Sarni Motorsports Update

Sarni Motorsports Update

Racing News

April 27, 2017

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Marc Marquez held his annual COTA clinic last weekend in Round 3 of the MotoGP World Championship in Austin. Another Spaniard showed the way in MotoAmerica, IndyCar had its third winner of the year at Round 3 at Barber Motorsports Park and Lamborghini triumphed at Monza in the Blancpain GT Endurance Series Italian Round.

F1 is in Russia on Sunday, IndyCar is in Phoenix Saturday night, PWC at VIR, WorldSBK is at Assen and MotoAmerica at Road Atlanta. We get you caught up on last weekend and preview the upcoming action below.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to check out the updated SARNIMOTORSPORTS homepage for series news and schedules.

Jay Geils TV links:

Friday, April 28th: F1 - Sochi - Practice - 8:00 AM EDT NBCSN

Saturday, April 29th: F1 - Sochi - Qualifying - 8:00 AM EDT CNBC Repeat 6:00 PM EDT NBCSN

WorldSBK - Assen Race 1 - 9:00 AM EDT beIN SPORTS

MotoAmerica - Atlanta - Race 1 5:15 PM EDT - beIN SPORTS

IndyCar - Phoenix - Qualifying 7:30 PM EDT - Race - 9:00 PM EDT NBCSN

Sunday, April 30th: F1 - Sochi - Race - 7:00 AM EDT NBCSN

WorldSBK - Assen - Race 2 1:00 PM EDT beIN SPORTS

WRC - Argentina - Race - 1:30 PM EDT 11SportsHD

MotoAmerica - Atlanta - Race 2 - 2:00 PM EDT beIN SPORTS

ENJOY YOUR RACE WEEKEND!

MOTOGP - Before last weekend's Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, Marc Marquez was in eight place in the standings, 37 points behind double winner Maverick Viñales. However, some Texas cooking is just what the Doctor ordered. Marquez took the fifth in Texas - his fifth straight MotoGP win in Austin, while Valentino Rossi finished in second and left The States with the lead in the World Championship. Maverick Viñales crashed out of the Grand Prix and his DNF handed the World Championship lead to his 38 year-old Italian teammate.

Marquez is five for five at COTA

Dani Pedrosa charged into the lead from Row 2 to lead the start of the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas. Valentino Rossi followed the pair of Spanish Honda riders, but behind the leading trio, the World Championship was taking a turn for the worse for Vale's teammate.

Maverick Viñales got into a battle with Jorge Lorenzo, who got by him from sixth on the grid. Yamaha Tech 3's Johann Zarco joined the fight as well. Both Yamahas got by the Ducati of Lorenzo, but then it went south for Maverick, as he lost the front of his Yamaha, crashed out of the race and left Texas with a big goose egg.

Johann Zarco and Rossi touched, while battling for the final podium spot. Rossi was forced off line by the rookie but was judged to have gained an advantage and assessed a time penalty. Really, Rossi had no recourse but to straighten up or both riders would have crashed.

Eventually Rossi got by Pedrosa and finished far enough ahead of him, so even with the penalty, he was classified second to Marquez. LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow got by Zarco for fourth, with Ducati Team's Andrea Dovizioso finishing ahead of his former teammate Andrea Iannone, who finished seventh on the Ecstar Suzuki. Danilo Petrucci, on the satellite OCTO Pramac Ducati, bested Jorge Lorenzo on the factory Ducati. Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Jack Miller finished just ahead of rookie Jonas Folger, who was just out of the Top Ten on his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 bike.

Rossi talked about the penalty and leaving Texas with the lead in the World Championship: "It was a great surprise for me and for the team because we were struggling very much with the new bike, especially during the winter. I think we need more time to understand the setting and the way to ride it, but at the end this bike is very good, especially in the race and with the used tires. I'm so happy, because today I wasn't so far from the front and it's also the best result of my career at this track, so it's good. When I saw 'Viñales out' I started to think "I'm on top of the championship standings". I felt good and I also saw Dani having some problems, especially on the right, so I said "maybe those four points are important" and in fact it was like that. For me the penalty wasn't right. The problem is we either do it like this, or we crash together at a very dangerous point. But for me, though accepting Race Direction's decision, the mistake was made by Zarco."

