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The fourth round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup Series has just concluded around the Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium where the capacity LMP3 and GT3 based grid again provided another two hours of excitement – albeit of not all of it was entirely welcome and beneficial for those involved. With torrential rain having blighted the circuit in the build-up to todays race, early rainfall again affected this morning’s qualifying process for the ten GT3 runners that again included the three from the Aston Martin Racing stable. The #91 Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn AMR of Claude Bovet and Tom Canning was the only one of the three not to have driver changes imposed upon them due to necessity as the GT3 Championship leading #10 Racing Spirit of Leman car had seen Pro driver Valentin Hasse-Clot otherwise detained this weekend in IMSA (with his place taken by ELMS team-mate Marius Fossard) alongside full season racer Philipp Sager. The Code Racing Development AMR had also seen a new crew of Pascal Huteau and Viny Beltramelli take charge within their #11 car for what is the third (?) driver change this season so far. Qualifying was extremely wet for the GT3 field as they went out on track for the first time and their tentative nature to the situation went without surprise as it was again the gentleman drivers behind the wheel. A last lap lunge from Sager saw him lift himself up to P5 at the end with Huteau just being outdone by Bovet at the end as they picked up a P7 and P8 start for this afternoons race respectively. With at least the track having dried out in time for the start of the race, the actual tone of the race was to be quickly set after the #51 Ferrari spun off heavily along the barrier at Les Combes, bring out the Safety Car for its first of too many interventions within the next two hours. Indeed, both the #11 and #91 Aston Martins were fortunate not to pick up damage from that spinning Ferrari as it came back across the track – forcing the #91 onto the grass and broadside relative to the direction of the circuit. A 10–12-minute clean operation quietened the race before finally a wrath of LMP3 incidents for (usually) cars off track brought the Porsche Safety Car out again or a Full Course Yellow for a further three occasions before the end of the first hour with the #11 car running highest of the three Aston’s in 3rd, the #10 in 5th and the #91 in 8th in class. With driver changes down across the classes at or about the hour mark, further race time was lost to further LMP3 related issues on track leaving little over half an hour left to go but the excitement was not over yet. A very over ambitious move by an LMP3 car (driven by a former F1 driver) with the #10 RSLM Aston Martin saw the #10 extremely fortunate to survive in a raceable state as the LMP3 first passed for track position being immediately over braking into a spin in front of it. Only pre-emptive anticipation from Fossard kept his car in the race and in the fourth place in class it was then running in behind the #11 Code Racing Development entry. Further heartache would, however, come back to haunt the #91 Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn entry with Canning at the wheel as (only a few minutes later) the #91 was seen to have stopped at the top of the circuit with black smoke pouring from the front quarter of the car with a suspected brake fire. Another Safety Car required for both that and the LMP3 car involved with the #10 RSLM incident. A final fifteen-minute dash to the flag saw the Code Racing Development secure (on track at least) only their second race finish to the season so far as they completed the class podium in third and with the #10 Racing Spirit of Leman car just hanging on to their fourth place finish at the end for what should still be (albeit now) a reduced Championship lead as the series moves onto Silverstone in just three weeks’ time. To put this race into perspective – it was two hours long but only thirty-six laps were completed by the GT3 leaders with all results still subject to ratification by the series and Race Control. Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media