User:SmackJam/sandbox/2020 90 Minutes at Magny-Cours

The 2020 90 Minutes at Magny-Cours was the second round of the 2020 Championnat AXA Alpine season. It took place at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours on July 27th, 2020.

Background
The race was seen as the biggest test of the reliability of the new competition, especially as the circuit was located in a remote location with few accomodations, a key issue in the removal of Magny-Cours from the Formula One schedule. The race date was announced the day after that of the first round at Paul Ricard, leaving slightly more time for entrants to enter. Alpine, once again, entered their same two LMP entries with Signatech.

Entry list
The race drew seventeen entries, the same six in the LMP class, three in GT, and eight in Production. Due to the quick turnaround from the Paul Ricard round, several entries which suffered mechanical issues there dropped out of the Magny-Cours round. Both IMSA Performance and Team Prémat dropped an entry, as did Course de Dragon and Equipe Vitesse. The round marked two new entries, an A110 1600S by the Magny-Cours based Mécanique team, alongside an A310 1600VE from Mountain Racing of Monaco.

Qualifying
As standard in the series, qualifying was commenced through a random drawing of lots, with entries once again being seeded by class. Signatech once again drew the pole, this time with the #35, while Renault drew second with the #31 for the second consecutive round. Panis-Barthez Compétition drew pole in GT, and the Equipe Vitesse #99 drew pole in Production. The race winning cars at Paul Ricard in GT and Production both drew last place in class to start.

Qualifying results
Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold.

Race report
The race began as advertised, at 22:00 (10:00 PM) local time, with the #35 Signatech entry on the pole. The #1 A110 1600S of Paul Girardot, against the odds, led the first lap in GT after a slight change to the BOP following a one-sided affair at Paul Ricard. This would prove to be somewhat of a fluke, as the two new-era A110s that finished the race were both a lap ahead of the older A110 entries. Generally speaking, the Production class cars were much more reliable this time around, with the only mechanical issue being a battery failure for the Mountain Racing entry. This didn't cause them to retire, but they fell well off the pace after a 20+ minute stint in the garage. Just over a half hour into the race, the #46 Graff Racing A110 would suffer a punctured right front tire, which subsequently exploded on its way to the pits, causing the team to retire the car, citing major suspension damage as the cause. Meanwhile, Enzo Guibbert had built a thirty second lead over Tristan Vautier in the Production class, a lead which wouldn't suffer any blows throughout the remainder of the contest. Shortly thereafter, Daniel Ricciardo took the overall lead from the Signatech car. He would also hold onto the lead, taking the overall win at the end of the night. The other Renault entry retired after just under an hour after issues with the fuel line. With twenty minutes to go, another LMP entry saw a mechanical failure, as the TDS Racing #28 suffered gearbox problems. The race for the win in GT came down to the final lap, and Patrick Pilet was able to snag IMSA Performance's second consecutive victory after getting by Enzo Guibbert at Adelaide.