The 2020 Le Mans Cup, known as the 2020 Michelin Le Mans Cup under sponsorship, was the fifth season of the Le Mans Cup. It began on 18 July at the Circuit Paul Ricard and finished on 1 November at Algarve International Circuit. The series was open to Le Mans Prototypes in the LMP3 class, and grand tourer sports cars in the GT3 class. The 2020 calendar was released on 4 April 2020.[1]

This season ran with a newly updated 2020 ACO LMP3 specification, including an uplift of ~35bhp in power and to 5.6 litres from 5.0 litres.[2] An issue with fuel consumption came to light after Free Practice sessions; the spec Nissan VK56 / X-Trac drivetrain, homologated and supplied through Oreca, used more fuel than was predicted. To mitigate this in the first race an additional mandatory pit stop was added, along with adjustments to relevant mandatory stop times and driver stint rules.[2]

Calendar

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The 2020 calendar was released on 4 April 2020.[1] All races supported the 2020 European Le Mans Series except the Le Mans round, which was part of the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans weekend.

The Barcelona round was moved to Paul Ricard due to the COVID-19 situation in Barcelona.[3]

Round Circuit Location Race length Date
1   Circuit Paul Ricard Le Castellet, France 2 hours 18 July
2   Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Spa, Belgium 2 hours 8 August
3   Circuit Paul Ricard Le Castellet, France 2 hours 29 August
4   Circuit de la Sarthe Le Mans, France 55 minutes 19 September
55 minutes 18 September
5   Autodromo Nazionale Monza Monza, Italy 2 hours 10 October
6   Algarve International Circuit Portimão, Portugal 2 hours 1 November

Entries

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LMP3

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Team Car No. Drivers Rounds
  DKR Engineering[4] Duqueine M30 - D08 1   Ugo de Wilde 4
  Wolfgang Triller 4
3   Jean Glorieux[4] 1–5
  Laurents Hörr[4] All
  Wolfgang Triller 6
  Realteam Racing Ligier JS P320 4   Esteban Garcia 4
  David Droux 4
  CD Sport[4] Ligier JS P320 5   Nicholas Adcock[4] All
  Michael Jensen[4] All
6   Jacques Wolff[4] All
  Joffrey de Narda[4] 1–3, 5–6
  Kévin Bole Besançon[5] 4
  Nielsen Racing[4] Duqueine M30 - D08 7   Colin Noble[4] All
  Anthony Wells[4] All
10   Garett Grist[4] All
  Rob Hodes[4] All
  Racing Experience[4] Duqueine M30 - D08 11   Gary Hauser 1, 4
  Yury Wagner 1, 3
  Nicolas Melin 2, 4–5
  David Hauser 2–3, 5
  Team Virage Ligier JS P320 12   Julien Falchero 3
  Philippe Haezebrouck 3
  James Winslow 4
  Tom Cloet 4
  Alessandro Ghiretti 6
  Miguel Cristóvão 6
  Eurointernational Ligier JS P320 14   Niko Kari 4
  François Heriau 4
  RLR MSport Ligier JS P320 15   James Dayson 4
  Malthe Jakobsen 4
  Grainmarket Racing[4] Duqueine M30 - D08 20   Mark Crader[4] 1–2, 5
  Alex Mortimer[4] 1–2, 5
  Mühlner Motorsport[4] Duqueine M30 - D08 21   Moritz Kranz[4] All
  Tom Cloet[4] 1–2
  Gilles Magnus[5] 3–4
  Alex Kapadia 5–6
  United Autosports[6] Ligier JS P320[6] 22   Jim McGuire 4
  Duncan Tappy 4
23   Wayne Boyd[7] All
  John Schauerman[7] All
24   Andy Meyrick[8] All
  Daniel Schneider[8] All
25   Shaun Lynn 4
  Joe Macari 4
  Graff[4] Ligier JS P320 26   Matthias Kaiser[4] All
  Rory Penttinen[4] All
  MV2S Racing[4] Ligier JS P320 27   Christophe Cresp[4] All
  Bruce Jouanny[4] 1, 4
  Fabien Lavergne 2–3, 5–6
  Cool Racing[4] Ligier JS P320 37   Edouard Cauhaupe[4] All
  Nicolas Maulini[4] All
69   Maurice Smith[4] All
  Ben Barnicoat[4] 1
  Matt Bell 2–6
  Rinaldi Racing[4] Duqueine M30 - D08 55   Alexander Mattschull[4] 1, 3–4, 6
  Daniel Keilwitz[4] 1, 3
  Nicolas Schatz 4
  Nicolás Varrone 6
66   Steve Parrow[4] 1–4, 6
  Dominik Schwager[4] 1–4, 6
  IDEC Sport Ligier JS P320 75   Patrice Lafargue 3–6
  Stéphane Adler 3–4
  Dimitri Enjalbert 5–6
  Motorsport98[4] Ligier JS P320 98   Eric De Doncker[4] 1–3, 5–6
  Dino Lunardi[4] 1–3, 5–6
Entries:[9]
Team Car No. Drivers Rounds
  Pzoberer Zürichsee by TFT[4] Porsche 911 GT3 R 2   Julien Andlauer[4] 1, 3–6
  Nicolas Leutwiler[4] 1, 3–6
  Iron Lynx[10] Ferrari 488 GT3[10] 8   Rino Mastronardi[10] All
  Giacomo Piccini[10] 1–2, 4–6
  Nicklas Nielsen 3
9   Michelle Gatting[10] 1–2
  Deborah Mayer[10] 1–2
  Paolo Ruberti[5] 4
  Murad Sultanov[5] 4
  Niccolò Schirò 5
  Emanuele Maria Tabacchi 5
77   Claudio Schiavoni[4] 1–5
  Andrea Piccini[4] 1–2, 4–5
  Matt Griffin 3
  IDEC Sport Mercedes-AMG GT3 17   Patrice Lafargue 1
  Erik Maris 1
  Delahaye Racing Team Porsche 911 GT3 R 28   Pierre-Etienne Bordet 4
  Alexandre Viron 4
  Kessel Racing[4] Ferrari 488 GT3 50   Oliver Hancock[4] All
  John Hartshorne[4] All
67   Murad Sultanov[4] 1–3
  Paolo Ruberti[4] 1–2
  Andrea Belicchi 3
  Murat Cuhadaroglu[5] 4–5
  Nicola Cadei[5] 4
  David Fumanelli 5
74   Michael Broniszewski[4] All
  David Perel[4] All
  Spirit of Race[5] Ferrari 488 GT3 51   Gunnar Jeannette[5] 4
  Rodrigo Sales[5] 4
  Orange1 FFF Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 63   Andrea Caldarelli 4
  Hiroshi Hamaguchi 4
  Optimum Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 70   Brendan Iribe 5
  Oliver Milroy 5
  Sky - Tempesta Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 93   Chris Froggatt 4
  Jonathan Hui 4
Entries[9]