Difficulties still remain with the front Michelin tire. Three rounds into the second year as sole tire supplier for the series, the lack of feel, grip and reliability is impacting the battle for series' supremacy. It is an interesting story line in the Championship as the teams get ready for Round 4, the Gran Premio Red Bull de España from Jerez de la Frontera on Sunday, May 7th.

WORLDSBK - It is know at The Cathedral. The TT Circuit Assen has a long history, as a host of bike racing in Europe and as a destination among loyal fans. It is routinely one of the best attended races on the calendar and that makes it an important race for all of the competitors.

The Dutch weather seems to always play a role in what usually turns out to be exciting racing at the track in the northern Netherlands. The day with the coolest temperatures and most probability of precipitation seems to be on Friday, with conditions improving throughout the weekend.

The passionate Dutch fans will have a hometown favorite to root for in Michael van der Mark, who rides for PATA Yamaha. He was able to climb onto the podium in last year's Race 2 and there are many who will be cheering him on to a higher step this weekend.

Jonathan Rea left the Pirelli Aragon Round with a 50 point lead after just six races, and heads to The Netherlands in control of the 2017 Championship. British riders have won 26 out of the 50 races held around Assen, and out of those Rea has his name on nine of them, meaning he is heading to yet another circuit where he is strong.

The Ducth always mob the TT Circuit Assen

Assen is the home track for the Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team. Nicky Hayden took the first podium of his World Superbike career last year at Assen, a third place in Race 1 from tenth position on the grid.

Hayden talked about the home race for his Honda team and the history in Holland: "I look forward to racing at Assen. It's a track with a lot of history and it's the home circuit for the team so, after the difficulties we experienced in Aragón almost a month ago, we'll try to have a bit more fun here. It's a very fast and flowing track and a lot comes down to the last chicane, where a lot of races are decided. I can't wait to get on track and see where we're at. As usual at this time of the year, the weather plays a key role in the weekend: looking at the forecast it seems like it'll be very variable, so we have to take advantage of every condition and be ready for anything. Let's see what we can do: hopefully we'll be able to secure some results we can be happy about."

Ducati has a great history of winning at the Ducth circuit, second in total wins for the Bologna bikes at a single circuit to only Misano; where the Italian brand has 28 wins, compared to 25 at Assen. But recently it hasn't gone so well, being shut out of Assen wins in the last four years/nine races, which is their worst drought at the Dutch track.

Aruba Ducati's Chaz Davies would like to change the results list this weekend in the Netherlands: "I'm looking forward to this weekend, especially as I think we've made some good improvements in the post-race tests at Aragon. It's going to be another opportunity to evaluate the parts that we've introduced and seemed to work really well in Spain. Assen is a completely different circuit so it will be a good test, but anyway I'm confident we've made another step forward. I've had pretty good results at Assen, in the past couple of years. We had a good pace in dry conditions but the weather is always a question mark and last year we made a strategic mistake in flag-to-flag conditions, but we learned from it so we're keen to pick up from where we left off at Aragon."

The Acerbis Dutch Round will be televised in the US on beIN SPORTS. Saturday's Race 1 is at 9:00 AM EDT, with Race 2 on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 PM Eastern.

MOTOAMERICA - Toni Elias looked very strong, sweeping both races of the opening round of the MotoAmerica series last weekend in Austin. Elias repeated last year's performance by winning both races at COTA.

Elias demonstrated that the new GSXR-1000 is at least the equal of the year old Yanaha R1. Roger Hayden followed home his Yoshimura Suzuki teammate in Race 1, followed by Bobby Fong on the Quicksilver/Latus Motors Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R. Fong was the top-finishing rider in the Bazzaz Superstock 1000 Class.

Reigning MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier crashed in Race 1 on the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory bike. He remounted to score an eighth place finish. His teammate Josh Hayes also had a crash and was only able to finish 14th in Race 1.

Toni Elias in control at COTA

Race 2 saw the double for Elias, but this time it was Beaubier who was able to get the better of Roger Hayden for the runnerup spot. Josh Hayes finished Race 2 in fourth, 11 seconds behind the lead trio and some 12 seconds ahead of fifth-placed Bobby Fong.

