User:SmackJam/sandbox/2020 BNP Paribas 240

The 2020 BNP Paribas 240 was the first round of the 2020 Championnat AXA Alpine season and the inaugural race of the series. It took place at Circuit Paul Ricard on July 24th, 2020.

The Circuit Paul Ricard, where the race was held

Background

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The race marked the first event of the newly-formed Championnat AXA Alpine, a multi-class one-make event for Alpine cars. The race date was announced just four days prior, hence the low number of foreign entries into the race. Alpine, despite running exclusively their automobiles in the series, only sponsored one factory team, the Signatech team with two entries.

Entry list

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The race drew nineteen entries, six in the LMP class, five in GT, and eight in the Production class. Only four cars were fielded with manufacturer support, the two Signatech LMPs which were supported by Alpine themselves, and the Renault LMP entries, of course fielded by Renault. The field was littered with both professional and amateur talent, with drivers such as Daniel Ricciardo, Patrick Pilet, and former IndyCar driver Sébastien Bourdais spread across the three classes.

Qualifying

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Qualifying was commenced through a random drawing of lots, with entries being seeded by class. The #36 Signatech entry drew the overall pole, while the #31 Renault drew second overall. Alexandre Prémat drew pole in the GT class, while the Equipe Vitesse #98 took pole in the Production class.

Qualifying results

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Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold.

Pos. Class No. Entry Driver Time Grid
1 LMP 36 Signatech Alpine Nicolas Lapierre 1
2 LMP 31 Renault DP World Team Daniel Ricciardo 2
3 LMP 35 Signatech Alpine Pierre Ragues 3
4 LMP 48 IDEC Sport Paul-Loup Chatin 4
5 LMP 3 Renault DP World Team Guanyu Zhou 5
6 LMP 28 TDS Racing Loïc Duval 6
7 GT 18 Team Prémat Alexandre Prémat 7
8 GT 76 IMSA Performance Jean-Karl Vernay 8
9 GT 50 Larbre Compétition Erwin Creed 9
10 GT 23 Panis-Barthez Compétition Julien Canal 10
11 GT 75 IMSA Performance Patrick Pilet 11
12 PRO 10 Course de Dragon Frédéric Rochette 12
13 PRO 98 Equipe Vitesse Dany Courtial 13
14 PRO 90 Silvestre Compétition Cyril Silvestre 14
15 PRO 85 JDC MotorSports Tristan Vautier 15
16 PRO 99 Equipe Vitesse Veronique Bourdon 16
17 PRO 52 OAK Racing Gabriel Aubry 17
18 PRO 1 Course de Dragon Patrick Ponce 18
19 PRO 46 Graff Racing Olivier Pla 19

Race report

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The race began around 16:00 (4:00 PM) local time, and the #31 took the lead entering turn one. Ten minutes into the race, the Production class pole-sitter retired with engine issues. The reliability of Production cars, specifically the A310s, was further called into question not fifteen minutes later, when the #98 of Dany Courtial was forced to pit with mechanical issues. Positions stabilized for a while thereafter, with Ricciardo holding on overall. Just over an hour in, however, Pierre Ragues grabbed the lead after outbraking Ricciardo in turn eight. Coming into turn one the subsequent lap, Ricciardo locked up his tires and ran into Ragues, further collecting the #76 IMSA Performance GT entry. All three cars were forced to retire from the race as a result of damage from the accident. The #3 Renault, who inherited the lead after the crash, held the lead for the next 20 minutes, but relinquished it after a difficult driver change and pit stop. Pierre Thiriet held the lead the remainder of the race. 45 minutes into the second hour, Kévin Estre took over the GT class lead after a battle with Will Stevens, and he would go onto hold that lead to the end. Sébastien Bourdais and Nicolas Minassian fought for the PRO lead to the bitter end, only separated by two tenths of a second at the line.

Results

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Pos Class No. Team / Entrant Drivers Chassis / Car Laps Time/Retired
Engine
1 LMP 36   Signatech Alpine   Nicolas Lapierre
  Pierre Thiriet
Alpine A470 95 2:41:01.754
Gibson GK428 4.2L V8
2 LMP 3   Renault DP World Team   Sergey Sirotkin
  Guanyu Zhou
Alpine A470 95 +3.672
Gibson GK428 4.2L V8
3 LMP 28   TDS Racing   Loïc Duval
  François Perrodo
Alpine A450 93 +2 laps
Gibson GK428 4.2L V8
4 LMP 48   IDEC Sport   Paul-Loup Chatin
  Paul Lafargue
Alpine A450 92 +3 laps
Gibson GK428 4.2L V8
5 GT 75   IMSA Performance   Kévin Estre
  Patrick Pilet
Alpine A110 GT4 81 +14 laps
Renault TCe M5P 1.8L I4
6 GT 50   Larbre Compétition   Erwin Creed
  Romano Ricci
Alpine A110 GT4 81 +14 laps
Renault TCe M5P 1.8L I4
7 GT 23   Panis-Barthez Compétition   Julien Canal
  Will Stevens
Alpine A110 GT4 81 +14 laps
Renault TCe M5P 1.8L I4
8 GT 18   Team Prémat   Alexandre Prémat
  Stephen Vajda
Alpine A110 GT4 72 +23 laps
Renault TCe M5P 1.8L I4
9 PRO 85   JDC MotorSports   Sébastien Bourdais
  Tristan Vautier
Alpine A110 67 +28 laps
Renault TCe M5P 1.8L I4
10 PRO 46   Graff Racing   Olivier Pla
  Nicolas Minassian
Alpine A110 67 +28 laps
Renault TCe M5P 1.8L I4
11 PRO 52   OAK Racing   Gabriel Aubry
  Enzo Guibbert
Alpine A110 67 +28 laps
Renault TCe M5P 1.8L I4
12 PRO 1   Course de Dragon   Patrick Ponce
  Paul Girardot
Alpine A110 1600S 64 +31 laps
Renault Cléon-Alu 1.6L I4
13 PRO 99   Equipe Vitesse   Renée Neri
  Veronique Bourdon
Alpine A310 V6 56 +39 laps
2664cc PRV V6
14 PRO 90   Silvestre Compétition   Cyril Silvestre
  Dimitri Silvestre
Alpine A310 V6 56 +39 laps
2664cc PRV V6
15
DNF
LMP 35   Signatech Alpine   Pierre Ragues
  Nelson Panciatici
Alpine A470 35 Crash
Gibson GK428 4.2L V8
16
DNF
LMP 31   Renault DP World Team   Daniel Ricciardo
  Esteban Ocon
Alpine A470 35 Crash
Gibson GK428 4.2L V8
17 PRO 98   Equipe Vitesse   Dany Courtial
  Davy Bonnel
Alpine A310 V6 35 +60 laps
2664cc PRV V6
18
DNF
GT 76   IMSA Performance   Jean-Karl Vernay
  Raymond Narac
Alpine A110 GT4 29 Suspension
Renault TCe M5P 1.8L I4
19
DNF
PRO 10   Course de Dragon   Frédéric Rochette
  Christian Picard
Alpine A310 V6 4 Engine
2664cc PRV V6