Road to Le Mans

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Road to Le Mans
Michelin Le Mans Cup
VenueCircuit de la Sarthe
First race2016
First MLMC race2016
Duration2x 55 Minutes
Most wins (team)Luxembourg DKR Engineering

The Road to Le Mans is a sports car race held annually at the Circuit de la Sarthe, in Le Mans, France. It serves as a support event for the main race, the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans. The race was first run in 2016, as a one-hour event, forming part of the Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup, in its inaugural season.[1]

History[edit]

The race was announced on 13 November 2015, a support race for LMP3 cars, competing in series sanctioned by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, and GT3 cars competing in the Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup. It would by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest with the collaboration of Le Mans Endurance Management (promoter of the Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup Series)[2] It was announced to be a non-championship race for the LMP3 cars, while all full-season entrants of the GT3 Le Mans Cup would receive automatic invitations to the race.[2] For the inaugural race in 2016, a total of 39 cars were entered, with 22 LMP3 and 17 GT3 cars. [3] The race was the first time that GT3 and LMP3 cars had competed on the full Circuit de la Sarthe.[4]

In 2017, the race was announced to be returning on the Le Mans support calendar, albeit with a number of changes. The event was expanded to comprise 2x 55 minute long races, with up to 46 cars competing, instead of 42 in the previous year.[5]

Race Winners[edit]

Year Race Drivers Team Car Drivers Team Car Duration/Distance
LMP3 GT3
2016 France Alexandre Cougnaud
France Thomas Laurent
China DC Racing Ligier JS P3 Russia Aleksey Basov
Russia Viktor Shaytar
Russia SMP Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 13 laps
2017 1 United States Sean Rayhall
United States John Falb
United Kingdom United Autosports Ligier JS P3 Oman Ahmad Al Harthy
United Kingdom Tom Jackson
United Kingdom TF Sport Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 13 laps
2 Spain Alexander Toril
Belgium Jean Glorieux
Luxembourg DKR Engineering Norma M30 Oman Ahmad Al Harthy
United Kingdom Tom Jackson
United Kingdom TF Sport Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 13 laps
2018 1 Denmark Mikkel Jensen
Netherlands Kay Van Berio
United States EuroInternational Ligier JS P3 Italy Piergiuseppe Perazzini
Italy Marco Cioci
Italy AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 13 laps
2 United Kingdom Michael Benham
United Kingdom Duncan Tappy
United Kingdom Lanan Racing Norma M30 Switzerland Christoph Ulrich
Italy Maurizio Mediani
Switzerland Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3 12 laps
2019 1 France Adrian Chila
France Nicolas Schatz
France Graff Norma M30 Denmark Mikkel Mac
France Fabien Lavergne
United States Luzich Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 11 laps
2 France François Kirmann
Germany Laurents Hörr
Luxembourg DKR Engineering Norma M30 Denmark Mikkel Mac
France Fabien Lavergne
United States Luzich Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 14 laps
2020 1 Belgium Jean Glorieux
Germany Laurents Hörr
Luxembourg DKR Engineering Duqueine M30 - D08 Italy Andrea Caldarelli
Japan Hiroshi Hamaguchi
China Orange1 FFF Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 13 laps
2 France Edouard Cauhaupé
France Nicolas Maulini
Switzerland Cool Racing Ligier JS P320 Italy Andrea Caldarelli
Japan Hiroshi Hamaguchi
China Orange1 FFF Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 12 laps
2021 1 United Kingdom Anthony Wells
United Kingdom Colin Noble
United Kingdom Nielsen Racing Ligier JS P320 Finland Rory Penttinen
United States Logan Sargeant
Italy Iron Lynx Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 12 laps
2 Germany Moritz Kranz
Belgium Ugo de Wilde
Belgium Mühlner Motorsport Duqueine M30 - D08 France Julien Andlauer
Switzerland Nicolas Leutwiler
Switzerland Pzoberer Zürichsee by TFT Porsche 911 GT3 R 13 laps
2022 1 France Tom Dillmann
Germany Alexander Mattschull
Switzerland Racing Spirit of Leman Ligier JS P320 Italy Emanuele Busnelli
Italy Fabio Babini
Italy Ebimotors Porsche 911 GT3 R 12 laps
2 United Kingdom Michael Benham
United Kingdom Duncan Tappy
Switzerland Cool Racing Ligier JS P320 Denmark Kasper H. Jensen
Denmark Kristian Poulsen
Denmark GMB Motorsport Honda NSX GT3 Evo22 11 laps
2023 1 Portugal Manuel Espírito Santo
United Kingdom Martin Rich
Poland Team Virage Ligier JS P320 Germany Max Hesse
United Kingdom Tim Whale
Belgium Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 11 laps
2 Switzerland Luis Sanjaun
Switzerland David Droux
Switzerland Cool Racing Ligier JS P320 France Jérôme Policand
Italy Valentino Rossi
Belgium Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 11 laps

References[edit]

  1. ^ Dagys, John. "ACO Launches Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup for 2016 – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Road to Le Mans as a curtain-raiser to the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours". www.europeanlemansseries.com. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Entry List For The Road To Le Mans Race Revealed – dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  4. ^ Kilshaw, Jake. "39 Cars on Road to Le Mans Entry List – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  5. ^ Kilshaw, Jake. "Updated Road to Le Mans Format Revealed; Extra Race Added – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 17 July 2019.