Toni Elias talked about his weekend in Austin: "Pulling off the double win this weekend is really good for my confidence, however, I have my boots on the ground and am concentrated on continuing my season with strong results and staying consistent at each race. All of the guys are going quick right now and it will be a fight each weekend."

There is no rest for the riders, as they complete the back end of consecutive race weekends. Elias arrives at Road Atlanta with a perfect points haul of 50 points, 14 more than Hayden, who was second and third in the two races in Texas. Beaubier, who was able to remount from his crash on Saturday to finish eighth, is third with 28 points - 22 behind Elias and just one point better than Quicksilver Latus Motors Kawasaki's Bobby Fong.

Catch the action on beIN SPORTS on Saturday at 5:15 PM Eastern and on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 PM Eastern.

FORMULA 1 - Ferrari arrives at Sochi's Russian Round leading both Drivers' and Constructors' Championships. Sochi's smooth surface, challenging turns and high fuel consumption makes it interesting for drivers and engineers alike. At 3.634 miles, Sochi is the third longest track on the Grand Prix calendar.

Due to its layout around the Olympic Village, there is a lack of run off compared to most new circuits introduced in the last decade. With Safety Cars being deployed in two of the three previous Russian GPs, taking those historical figures, there is a 66% chance of seeing the Mercedes-Benz AMG Safety Car. The Grand Prix is 53 laps, with drivers shifting 40 times per lap, for a total of 2120 gear changes.

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel talked about his approach entering this weekend's Russian Grand Prix: "We have a good car and the challenge for this year will be to make sure that we keep on having a good one. I think everybody will improve their own cars and we'll do our best as well. I'm looking forward to this weekend as we seem to be closer to our competitors than last year. Of course we had an excellent start to the season, but Mercedes are still very strong. It should be an interesting race. I like the track and it's not an easy one. It's difficult to have everything in one lap and there's always a couple of things to look out for. Tomorrow will be an important day. We are happy with where we are and about the races we've had so far, but especially this year we have to focus on every single step."

Vettel leads the World Drivers' Championship

As the big boys at Mercedes and Ferrari slug it out on top, teams like America's Haas F1 do their best to stay in touch with the front runners. One of the things that the team hopes will help them is a switch from Brembo brakes to Carbon Industrie brake products this weekend in Russia. It will be interesting to see if it makes a difference.

There has been a change to the race track for year four. The circuit has added a raised surface on the exit of Turn 2 to keep drivers from cutting the corner. Look for drivers to test the new configuration in practice and Charlie Whiting's conviction in the race.

The Formula 1 VTB Russian Grand Prix is on Sunday at 7:00 AM EDT on NBCSN. Practice tomorrow is on at 8:00 AM EDT, with Qualifying at the same time on Saturday morning. Qualifying however, will be televised on CNBC. Time for a Stoli Blood Mary or two. Comrade.

INDYCAR - With pressure mounting on the Team Penske juggernaut to take their first season win, it was the youngest and newest member of the team to do so at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama last Sunday. In only his third race with the squad, Josef Newgarden put in a charge through the field, which included passes on Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach winner James Hinchcliffe and Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon to challenge his Team Penske teammate and polesitter Will Power at the front.

Unfortunately for Will Power, a slow leak in his right rear Firestone tire forced him to pit with just 13 laps to go, relinquishing the lead to his Team Penske teammate. Scott Dixon hounded Newgarden, but couldn't make the pass for the win. Simon Pagenaud made it two podium finishers for Penske. His teammate Helio Castroneves made it a Penske 1-3-4 finish, with Will Power settling for 14th in Alabama.

Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud

Newgarden talked about the Barber win: "This is a good one to have, I think we earned it," said Newgarden, who started the race seventh. "This was a great car this weekend. We were on it.

"I think it was shaping up to be a really great battle for me, Dixon and Will, and it ended just being between Dixon and me. I feel bad for Will. I wish he could have been in that with us, but sometimes that's the way it rolls."

Dixon finished second for the fifth time at Barber and for the 34th time in his Indy car career, tying Michael Andretti for fourth all time. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver has reached the podium seven times in the eight races on the Alabama track but never won.

