There was rain, rain and more rain at Portimao for the final round of the Le Mans Cup.
Both Terrence Woodward/Tommy Foster and Mark Richards/Belen Garcia had damp free practice sessions to acclimatise to the conditions before qualifying.
“The car was feeling good. It was my first time here and I was quickest bronze driver in the wet,” said Richards.
“I did the race here last year too, so I knew the circuit,” added Garcia.
For qualifying it was Richards and Woodward in their Ligier JSP320s, with Richards seventh best. “The track was at its best early in the session, after that the conditions worsened and I had a big spin at Turn 2 as it got even wetter. Visibility in the spray was nil too,” said Richards.
Woodward was disappointed to be down in 15th. “It was OK, but I had my best time excluded. It felt a bit second best, a bit average, but I stayed on and the car felt good, as we had a proper set up for both cars having practiced in the wet,” he said.
It was a 9am kick off for the race, which started under the safety car due to the poor weather conditions, before the green flag was finally waved for lap six.
Richards quickly got past Chris Short’s Inter Europol car for sixth, while Woodward held station in 15th, in a crowded midfield.
It was close formation at the front, which saw Richards become part of a four-car train for third place, as Woodward lined up to challenge Ducertin’s Duqueine for 12th after eight laps.
Both drivers gained a place on the next lap too, but the skies were darkening even more.
A full course yellow soon followed, with Richards in a strong fourth and Woodward poised to break into the top 10.
The race was live again after one lap, but it was soon yellow again, with more cars off. By this time Richards had climbed to third and Woodward had shot up to sixth as the pitstop window arrived, with almost everyone coming in after 20 laps completed.
