The start of race on a damp track quickly gave over to a gradually drier track after the first hour, obliging drivers to hone their strategies. In spite of a further win by a car from the IRS stable, the third this season and the second by the Ibanez/Cavailhes team, the Ligier JS49 from Pegasus Racing once again made it onto the podium, four times in four races, and increased its lead at the head of the Challenge.
Starting from the pole position earned by Zollinger, the Norma M20 F from the Green Team stable, running on Bio-ethanol was forced to slow down after its fuel tank's foam started to disintegrate and block its fuel supply. This threw the race open on the still damp track, although it was not raining, and the Norma M20 F of Haezebrouck went into the lead, soon to be taken by young Rosier behind the wheel of an "old generation" Norma M20, which he drove to perfection.
Shortly before one hour's racing, the Safety Car came out and some drivers, such as Haezebrouck and Vilariño, pitted to change tyres for the drying track. Caillon took over at the head of operations in the TFT Norma M20 F he was sharing with Vidal. Further back, challenge leaders Schell and Caussanel, starting from twenty-first position, were quietly moving up the field whereas the Pegasus stable's second car, driven by Fargier, back driving with Belgian Van Sande, came to grief while with the front-runners.
Lap times started to improve and those who had not changed tyres were losing time while Caillon tootled off into the lead, joined by the Schell/Caussanel Ligier JS49 and the Ibanez/Cavailhes Norma 20F.
At one hour from the finish, the cars which had adopted a late stop strategy made their last dive into the stands, and the outcome of the race was gradually starting to take shape when Cavailhes took over control. Discrete since the start of the race in the hands of Vilariño father, the Norma M20 F briefly took over the race lead in the hands of Vilariño son before stopping due to an engine problem, depriving it of a place in the honours.
The outcome of the race was now certain in spite of a fantastic comeback by the Ligier JS49 of Schell/Caussanel who finally ended up in second place, meaning a jump forward on general classification. Cavailhes finished off the job perfectly, taking the top step of the podium for the IRS team directed by his team-mate Ibanez. Only the third place was undecided right to the end and Vidal managed to get past Guillet-Arnaud two laps before the chequered flag thus offering a well-deserved podium to his team-mate Caillon and first place in the Gentlemen Drivers category.
Of note is the good performance of British driver Bernans in the Juno SSE. Teamed up this time with his compatriot Atkins, he finished fifth which could open up the possibility of a place on the final podium.
Haezebrouck/Toulemonde kept the flag flying in sixth place and thus held onto their second place in the Challenge in spite of a difficult race.
Race: 1. José Ibanez and William Cavailhes, Norma M20 F, 1st CN in 3h01’11’’179, 2. Julien Schell/David Caussanel, Ligier JS49 at 6’’807, 3. Denis Caillon/Philippe Vidal, Norma M20 F, 1st Gentlemen drivers at 11’’793, Christophe Baillet/Jean-Louis Herbeth, Norma M20 F, 2nd Gentlemen drivers at ?????, Philippe Illiano/Bertrand Balas, Norma M20 F, 3rd Gentlemen drivers at ?????? 28. Yann Le Calvez/Sylvain Guanzini, Radical SR3 at 11 laps, etc… 33 finishers out of 40 starters.
Fastest lap: Christophe Baillet/Jean-Louis Herbeth, Norma M20 F in 1’18’’665 (173.94 km/h)
Challenge Endurance Proto Classification: 1. Schell/Caussanel, 103 pts, 2. Haezebrouck/Toulemonde, 83 pts, 3. Ibanez/Cavaihles, 70 pts, 4. Desprez/Robert, 47 pts, 5. Vilariño/Vilariño, 35 pts, 6. (Equal), Bernans and Guillet Arnaud/Rosier, 33 pts, 7. Caillon/Vidal, 28 pts, 8. Bianchina/Yvon, 24 pts, 9. (Equal), Casey/Kinch and Baillet/Herbeth and Guanzini/Le Calvez, 20 pts, 10. Dhouailly, 19 pts, etc…