Dixon jumped two spots in the season standings to second place and is within six points of the championship lead after the third of 17 races this season. But the driver of the No. 9 NTT Data Honda lamented the pass Newgarden made on him for second place on a Lap 69 restart.

"I saw him late coming into (Turn) 15 or 16 on the last restart and I tried to turn down, but the car was just so neutral I just didn't have the rear grip to pull it off," Dixon said. "Kudos to Josef; he drove a hell of a race and the win was well deserved. The NTT Data car was strong in the race. I think we actually had the speed. I think if we would have had clean air in that race, we would have checked out."

It's back to back races and back to the ovals for the Verizon IndyCar series as they race under the lights in the desert outside of Phoenix this Saturday night. It is the first of six oval races on the calendar. The Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix will be the 63rd Indy car race at Phoenix Raceway since the track opened in 1964. Al Unser has the most wins by an Indy car driver at the track (six). Helio Castroneves (2002), Tony Kanaan (2003 and 2004) and Scott Dixon (2016) are the past Phoenix winners entered in this year's race.

Alexander Rossi is coming off a great run in Alabama, where he finished fifth, after starting in 18th in the No. 98 Andrettiti Autosport Honda. He talked about carrying that forward to this weekend in Phoenix: "Looking back on the Phoenix test, I think we made a big improvement from where we were last year, so I am looking forward to getting back there and trying to capitalize on that. It's going to be interesting with the new format that we have - but that's the same for everyone. It is going to be a busy, busy Friday. We need to make sure we execute well and come out of the box strong. It's all about qualifying there, so hopefully we can start up front and have a good race."

The Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix is Saturday night, with an NBCSN race broadcast at 9:00 PM Eastern, following the Qualifying broadcast at 7:30 PM Eastern.

FORMULA E - It is two more weeks before the first European Round of the Formula E 2016/2017 season. The Monaco ePrix is on May 13th.

Sebastien Buemi The Blur

The 12-round calendar wraps up at the end of July, with double rounds in both New York City and Montreal. Check out the 2016/2017 Formula E CALENDAR .

PIRELLI WORLD CHALLENGE - The Nissan PWC Grand Prix of VIRginia International Raceway kicks off the SprintX part of the calendar. Rounds 1 and 2 will be run in SprintX GT, SprintX GT Cup and SprintX GTS. The PWC SprintX format requires two drivers and a mandatory pit stop and driver change during its 60-minute run time.

In addition, GTS will run Rounds 3 and 4, with Touring Car, TCA and TCB making their season debuts. It's a doubleheader weekend for all 7 classes in action at VIR.

PWC race lengths for the SprintX GT/GTA/GT Cup will be 60 minutes (two drivers) and GT4/GTS class will be 50 minutes. The Touring Car/TCA/TCB classes will be 40 minutes.

There are over 105 entries for this weekend at the 3.27-mile, 17- turn road circuit. In addition to the 36 SprintX entries, fifty-five entries are set for the Touring Car opening rounds of the 2017 PWC season including 32 in TC.

Cadillac Racing is joined by the Taylor Brothers for the VIR SprintX GT races

Here are some of the pairings in the SprintX GT Class: Alvaro Parente will be teamed with Ben Barnicoat of England in the No. 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S. The other team car sees Jonny Kane join Bryan Sellers in the No. 6 McLaren.

Jörg Bergmeister of Germany joins Patrick Long in the No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. The Cadillac Racing SprintX lineup brings the current Rolex 24 at Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring winners to VIR with Ricky and Jordan Taylor matching up with PWC regulars Johnny O'Connell and Michael Cooper. It is hard to believe, but this will be O'Connell's first race at VIR.

"I have never raced at VIR before, but have done a fair amount of testing there in our Cadillac ATS-V.R Coupe," he continued. "I have also done a good amount of production car testing over the last few years. I am looking forward to finally competing there this weekend."

In the the No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari 488 GT3, Canadian Kyle Marcelli joins Spain's Alex Riberas. The No. 31 TC3 Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 will see a pair of Italian drivers entered, with veteran Andrea Montermini joining Daniel Mancinelli. Ryan Dalziel teams up with Daniel Morad in the No. 2 CRP Racing/DeVibliss Mercedes AMG GT3.

