Imsa Performance Matmut takes GT2 win

The LMGT2 category saw a great deal of drama and was eventually won by the #76 Imsa Performance Matmut Porsche 911 GT3 RSR driven by Raymond Narac, Richard Lietz and Patrick Long.

#76 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 997 GT3-RSR: Raymond Narac, Richard Lietz, Patrick Long.

Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt.

The #76 car initially took the lead but dropped back and the #93 Team Autorlando Sport Porsche 911 GT3 RSR driven by Pierre Ehret, Lars Erik Nielsen and Allan Simonsen took over, but itself lost out to the #97 Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 GT of Mika Salo that took the lead in the fifth hour.

There was a close battle for second place between the #93 Team Autorlando Sport Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Lars Erik Nielsen, the #87 Team Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari F430 GTC of Chris Niarchos, and the #76 Imsa Performancec Matmut Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Patrick Long, with the #93 car one minute ahead of the #87 car which was just over half a minute ahead of #76, but Long was lapping the quickest.

The other Risi Competizione entry, the #99 Ferrari 430 GT of Colin Braun was running in a lonely fifth place a couple of laps ahead of the #78 Team AF Corse Ferrari 430 GT of Joe Macari.

The #85 Team Spyker Squadron BV C8 Spyder GT2 had been running in fifth but went off at the Michelin Chicane in the tenth hour and hit the barrier, forcing Andrea Belicchi to tour back to the garage and have significant repairs to the front of the car before rejoining in seventh place.

The #80 Flying Lizard Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 RSR driven by Johannes van Overbeek, Seth Neiman and Jorg Bergmeister dropped out of contention in the early hours of the night after the car suffered gearbox problems had a lengthy pitstop in order to reconstruct the gearbox.

Andrew Kirkaldy had a quick spin at the exit of the final corner in the #87 Team Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari F430 GTC while running in second place in the LMGT2 class and chasing the leader Jaime Melo in the #97 Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 GT.

Melo then spun on some oil and damaged the front of the #97 Ferrari that caused a leak in a radiator requiring it to be changed, but his started a sequence of problems which ultimately resulted in retirement from the race with water pump failure.

The third-placed LMGT2 car picked up a right-front puncture and Lars Erik Nielsen carefully drove the #93 Team Autorlando Sport Porsche 911 GT3 RSR back to the pitlane with damaged bodywork, promoting the #99 Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 GT of Tracy Krohn to third place in the class.

Tim Mullen, the leader of the LMGT2 class in the #87 Team Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari F430 GTC, suddenly slowed pulled off the circuit along the Hunaudieres straight. He was passed by the #76 Imsa Performance Matmut Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Richard Lietz, which had initially led the class at the start of the race and soon built out a comfortable gab to take the class victory.

See also:
Audi R10 TDI takes repeat victory at Le Mans
Binnie passes LMP2 test of attrition
Team Aston Martin takes GT1 victory