Proton Porsche Leads at Midpoint of 12H Paul Ricard

Photo: Racingpixels/Creventic

Proton Competition led the Michelin 12H Paul Ricard into the overnight intervention after deciding not to pit for fuel before the race restart on Sunday morning.

The No. 73 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo, driven by Joel Sturm, Jörg Dreisow, Manuel Lauck and Constantin Dressler, completed the opening six hours of the race as first on the road but it will restart the event with much less fuel than its rivals.

A lack of pace early on saw the reigning teams’ champions drop from fourth place down to 12^th. However, an aggressive fight up the order from Porsche-contracted driver Sturm in the latter half of the race brought the car back into contention.

The cars are now placed under parc fermé conditions overnight, meaning that they keep the same fuel loads at the restart. Additionally, cars which did not finish on the lead lap will retain the same gap to the leaders when the event recommences.

GetSpeed Team PCX Racing’s No. 28 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo led the majority of the race after a dominant run from pole position, but it decided to dive into the pits with a handful of the other frontrunners at the end of the sixth hour, eventually finishing in fourth place.

A rapid opening drive for long-time Mercedes-AMG factory driver Maro Engel put the team 16 seconds ahead of the field at the end of the first stint.

From there, FIA Silver-rated driver Benjamin Paque edged out a lead of over a minute on the sister GetSpeed Team JR286 Mercedes-AMG. Strong stints from teammates Jordan Boisson and Patrick Charlaix meant the Team PCX car maintained its lead until the final moments of the race.

The No. 28 team is currently tied for the championship lead with the sister GetSpeed Team JR286 car and Ajith RedAnt Racing’s No. 93 Mercedes-AMG.

HOFOR Racing finished the opening leg of the race in second place overall and in the lead of the GT3-Am class. It was also the only car to remain on the lead lap.

A successful pit stop overcut brought it much closer to the leaders towards the end of the race, and a faster stop than both GetSpeed cars put it behind the Proton Porsche at the flag.

The title contending No. 286 entry completed the first half of the 12H Paul Ricard in third as it decided to pit a few laps before the No. 28 sister car and the HOFOR Mercedes-AMG.

Continental Racing by Simpson Motorsport rounded out the top five with its No. 69 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II after a trouble-free race.

Era Motorsport finished in eighth despite an impressive run for its No. 81 car on the debut of its Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.

Having started in eighth position, Jake Hill slingshot up the order in his opening stint, handing over the Ferrari to amateur driver Dwight Merriman in second place overall.

A consistent run from Merriman saw the car stay within the top ten until teammate Oliver Bryant took over for a double stint. Rapid pace for Bryant and pro driver Ryan Dalziel put the car in third place before it too decided to pit at the end of the race.

12H Mugello winners Sainteloc Junior Team finished in ninth place after near-constant running in the top-five before a fuel stop.

Joint championship points leaders Ajith RedAnt Racing finished in 12th position.

The championship leading No. 921 Mühlner Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup came out on top in a race-long 992 class battle with the No. 909 Red Camel-Jordans.nl Porsche.

The Mühlner entry was slapped with a 30-second time penalty for not respecting the sole Code 60 period in the race but charged back up the order to hold the upper hand towards the end of the race

Both cars decided to stop for fuel in the final fifteen minutes.

Chazel Technologie Course’s No. 920 Porsche finished Saturday’s race at the top of the 992-Am class.

Current points leaders QMMF by HRT Performance were put out of the running for the lead after early contact forced its entry into the pits for repairs.

Vortex headed the GTX class and GT4 was topped by Circuit Toys. Both teams are the sole runners in their respective classes for this weekend.

In the TCE-TCX class, asBest Racing finished ahead of Not Only Motorsport’s No. 114 Ligier JS2 R after it lost several laps early on due to a repair for a faulty oil temperature sensor.

The second half of the Michelin 12H Paul Ricard kicks off at 11:30 a.m. local time (5:30 a.m. ET) with live coverage on Creventic Motorsports TV YouTube channel featuring Radio Show Limited commentary.

Source: Sports Car 365