RealTime Racing drivers, Ryan Eversley and Peter Kox will have Tom Dyer in Eversley's No. 43 Acura NSX GT3 at VIR, while Mark Wilkins will team up in Kox's No. 93 Acura NSX GT3.

Magnus Racing has another strong lineup, with Pierre Kaffer and Spencer Pumpelly in the No. 4 Audi RS8 LMS sports car at VIR. Bentley brings PWC regular Adderly Fong of Hong Kong and Vincent Abril of Monaco in the No. 88 Absolute Racing Bentley Continental GT3.

In the big Pro/Am class, 2016 GT Cup champion Alec Udell and two-time SprintX winner Preston Calvert will be paired at VIR in the No. 77 Calvert Dynamics/GMG Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. SprintX winner Michael Lewis joins Mike Hedlund in the No. 98 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S.

Last year's GTA Champion Martin Fuentes returns to Pirelli World Challenge action with the No. 7 Hublot/Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 with former F1 and IndyCar driver Stefan Johansson. Henrique Cisneros also returns to PWC at VIR in Pro-Am driving the MOMO/NGT Motorsports Ferrari 458 GT3 with Tyler McQuarrie.

Another former GTA series champion Frankie Montecalvo will team with Ricardo Sanchez in the No. 75 Always Evolving/AIM Autosport Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 in the Pro/Am class. Mike Skeen is joined in the No. 82 McCann Racing Audi RS 8 LMS with team owner Mike McCann.

Others in the Pro/Am division will be Laurens Vanthoor/James Sofronas in the No. 14 GMG Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R; Jan Heylen/Michael Schein in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R; Marco Seefried/John Potter in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Audi RS 8 LMS; Jeroen Bleekemolen/Tim Pappas in the No. 54 Black Swan Racing Mercedes AMG GT3; Aaron Povoledo/David Askew in the No. 63 Uaslco/DXDT Racing Mercedes AMG GT3; Alexandre Negrao/ Alexandre Negrao Sr. in the No. 92 MCC Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3; Jonathan Summerton/Michael Macs in the No. 111 Dime Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 and Cedric Sbirrazzuoli/Lawrence Degeorge in the No. 07 Dream Racing Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3.

The No. 007 Lasalle Solutions/Adobe Road Winery/TMG-AMR Aston Martin GT3 entry of Kris Wilson and Drew Regitz lead the GT Am/Am category at VIR. Also entered in GT Am/Am is former Superbike racer Larry Pegram, driving the No. 23 M1GT Racing Audi R8 LMS Ultra with James Dayson.

Check out the full entry list for all classes and weekend schedule with streaming links at VIR. CBS Sports Network will air the VIR races during the first two weeks of May. We will keep you updated on the TV broadcasts if you miss the live stream this weekend.

WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP - The Advance Auto Parts SportsCar Showdown at Circuit of The Americas is next weekend; May 4th - 6th.

This will be the first stand alone event for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at COTA. Previously the series has shared the weekend with the FIA WEC. The Le Mans set may be surprised to see fewer fans when the visit in September without the doubleheader weekend; especially with just a two manufacturer battle in LMP1.

Keep an eye on the No. 52 PR1 Ligier

Onroak Automotive has worked closely with PR1/Mathiasen Racing to develop its brand new LM P2 competitor, the Gibson V8-powered Ligier JS P217. Team Owner Bobby Oergel talked about the learning curve and expectations on his team this year, since their move up to the Prototype Class from PC: "We've obviously stepped into a bigger ocean. The hardest thing for us so far has been getting some of these checklist items out of the way that have faltered otherwise good runs."

PR1 completed a successful test day at Circuit of The Americas in early April and is eager to return to the 3.4-mile, 20-turn circuit next weekend for the fourth WeatherTech Championship race of 2017.

There are 40 cars entered in all four classes for the Advance Auto Parts SportsCar Challenge at COTA. There are 10 Prototypes entered at Austin, with an additional four PC cars. The entries in GTLM are the same, but with one change in the driver lineup. Wolf Henzler takes over in the No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR alongside Laurens Vanthoor for the Porsche GT Team.

GTD is the biggest class in the race, with 17 entries and the addition of local Lone Star Racing, which makes its 2017 series debut in its home state event. Co-drivers Dan Knox and Mike Skeen will share the team's No. 80 ACS Manufacturing Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the first of four planned WeatherTech Championship events this season.

