A late virtual safety car proved decisive in the 4 Hours of Le Castellet at Circuit Paul Ricard, where the #22 United Autosports Oreca of Griffin Peebles, Grégoire Saucy and Ben Hanley emerged victorious by nearly nine seconds.
Early Drama and Late VSC Clear the Way for United Autosports
The race had an interrupted start as the #5 Rinaldi Racing Ligier LMP3 stalled on the formation lap, forcing an extra lap. Louis Rousset in the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis Oreca had a clean start and took an early lead but was soon overtaken by the #22 United Autosports Oreca. Everyone got away cleanly except for the #3 DKR Engineering Oreca of Jean Glorieux, who spun on the opening lap.
After the opening battles, the first major incident came when the #50 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari of Custodio Toledo crashed into the barriers after the #77 Proton Competition Porsche of Japanese driver Hiroyuki “Bankcy” Ogawa and the #88 Proton Competition Oreca of Horst Felbermayr came together. This caused the first virtual safety car.
After several hours, a late virtual safety car was brought out again with only 50 minutes to go. This time it was caused by the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari, which went off at Turn 6 with a collapsed rear wheel and had to be recovered.
Ben Hanley was leading in the #22 United Autosports Oreca, with Esteban Masson in the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis car giving chase. But then the #29 Oreca slowed, and Masson had to limp back to the pits.
The fight for victory took a dramatic turn with 22 minutes remaining when Reshad De Gerus in the #34 Inter Europol Competition caught race leader Hanley and the two made contact, sending both cars into a spin. Remarkably, Hanley was able to recover without losing the lead, while the #34 Inter Europol Competition entry dropped back before fighting its way back to second at the flag. The #28 IDEC Sport car completed the podium.
Jaubert Strikes in LMGT3 as LMP3 Battle Flips on Penalties
The real battle began further back in LMGT3, where the #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari driven by Mathys Jaubert got into a fight with Charlie Eastwood in the #33 TF Sport Corvette. Eastwood went wide at the final corner, Jaubert seized the moment, and never looked back.
Also noticeable was the performance of the #86 GR Racing Ferrari, which climbed from ninth to third after the virtual safety car.
In LMP3, the #4 DKR Engineering Ligier driven by Wyatt Brichacek was leading the race, but they were running with a door that wasn’t fully closed. This forced them to pit for repairs, allowing the #85 R-ace GP Duqueine of Hugo Schwarze to take the lead, with Henry Cubides Olarte up to second in the #13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier. However, a 30‑second stop‑and‑go penalty for the #85 car dropped the Duqueine down the order, handing the lead — and ultimately the win — to the #13 Ligier.
In LMP2 Pro/Am, Matthias Vaxivière led the race in the #83 AF Corse Oreca and crossed the line in first place, but after receiving a 30‑second penalty it was Alex Quinn who inherited the victory in the #27 Nielsen Racing Oreca.
Le Mans next
The iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans is next, taking place from 10 to 14 June, with several ELMS teams joining the grid.
The next race on the official ELMS calendar is Imola, scheduled for 3 to 5 July.
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