LMP3 Cup Donington

LMP3 Cup 2017 Donington Round

Mark

There is an MSVR event this weekend which includes the LMP3 Cup 2017 Donington Round, the inaugural event of the series, as well as other championships including the F3 Cup and Radicals.  LMP3 is a class of European Le Mans Series racing, and the new event has attracted plenty with a good motor racing pedigree meaning that this opening round has been much anticipated.  Paul Bailey and Andy Schulz took pole for the first race, ahead of Christian England and Andrew Evans in second and Tony Wells and Matt Bell in third.

The first race was on Saturday afternoon, and was a 60 minute event with a compulsory pit stop and a timed window for a driver change. The race was exciting from the outset, and the one hour passed in what felt like a much shorter period. Tony Wells took the lead at the first corner, and Paul Bailey was soon down to third place. Christian England passed Wells, as the team took the front two places in the race. Bailey then spun whilst trying to avoid another car, and stopped at the side of the track, seeing the safety car being deployed just before the pit stop window. Karun Chandhock started moving his way through the field, passing Sarah Moore for fourth place. Right at the end of the race, Matt Bell had a slow puncture, allowing the fast moving Chandhock to claim third and a podium position. The race finished with Colin Noble and Alastair McCaig on the top step of the podium, with Jason Rishover and Jamie Spence in second, and the final step going to Steve Tandy and Karun Chandhock. The racing continues on Sunday with a short qualifying session and then another one hour race in the afternoon. Given the tight racing today, it could be anyone’s race. The series moves on to Brands Hatch, Spa, Silverstone, Snetterton and then back to Donington in September.

Here are a few photos from today.