In addition to the WeatherTech race, the Continental Tire Challenge, Super Trofeo and Porsche GT3 Cup races are on the weekend schedule in Austin. For tickets and other event info check out COTA. The same day broadcast from COTA is on FS1 at 7:00 PM Eastern.

BLANCPAIN GT SERIES - The first endurance race of the 2017 Blancpain GT Series saw the No. 63 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini of Mirko Bortolotti, Andrea Caldarelli and Christian Engelhart top the No. 50 Spirit of Race Ferrari car by 29 seconds for the win. The No. 84 Mercedes-AMG Team HTP Motorsport car inherited the final spot on the podium when the No. 75 ISR Audi retired with just six minutes to go.

Lamborghini Wins The 3 Hours of Monza

Jonny Adam put in a fantastic final stint to take the Pro-Am win in the No. 97 Oman Racing Team with TF Sport Aston Martin. In Am Cup, it was the No. 961 AF Corse Ferrari that took the class win.

The race was red-flagged for 20 minutes after a crash at the start took out more than a dozen cars. The No. 19 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini left the braking point for the first chicane until the last second, causing a spin in front of the oncoming cars and a chain reaction. Some 16 cars were involved in the crash, but fortunately no driver was injured. The necessary race stoppage to clear the track was completed and after a safety car start the race could get truly underway.

Christian Engelhart, driver of the race-winning Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini talked about getting the win in front of over 20,000 Italian race fans in a Lambo: "This is amazing. I've been watching this Series for a long time before I made my debut at the Nürburgring last year, and now to be in it, to be working with this team and these drivers is just a dream for me. For the championship this win is important, and now we want to be at the front at all of the races."

The next round of the Blancpain GT Series will be held in Brands Hatch. The second sprint event of 2017 takes place on May 6th and 7th.

FIA WEC - Sébastien Buemi, Anthony Davidson and Kazuki Nakajima, in the No. 8 Toyota GAZOO Racing TS050 HYBRID claimed the Royal Automobile Club International Tourist Trophy as winners of The 6 Hours of Silverstone.

During one of the rainy periods in the race, José María López crashed the polesitting No. 7 Toyota, but made it back to the pits for repairs. It took the team over an hour to piece the car together for a 23rd place finish.

Porsche was running a low downforce setup for the race, compared to the aero on the Toyota, but managed second and third place finishes.

Sébastien Buemi pitted for fresh Michelins with 30 minutes to go and ran down Brendon Hartley in the No. 2 Porsche 919 Hybrid, passing him with 12 minutes remaining for the win. Nick Tandy, Neel Jani and André Lotterer completed the podium in the No. 1 Porsche.

Toyota took Round 1 at Silverstone

In LMP2 it was Jackie Chan DC Racing, with drivers Oliver Jarvis, Thomas Laurent and Ho-Pin Tung, who took the class win in the JOTA-Sport run car. The Vaillante Rebellion trio of Bruno Senna, Nicolas Prost and Julien Canal finished 20 seconds back in second place. The TDS Racing ORECA-Gibson driven by Mathieu Vaxivière, Emmanuel Collard and François Perrodo finished third in LMP2.

The LMGTE Pro Class win went to British driver Harry Tincknell in the No. 67 Ford GT. Pipo Derani, who was racing for the first time in GTE Pro ran the middle stint in the race-winning No. 67 Ford GT. Andy Priaulx claimed pole and started the race.

The Ford GTs ran first and second during the opening laps before the No. 67 GT had to pit early with a technical issue. This put their strategy out of sync with the rest of the class so while the No. 66 Ford was in the lead the No. 67 was way down the field. A safety car later in the race completely turned this on its head and the No. 66 GT lost its 30-second lead and fell down the order.

Clearwater Racing went from third to first on the last lap to take the LMGTE Am win. The No. 98 Aston Martin of Pedro Lamy was leading, but the No. 54 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GTE of Miguel Molina tried to get by and spun the pair, allowing Matt Bell to take the win

Next on the schedule is the 6 Hours of Spa on May 6th. Look for Porsche to be strong at the legendary Belgian Circuit as they perfect their low downforce set up for Le Mans

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