The 2021 Hankook 12 Hours of Circuit Paul Ricard was the inaugural running of the 12 Hours of Circuit Paul Ricard which took place on 24 April 2021. It was also the third round of the 2021 24H GT and TCE Series and the fourth 24H Series event at the circuit, having held three 24-hour races from 2015 to 2017.

Schedule Date Time (local: CEST) Event Distance Friday, 23 April 12:00 - 13:30 Practice (Both classes) 90 mins 15:00 - 15:30 Qualifying - TCE 30 Mins 16:00 - 16:30 Qualifying - GT 30 Mins 20:00 - 22:00 Night practice 2 Hours Saturday, 24 April 10:00 - 22:00 Race 12 Hours Source:

Entry list 25 cars were entered into the event; 17 GT cars and 8 TCEs. A new addition was SPS automotive performance with a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. After switching to TCX in the previous round at Mugello, Speed Lover entered two Porsches, the newest Porsche Cup car, the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup in GTX and a Porsche 991 GT3 Cup II in the 991 class. Another new car for the 2021 season was the Ligier JS2 R of French team Nordschleife Racing, competing in the TCX class. Team Car Engine Drivers GT3 (8 entries) Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo (2020) Ferrari 3.9 L Twin-Turbo V8 8 Nicola Cadei Alessandro Cutrera Leonardo-Maria del Vecchio Marco Frezza Marco Talarico MiddleCap racing with Scuderia Praha Ferrari 488 GT3 Ferrari 3.9 L Twin-Turbo V8 11 Josef Král Matúš Výboh Miroslav Výboh Rutronik Racing by TECE Audi R8 LMS Evo Audi 5.2 L V10 18 Michael Doppelmayr Elia Erhart Swen Herberger Pierre Kaffer SPS automotive performance Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 20 Steffen Görig Christian Hook Valentin Pierburg MP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 58 Corinna Gostner Manuela Gostner Thomas Gostner Car Collection Motorsport Audi R8 LMS Evo Audi 5.2 L V10 88 Milan Dontje Tim Müller Pierre-Yves Paque Robin Rogalski Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R (2019) Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 91 Daniel Allemann Ralf Bohn Alfred Renauer Robert Renauer 92 Stefan Aust "Bobby Gonzales" Jürgen Häring Marco Seefried GTX (4 entries) Vortex V8 Vortex 1.0 GTX Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 701 Olivier Gomez Bastien Gouret Philippe Gruau 712 Philippe Bonnel Pierre Fontaine Nicolas Nobs Reiter Engineering KTM X-Bow GTX Concept Audi 2.5 L I5 724 Eike Angermayr Nicolai Elghanayan Horst Felbermayr Jr. Mads Siljehaug Speed Lover Porsche 992 GT3 Cup Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 979 Gilles Smits Jaxon Verhoeven Jean-Pierre Verhoeven 991 (3 entries) DUWO Racing Porsche 991 GT3 Cup II Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 909 Andrey Mukovoz Sergey Peregudov Stanislav Sidoruk Porsche Lorient Racing Porsche 991 GT3 Cup II Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 911 Lionel Amrouche Frédéric Ancel Frederic Lelievre Philippe Polette Speed Lover Porsche 991 GT3 Cup II Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 978 Dominique Bastien Olivier Dons Eric Mouez GT4 (2 entries) PROsport Performance AMR Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8 401 Rodrigue Gillion Kurt Hensen Nico Verdonck ST Racing BMW M4 GT4 BMW N55 3.0 L Twin-Turbo I6 438 Chandler Hull Jon Miller Samantha Tan TCR (6 entries) Autorama Motorsport by Wolf-Power Racing Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR Volkswagen 2.0 L I4 1 Emil Heyerdahl Constantin Kletzer Yannick Mettler Jérôme Ogay 112 Fabian Danz Rhys Lloyd Marlon Menden Yannick Mettler Red Camel-Jordans.nl CUPRA León TCR Volkswagen 2.0 L I4 101 Ivo Breukers Luc Breukers Rik Breukers RC2 Junior Team by Cabra Racing Cupra León Competición TCR Volkswagen 2.0 L I4 108 Felipe Fernández Rubén Fernández Victor Fernández Tictap Totcar Sport CUPRA León TCR Volkswagen 2.0 L I4 123 Jorge Belloc Diaz Jorge Belloc Ruiz Álvaro Rodríguez Sastre AC Motorsport Audi RS 3 LMS TCR Volkswagen 2.0 L I4 188 David Dermont Mathieu Detry Stéphane Perrin TCX (2 entries) Nordschleife Racing Ligier JS2 R Ford 3.7 L V6 226 Thierry Chkondali Guillaume Roman Daniel Waszczinski CWS Engineering Ginetta G55 Supercup Ford Cyclone 3.7 L V6 278 Jean-Francois Brunot JM Littman Colin White Source:

Qualifying

TCE Series-regulars Autorama Motorsport by Wolf-Power Racing and AC Motorsport fought throughout the session for TCE pole position. The #112 car came out on top with Yannick Mettler setting the fastest time (2:15.801) with five and a half minutes to go, only six tenths ahead of the #188 Audi (2:15.868) followed by the sister Autorama car in third (2:16.079). Two Cupras run by Spanish teams Tictap Totcar Sport and RC2 Junior Team by Cabra Racing placed fourth (2:16.133) and fifth (2:16.212) respectively, with the TCR class being rounded out by the Red Camel-Jordans.nl Cupra (2:16.414). The winless CWS Engineering team scored pole position for a second time (2:16.646) almost half a second clear of the second-placed Nordschleife Racing Ligier (2:17.065).

