap time of 3:55.887 in the No. 99 Beechdean AMR Aston Martin. The No. 97 TF Aston Martin of Tom Gamble was second in class.^[19] Mac carried the No. 71 Luzich Ferrari to third.^[18]

The second qualifying session took place in dry weather conditions.^[20] It saw Benham's No. 25 Lanan Norma car achieve pole position with a lap time of 3:54.308 set at the conclusion of the session. Kirman's No. 3 DKR entry was three-tenths of a second slower in second place.^[21] Freddie Hunt's No. 15 RLR Msport entry set the third-quickest lap, followed by Marcello Marateotto's No. 5 DKR car and Nicolas Mélin's No. 11 Racing Experience car.^[20] Lavergne put the No. 71 Luzich Ferrari on pole position in the GT3 category with a 3:59.877 lap set at the end of qualifying. Pierburg aboard the No. 40 SPS Automotive Mercedes was 3.6 slower in second and the No. 99 Beechdean Aston Martin driven by Andrew Howard was third.^[21] Qualifying was stopped after nine minutes to recover a vehicle that was stuck in the first chicane's gravel trap and to remove debris, resulting in the quickest lap times being set at the conclusion of the session.^[21]

Teams who set the pole position lap time in each class in the two qualifying sessions are denoted in bold and by a †.

The first 55-minute race commenced at 17:30 local time on 13 June.^[8] It was held in dry weather conditions ranging from 20.4 to 21.25 °C (68.72 to 70.25 °F) and a track temperature between 25.75 and 26.65 °C (78.35 and 79.97 °F).^[24] When the race began, Ehrlacher in the No. 19 M Racing entry made a fast start from third position to take the race lead from Kirman's No. 3 DKR car through Dunlop Curve turn and into the Esses while James Littlejohn moved the No. 18 Nielsen car to third.^[25][26] In GT3, Gunn maintained the category lead as Lavergne was quick and moved into second in class while the No. 97 TF Aston Martin dropped from second to fourth as Tom Onslow-Cole's No. 40 SPS Mercedes moved to third in GT3.^[26][27] At the end of lap one, Kirman entered the pit lane for a replacement nose cone because the No. 3 DKR vehicle sustained front-end damage from an unseen incident.^[27][28] Bell was now second overall in the No. 22 United Autosports car while Wells's No. 2 Nielsen car dropped out of the top ten after starting in fourth.^[26]

Around a third into the race, the No. 9 Graff Norma car driven by Adrien Trouillet went off the circuit on the exit of the Karting section of the Porsche Curves and struck the inside concrete barrier. The circuit was littered with broken polystyrene advertising boards, leading to the safety car's deployment.^[26][29] The safety car period allowed all of the teams to make their mandatory pit stops,^[27][28] as the debris was removed from the circuit,^[26] elongating the clean-up period.^[29] The No. 19 M Racing car that was now driven by Laurent Millara remained the outright leader during the pit stops.^[29] GT3 saw Howard maintained the class lead the No. 99 Beechdean Aston Martin had held since the start of the race. When racing resumed with 19 minutes remaining, Tappy had moved into second and overtook Millara to claim the overall lead. Tappy pulled the No. 25 Lanan Norma car clear from the rest of the field.^[26] Schatz was fourth but moved into second with passes on Jim McGuire's No. 22 United Autosports car and Millara.^[27][28]

Pierburg in the No. 40 SPS Mercedes was gaining on the GT3 class leading Howard but Mac's No. 71 Luzich Ferrari soon caught and overtook both cars to claim the category lead with 12 minutes left.^[26][28] The overall-leading No. 25 Lanan car was imposed a drive-through penalty for an unsafe release from the pit box that resulted in contact with a United Autosports vehicle exiting the pit lane.^[25][28] Tappy took the penalty with eight minutes to go dropped to fifth while the overall lead went to Schatz. Tappy was able to recover to fourth with a pass on Millara. At the front, Schazt maintained the No. 39 Graff car's lead to achieve overall victory for himself and co-driver Adrien Chila. They were 4.515 seconds ahead of DKR's Marco Cencetti and Marateotto in second. The Nielsen pair of Noble and Wells completed the podium in third position. The Luzich team of Lavergne and Mac won the GT3 category race by 15 seconds from the second-placed SPS duo of Onslow-Cole and Pierburg. The Spirit of Race pair of Maurizio Mediani and Christoph Ulrich completed the class podium in third.^[26][29]