Race results

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Bold indicates the overall winner.

Rnd Circuit LMP3 Winning Team GT3 Winning Team
LMP3 Winning Drivers GT3 Winning Drivers
1   Paul Ricard   No. 3 DKR Engineering   No. 8 Iron Lynx
  Jean Glorieux
  Laurents Hörr
  Rino Mastronardi
  Giacomo Piccini
2   Spa-Francorchamps   No. 37 Cool Racing   No. 8 Iron Lynx
  Edouard Cauhaupe
  Nicolas Maulini
  Rino Mastronardi
  Giacomo Piccini
3   Paul Ricard   No. 69 Cool Racing   No. 2 Pzoberer Zürichsee by TFT
  Maurice Smith
  Matt Bell
  Julien Andlauer
  Nicolas Leutwiler
4 R1   Le Mans   No. 3 DKR Engineering   No. 8 Iron Lynx[N 1]
  Jean Glorieux
  Laurents Hörr
  Rino Mastronardi
  Giacomo Piccini
R2   No. 37 Cool Racing   No. 74 Kessel Racing[N 2]
  Edouard Cauhaupe
  Nicolas Maulini
  Michael Broniszewski
  David Perel
5   Monza   No. 3 DKR Engineering   No. 2 Pzoberer Zürichsee by TFT
  Jean Glorieux
  Laurents Hörr
  Julien Andlauer
  Nicolas Leutwiler
6   Portimão   No. 7 Nielsen Racing   No. 8 Iron Lynx
  Colin Noble
  Anthony Wells
  Rino Mastronardi
  Giacomo Piccini
  1. ^ The GT3 class winner in Race 1 at Le Mans was the No. 63 FFF Racing Team by ACM invitational entry. As it is not a full-season Michelin Le Mans Cup entrant, the points for the win were awarded to the No. 8 Iron Lynx entry
  2. ^ The GT3 class winner in Race 2 at Le Mans was the No. 63 FFF Racing Team by ACM invitational entry. As it is not a full-season Michelin Le Mans Cup entrant, the points for the win were awarded to the No. 74 Kessel Racing entry

Standings

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Points are awarded according to the following structure:

Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Other Pole
Points 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1 0.5 1
Le Mans 15 9 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0.5 0.5 1

