Round 02 - France Round 2026

The second round of the 2026 Michelin Le Mans Cup took place at Circuit Paul Ricard, and while the overall victory went to LMP3, the Aston Martin interest was concentrated in a lively and slightly frustrating GT3 contest. Overall honours went to the #50 23 Events Racing Ligier JS P325-Toyota of Giovanni Maschio and Colin Queen, with the #85 R-ace GP Duqueine second and the #19 Brutal Fish by Campos Ligier third. In GT3, Kessel Racing’s #17 Ferrari won the class, ahead of the #51 AF Corse Ferrari and the #10 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo.

For Aston Martin, the strongest result again came from Racing Spirit of Léman. Philipp Sager and Valentin Hasse Clot finished third in GT3 in the #10 Aston Martin, 19.574 seconds behind the class-winning Ferrari and just 0.700 seconds behind the second-placed AF Corse Ferrari. The #10 car also carried a 10-second time penalty after the race, but the podium result was secure, and Hasse Clot recorded the fastest GT3 race lap with a 2:03.207. That combination of speed and points mattered because it kept Racing Spirit of Léman at the top of the GT3 teams’ standings after two rounds.

Code Racing Development had looked as though it might deliver the Aston Martin headline result. Sebastian Moreno and Ethan Ischer put the #11 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo on GT3 pole, with Moreno’s qualifying lap of 2:04.744 placing the car 0.738 seconds clear of the #51 AF Corse Ferrari. In the race, Moreno led GT3 and began to pull away from the pack before the pit-stop phase. But soon after the handover to Ischer, the official race report described the #11 as suffering what appeared to be a right-rear suspension failure. The car was forced back to the pits and was listed as not classified after completing 29 laps.

Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn also had a much more constructive weekend than it had endured at Barcelona. After its opening round was lost before the race due to Claude Bovet’s Bronze Test accident, the #91 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo reached the finish at Le Castellet. Bovet and Tom Canning qualified ninth in GT3 and finished sixth in class, one lap down, also carrying a 10-second post-race time penalty. It was not a podium result, but it was Blackthorn’s first Michelin Le Mans Cup race finish and first points of the season, lifting the #91 crew into the GT3 standings.

The wider GT3 picture was therefore mixed for Aston Martin. Racing Spirit of Léman did exactly what championship campaigns require: after winning at Barcelona, it banked another podium at Paul Ricard and left the second round still leading the GT3 teams’ table on 40 points. Code Racing Development showed strong pace for the second round in a row, taking GT3 pole and leading the class, but once again came away without the race result its speed suggested was possible. Blackthorn, meanwhile, moved from a non-start in Spain to a proper points finish in France, which gives its Le Mans Cup campaign something firmer to build on.

From a Fuel the Passion perspective, Le Castellet was not as simple or as triumphant as Barcelona, but it was still an important Aston Martin weekend. The Vantage AMR GT3 Evo showed pace in qualifying, pace in the race, and championship resilience through Racing Spirit of Léman’s podium. It also showed the other side of customer GT racing: Code Racing’s missed opportunity and Blackthorn’s steady rebuild after a difficult start. The result leaves Aston Martin still strongly placed in GT3, but with clear unfinished business as the Michelin Le Mans Cup moves on to Road To Le Mans in June.