Winners in each class are denoted in bold and ‡

The second 55-minute race commenced at 11:30 local time on 15 June.^[8] It was held in dry weather conditions ranging from 17.62 and 19.2 °C (63.72 and 66.56 °F) and a track temperature between 20 to 20.57 °C (68.00 to 69.03 °F).^[31] 49 cars were due to take the start,^[32] but the No. 74 Cool Racing and No. 62 Kessel entries did not start for unknown reasons.^[3] At the start of the race, Kirmann overtook the pole sitting No. 25 Lanan car of Benham at turn one for the race lead.^[33] Hunt ran across the gravel trap the Dunlop Curve and went straight across the first chicane across the front of the pack. He returned to the circuit without suffering from a collision.^[33][34] Further back, the GT3 pole sitting No. 8 Kessel Ferrari of Piccini held the class lead for the first lap until Piccini was passed by Lavergne's No. 71 Luzich Ferrari on lap two. That same lap saw the No. 30 CD Sport car of Kevin Bole-Besançon overtake Benham for second.^[35][36]

At the beginning of lap three, Bole-Besançon became the race leader when Kirmann and Benham went off the track at the exit to the forest esses and hitting the barriers side-on at Tertre Rouge corner, resulting in Kirmann and Benham batting each other until a slow zone between the first two chicanes.^[33][34] Hunt passed Chila for fourth overall as Lavergne led GT3 from Pianezzola and Pierburg.^[33] Bole-Besançon increased his lead over the rest of the field to eight seconds by the time of the mandatory pit stops.^[34] The No. 30 CD Sport team were the last to make a compulsory pit stop,^[36] while Kirmann and Benham made their stops immediately.^[33][34] Following the pit stops, Jacques Wolff had relieved Bole-Besançon and continued to hold the No. 30 CD Sport car's lead while GT3 continued to be led by Mac's No. 71 Luzich Ferrari from Onslow-Cole's No. 40 SPS Mercedes.^[33] Wolff was not as fast as his co-driver,^[25] as Hörr overtook Tappy on the outside of the banked Indianapolis corner for second.^[33]

Hörr then caught and passed Wolff at Tertre Rouge corner for the race lead on lap nine. At the entry to the second chicane, Tappy overtook Wolff for second place on the same lap. Gunn overtook Piccini for third in GT3 while Onslow-Cole closed up to class leader Mac.^[33][34] The No. 30 CD Sport entry was imposed a six-second stop-and-go-penalty because its pit stop was faster than the mandated two minutes, promoting the No. 39 Graff vehicle of Schatz to third.^[33][35] A slow zone was imposed for the sister No. 60 CD entry of Nick Adcock who spun at the first chicane, resulting in the car stalling. A Slow Zone was enforced to allow a tractor to extricate Adcock's stricken car.^[33] With six minutes remaining, Onslow-Cole ran straight across the Dunlop chicane, moving Gunn to second in GT3.^[33][36] On the final lap, Wolff spun at Tertre Rouge corner, delaying Gunn who had caught up to Mac.^[25][35] Hörr maintained the lead for the rest of the race to secure himself and Kirmann the overall victory,^[36] putting them and DKR eight points behind Benham and Tappy and Lanan Racing in the LMP3 Drivers' and Teams' standings.^[4][6] The Lanan duo of Benham and Tappy finished 4.876 seconds behind in second after Tappy was unable to keep up with Hörr's pace. The Graff team of Chila and Schatz completed the podium positions in third.^[34][37] Luzich's Lavergne and Mac completed a clean sweep of GT3 class victories at Le Mans for the team's third win of the season, 1.272 seconds ahead of the No. 99 Beechdean Aston Martin,^[34] putting Luzich and their drivers into the lead of both the GT3 Drivers' and Teams' Championships.^[5][7] The No. 40 SPS Mercedes was another six seconds behind in third.^[33]

Winners in each class are denoted in bold and ‡

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for the Drivers' and Teams' Championship standings.

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