After gearbox problems in the first race, the R-Ace GP team salvaged a fourth place in the second race after a tire failure.
After a hard-fought qualifying session, Bühler’s teammate Sarkissian started the Nr. 85 car from 24th overall and eighth in the LMP3 class. The start of both prototype classes was clean with only a few minor fights. There was contact in the GT3 class, but it had no significant impact on the race. The Lebanese driver held eighth place behind the 23 Events Racing car and in front of Team Virage.
Sarkissian drives inconspicuously in the first half of the race. In the second half, he manages to overtake both Ligier No. 71 and No. 23 while driving the only Duqueine.
After nearly an hour, a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed. The No. 6 LMP2 car spun off the track and was unable to continue. However, the VSC was only activated after the driver had already exited the car; an unusual scene. The race’s neutralization caused a massive rush to the pit lane, as both the LMP3 and GT3 cars were overdue for their pit stops. Most of the cars had already pitted shortly before but returned to top up their mileage. During these stops, the R-Ace GP car moved up to fifth place in the LMP3 class. Due to the length of the VSC, it is converted into a conventional Safety Car before the restart.
The race restarts with 2 hours and 36 minutes remaining. The R-Ace GP team quickly drops back to eighth place. After just 110 minutes of racing, No. 85 pits again. They now follow the LMP3 pack, slightly behind.
At the halfway point of the race, the No. 11 Corvette crashed. Although it managed to drive back to the pits, it left a trail of fluid from Turn 9 all the way into the pit lane. The safety car was deployed again. This time, the cleanup took considerably longer. When the pit lane reopened, virtually all the teams gradually entered, some with a slight delay, hoping to only need one more pit stop after the restart. R-Ace GP also entered the pits but then couldn’t get back out. With approximately 100 minutes remaining, the team had to retire the car due to gearbox problems.
Sarkissian starts the second race one position further forward. Again, the prototype start is more orderly than in the GT class. The No. 21 Ferrari spins off the track and comes to a stop after a minor impact. After a short break, the car is able to continue under its own power, but race control has already deployed the first safety car as a precaution.
Sarkissian drops to 8th place at the restart, but remains close to the competition. His attempt to move forward is hampered by film star Kumar, who takes out the GT3 leader No. 37 from Getspeed with his prototype, sending the car stranded off the track. A Virtual Safety Car (VSC) is then deployed to recover the Mercedes. Sarkissian goes of sequence to his rivals and initially moves up the field. However, at the restart, he falls behind several GT3 cars, leaving him in 26th place overall and 2nd in the LMP3 class.
Even on the third attempt, the green light doesn’t stayed for long. After a collision, debris is dangerously scattered across the track. A brief full course yellow (FCY) is issued after 44 minutes of racing to allow for the recovery. The race restarts after just 5 minutes. This time, the race can really pick up speed, and the Lebanese driver tries to get into a good position and overtake the GT3 cars.
At this point, the R-Ace GP team faces no immediate threat from behind. Sarkissian manages to maintain a consistent gap of two to three seconds to Whale of High Class Racing. Only after an hour of racing does Whale close the gap. Sarkissian is able to defend his position by repeatedly putting GT3 cars between himself and his pursuer. The battle lasts for almost 23 more minutes before the Ligier overtakes the Duqueine.
Shortly afterwards, the 23 Events Racing car slid on the slippery asphalt and spun into the wall. The heavy impact brought out another safety car. Pit lane remained closed. When the race restarted after almost 20 minutes, many cars immediately followed into the pits, including the R-Ace GP car. Swiss driver Léna Bühler took over the cockpit and rejoined the track in third place in the LMP3 class.
Bühler quickly closes in on Rabin ahead of her and needs only a few laps to overtake him. She is almost a lap behind the class leader, but that doesn’t mean anything yet. The leader comes into the pits just one lap later and relinquishes his lead to the Swiss driver.
Bühler is clearly struggling with the old tires. In turn 13, she locks up her brakes badly and is unable to shake off her pursuers. Her lead lasts less than 30 minutes before she suddenly drops back. Her lap times slow down by six seconds each in the next two laps. On the third lap, it becomes clear that a slow puncture has finally given out. Bühler limps back to the pits. With 1 hour and 50 minutes remaining, Frost takes over the car from 36th overall and 7th in class, two laps behind the leaders.
Frost battles his way through the GT3 pack to at least catch up with the other LMP3 cars. Since the other teams in the class also encounter problems and make mistakes during the third hour, he is able to overtake the GT3 cars. He works his way up to 29th overall and fifth place among the LMP3 cars in his first hour.
The High Class Racing car pitted after just over three hours. Frost managed to overtake Voisin two laps after his stop and build a lead. This lead proved sufficient at the final pit stop, 30 minutes before the end of the race, to maintain his lead over High Class Racing. The R-Ace GP team thus salvaged fourth place after a string of bad luck in both races.
The season finale will take place in Abu Dhabi from February 7th to 8th. After bad luck in the first four races, the R-Ace GP team can hardly compete for the title, but they can still improve their position by a few places.
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