Round 3: Le Mans
Round 3 of The Gatsby Cup brought the grid to Le Mans for 24 minutes of endurance, split into three 8-minute sessions. Sessions 1 & 3 in day time, but Session 2 under the cover of darkness. With points awarded across all 10 cars regardless of class—this unique round had the potential to tilt the balance in all three championships; and Aston Martin took full advantage.
#34 Aston Martin, a GTM AM entry, delivered an impeccable performance logging 131 laps and topping the overall classification. The result awarded them 156 points—a massive boost that now sees them leading the GTM AM championship. Teammate #38 AM, in GTD PRO, was just one lap behind and earning the team 306 points giving Aston Martin the Constructors Championship. The #38 is now level in the GTD PRO standings with Gatsby Automotive #18.
Porsche #98, rebounding from a chaotic Monaco, finished third overall and surged back into GTD PRO contention. It ran a very consistent 3 stints to come home neck and neck with the #38 Aston Martin. The podium finish sees the #98 now not last in the GTD PRO Championship.
Gatsby #18 put in another aggressive showing, setting the fastest lap of the event (7.410), but settled for 4th overall after a rough first and second sessions. However in the final session #18 found more consistency with a less aggressive approach, and came back to finish 4th overall.
The Mercedes #78 finished close behind the #18, running 3 more consistent
sessions, the Mercedes has been down on pace compared to last season. The last of the GTD PRO runners was the #68 Ford, which was very fast down the Mulsanne Straight, but struggled to keep the pace in the corners.
The next of the GTM AM cars was the #74 Mercedes, which managed to put in faster lap times than its GTD Pro teammate. Followed closely by the #94 Porsche who also put in a faster lap time to its GTD Pro teammate.
Gatsby #14—the GTM AM leader after Monaco—struggled at Le Mans. Issues in Session 2 and a shorter final stint saw them drop to 9th overall, scoring just 96 points and relinquishing the AM class lead to Aston #34.
At the very back was the #64 Ford which faced reliability issues. At the end of Session Two, the #64 suffered a front left rim failure. This issue became terminal at the beginning of Session 3, and the team had to retire the car after only 70 laps completed. Ford left Le Mans with only 206 points.
With Le Mans’ double-points shake-up behind us, the championship heads to Shane’s Birthday Weekend round—where precision, power, and pace could all play a role in shaping the next chapter of the season.