LMP3 Teams Championship

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Pos. Team Car RIC
 
SPA
 
LEC
 
LMS
 
MNZ
 
POR
 
Points
1   #3 DKR Engineering Duqueine M30 - D08 1 2 4 1 2 1 3 120
2   #37 Cool Racing Ligier JS P320 Ret 1 5 2 1 2 6 89
3   #26 Graff Ligier JS P320 3 5 2 13 5 3 7 70.5
4   #69 Cool Racing Ligier JS P320 5 7 1 3 3 8 Ret 59
5   #7 Nielsen Racing Duqueine M30 - D08 14 3 6 11 4 Ret 1 55
6   #98 Motorsport98 Ligier JS P320 2 6 Ret 5 8 40
7   #21 Mühlner Motorsport Duqueine M30 - D08 4 11 11 7 12 Ret 2 34.5
8   #23 United Autosports Ligier JS P320 12 4 9 5 Ret 9 4 34.5
9   #24 United Autosports Ligier JS P320 6 Ret 3 4 10 Ret Ret 29.5
10   #10 Nielsen Racing Duqueine M30 - D08 9 9 7 9 9 4 Ret 24
11   #6 CD Sport Ligier JS P320 13 13 8 Ret 8 7 9 15
12   #27 MV2S Racing Ligier JS P320 7 10 12 8 6 11 Ret 14
13   #55 Rinaldi Racing Duqueine M30 - D08 10 10 12 13 5 13
14   #20 Grainmarket Racing Duqueine M30 - D08 8 Ret 6 12
15   #11 Racing Experience Duqueine M30 - D08 Ret 8 Ret 6 7 10 WD 12
16   #66 Rinaldi Racing Duqueine M30 - D08 Ret 12 14 10 11 10 3
17   #5 CD Sport Ligier JS P320 11 14 13 Ret Ret Ret Ret 1.5
Pos. Team Car RIC
 
SPA
 
LEC
 
LMS
 
MNZ
 
POR
 
Points
Key
Colour Result
Gold Race winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
Excluded (EX)
White Did not start (DNS)
Race cancelled (C)
Withdrew (WD)
Blank Did not participate

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap

GT3 Teams Championship

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Pos. Team Car RIC
 
SPA
 
LEC
 
LMS
 
MNZ
 
POR
 
Points
1   #8 Iron Lynx Ferrari 488 GT3 1 1 3 1 3 3 1 132
2   #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 Ret 2 2 2 1 4 2 92
3   #2 Pzoberer Zürichsee by TFT Porsche 911 GT3 R Ret 1 5 Ret 1 3 70
4   #67 Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 2 3 4 6 2 7 64
5   #50 Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 4 4 6 4 6 6 4 62
6   #77 Iron Lynx Ferrari 488 GT3 3 DNS 5 3 4 5 WD 48
7   #9 Iron Lynx Ferrari 488 GT3 5 Ret Ret 5 2 WD 33
8   #51 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3 DNS 7 3
Pos. Team Car RIC
 
SPA
 
LEC
 
LMS
 
MNZ
 
POR
 
Points
Key
Colour Result
Gold Race winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
Excluded (EX)
White Did not start (DNS)
Race cancelled (C)
Withdrew (WD)
Blank Did not participate

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap


LMP3 Drivers Championship

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GT3 Drivers Championship

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References

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  1. ^ a b Staff, Sportscar365 (4 April 2020). "Revised 2020 Sports Car Racing Calendars". sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 4 April 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b Goodwin, Graham (18 July 2020). "Fuel Consumption Issue Forces Le Mans Cup To Mandate Second Stop For New LMP3 Cars". Daily Sportscar.
  3. ^ Goodwin, Graham (6 August 2020). "Second ELMS Race at Le Castellet Replaces 4 Hours of Barcelona". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay "26 Cars For Michelin Le Mans Cup Season Opener". Dailysportscar. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "2020 Michelin Le Mans Cup - Road to Le Mans - Provisional Entry List" (PDF). Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Michelin Le Mans Cup. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  6. ^ a b Goodwin, Graham (29 November 2019). "Gerry Kraut & Scott Andrews Join United Autosports For 2020 Michelin Le Mans Cup". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  7. ^ a b "John Schauerman To Join United Autosports Alongside Wayne Boyd For 2020 Michelin Le Mans Cup". sportscarracingnews.com. SportsCarRacingNews. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  8. ^ a b Kilbey, Stephen (12 February 2020). "Meyrick Signs With United For Le Mans Cup". Dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  9. ^ a b "2020 Michelin Le Mans Cup - Season Entry List" (PDF). Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Michelin Le Mans Cup. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Kilbey, Stephen (29 February 2020). "Iron Lynx Confirms ELMS & Le Mans Cup Drivers". dailysportscar.com. Dailysportscar. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
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