Page 172 - Paddock Life Issue 13 ADRENALINE

The GTE class of Le Mans is always a hard- fought race. All the main manufacturers are represented, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Bentley, Audi, Mercedes, Porsche, all with their GTE spec cars, these are basically the GT3 class that we see in the Blancpain GT or British GT races, but in endurance spec, therefore GTE. Then there are the legendary names such as the Ford GT 40 that made it’s return to Le Mans last year with the new model based on the iconic ‘60’s Le Mans winner and Chevrolet Corvettes that always perform well.
The class is sub divided into two categories, Pro and Am, the first being professional drivers and the later as you’d expect amateur drivers and that is what makes Le Mans so exciting. It’s most racers dream to complete at Le Mans 24 so the AM class sees a significant number of entries and there is usually a few “names” and “faces” in the line-up, celebrity Chefs, actors and Olympians have all tried their hand at this “Gentleman’s class” of racing.
The GTE Pro class was won by the works Aston Martin Vantage GTE, with Darren Turner at the wheel for the start of the race, with Daniel Serra and Jonny Adam making up the team, the title battle in the GT Pro’s went down to the wire with the pole sitting #97 Aston fighting off the #63 Corvette of Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garicia and Jordan Taylor all the way to a dramatic finish. Some of the favourites did not finish, such as Giancarlo Fisichella with team mates Kaffer and Vilander in the #82 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE which was shunted into the barrier by a LMP car at the first chicane on the Mulsanne straight in the fifth hour, the #64 Corvette was released from the pits with a rear wheel nut problem in the eighth hour resulting in a meeting with the barrier on the Porsche Curves when the wheel came loose. By the time dawn broke the was a three-car battle at the front between the works Aston, the Corvette and #91 Porsche, with the cars regularly changing position. Ferrari’s hopes were dashed when James Calado mixed it with the #90 Beechdean Aston