VdeV Endurance 6h Proto - Magny-Cours 2016

15 seconds stood between the top 3 teams one hour before the chequered flag.
Victorious at Barcelona and Le Mans, teammates Ander Vilarino, Alain Ferté and Philippe Illiano, united behind the wheel of TFT’s n°2 Norma M20 FC took their third victory of the year on Saturday to extend their lead in the championship before the season finale at Estoril.
Polesitters DB Autosport with drivers Delafosse / Dannielou / Petersen at the wheel finally got what they deserved. They lead a spectacular race - with one hour to go, the n°22 machine was at the front of the pack and had completed all of its obligatory handicap drive-throughs.
For the n°32 CD Sport clan, victorious at Le Castellet, Maulini / Bole Besançon / Foubert sat comfortably in 3rd position, just a few seconds behind the car in front, before moving up a place thanks to a well-calculated strategy from the team. A short while later however, a spin at Château d’Eau caused the car to lose position, and allow the n°2 Norma to progress to the front.
45 minutes later, after car n°22 suffered with brake problems and was forced to pit, Vilarino, who’d started the race, presented with first place and simply had to bring the car home at a steady pace to win.
One of the favourites on the grid, Equipe Palmyr’s n°40 Norma, entrusted to regulars Mondolot / Zollinger / Thuner, was set for a delightful result - engaging in several battles at the front of the pack - until the engine gave way during the 3rd hour of the race.
DB Autosport’s 2nd strong contender for the win - Norma n°21 - was cursed with alternator problems throughout the race and finished 5th overall. Meanwhile, TFT’s n°8 machine (Capillaire / Lacoste / Taittinger) also had several mechanical issues and placed 8th in the end, behind CD Sports’ n°31 Norma entrusted to Cochet / Kirchdoerffer / Faure.
These events gifted the Prestige class winners a 3rd place finish overall. On the 3rd step of the podium Bazaud / Thirion / Caillon received two sets of trophies, while rivals Kubryk / Wolff / Beck (Equipe Palmyr) finished 2nd.
After a faultless race, the TFT armada managed to place 3 out of 4 cars on the podium - with the n°5 car (Morales / Rihon / Cimadomo) crossing the line in 3rd for the Prestige class.