Results Fastest in class in bold. Class Team Time 1 TCR 112 Autorama Motorsport by Wolf-Power Racing 2:15.801 2 TCR 188 AC Motorsport 2:15.868 3 TCR 1 Autorama Motorsport by Wolf-Power Racing 2:16.079 4 TCR 123 Tictap Totcar Sport 2:16.133 5 TCR 108 RC2 Junior Team by Cabra Racing 2:16.212 6 TCR 101 Red Camel-Jordans.nl 2:16.414 7 TCX 278 CWS Engineering 2:16.646 8 TCX 226 Nordschleife Racing 2:17.065 Source:

GT All but one car took part in the qualifying session for GT cars. By the halfway point, the #11 MiddleCap racing with Scuderia Praha Ferrari had set multiple fast times in the 2:02s, with Herberth Motorsport challenging for the pole with both cars battling with the Ferrari. With eight minutes to go, the #701 Vortex V8 pulled off the track on the Mistral Straight, Olivier Gomez parking the car in a safe place, allowing the session to continue. Five minutes to go, Josef Král set the fastest lap time of the session (2:02.303), putting the car on pole position, ahead of the #91 (2:02.435) and #92 (2:02.451) Porsches, despite spinning on the next lap. Reiter Engineering's KTM X-Bow GTX Concept claimed the GTX pole (2:06.774) ahead of the #701 Vortex (2:07.187) and the #979 Porsche (2:08.280). Home team Porsche Lorient Racing (2:09.349) claimed the 991 class pole position, over a second clear of both DUWO Racing (2:10.763) and Speed Lover (2:13.595). The only GT4 car that participated in the session was the #438 ST Racing BMW M4 GT4 (2:15.875), the Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 of PROsport Performance AMR unable to even leave the garage; a crash in free practice spoiling their chances to qualify but having a spare car on hand meant they could contest the race on Saturday.

Results Fastest in class in bold. Class Team Time 1 GT3 11 MiddleCap racing with Scuderia Praha 2:02.303 2 GT3 91 Herberth Motorsport 2:02.435 3 GT3 92 Herberth Motorsport 2:02.451 4 GT3 8 Kessel Racing 2:02.992 5 GT3 18 Rutronik Racing by TECE 2:03.162 6 GT3 58 MP Racing 2:04.242 7 GT3 88 Car Collection Motorsport 2:04.383 8 GT3 20 SPS automotive performance 2:04.856 9 GTX 724 Reiter Engineering 2:06.774 10 GTX 701 Vortex V8 2:07.187 11 GTX 979 Speed Lover 2:08.280 12 991 911 Porsche Lorient Racing 2:09.349 13 GTX 712 Vortex V8 2:10.312 14 991 909 DUWO Racing 2:10.763 15 991 978 Speed Lover 2:13.595 16 GT4 438 ST Racing 2:15.875 17 GT4 401 PROsport Performance AMR No time Source:

Race Results Class winner in bold. Class Team Drivers Chassis Time/Reason Engine 1 GT3 91 Herberth Motorsport Daniel Allemann Ralf Bohn Alfred Renauer Robert Renauer Porsche 911 GT3 R (2019) 12:00:15.447 315 Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 2 GT3 11 MiddleCap racing with Scuderia Praha Josef Král Matúš Výboh Miroslav Výboh Ferrari 488 GT3 +1 Lap 314 Ferrari 3.9 L Twin-Turbo V8 3 GT3 18 Rutronik Racing by TECE Michael Doppelmayr Elia Erhart Swen Herberger Pierre Kaffer Audi R8 LMS Evo +4 Laps 311 Audi 5.2 L V10 4 GT3 34 Car Collection Motorsport Milan Dontje Tim Müller Pierre-Yves Paque Robin Rogalski Audi R8 LMS Evo +7 Laps 308 Audi 5.2 L V10 5 GTX 724 Reiter Engineering Eike Angermayr Nicolai Elghanayan Horst Felbermayr Jr. Mads Siljehaug KTM X-Bow GTX Concept +9 Laps 306 Audi 2.5 L I5 6 GT3 20 SPS automotive performance Steffen Görig Christian Hook Valentin Pierburg Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo +10 Laps 305 Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 7 991 911 Porsche Lorient Racing Lionel Amrouche Frédéric Ancel Frederic Lelievre Philippe Polette Porsche 991 GT3 II Cup +21 Laps 294 Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 8 GTX 979 Speed Lover Gilles Smits Jaxon Verhoeven Jean-Pierre Verhoeven Porsche 992 GT3 Cup +23 Laps 292 Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 9 TCR 1 Autorama Motorsport by Wolf-Power Racing Emil Heyerdahl Constantin Kletzer Yannick Mettler Jérôme Ogay Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR +28 Laps 287 Volkswagen 2.0 L I4 10 TCR 112 Autorama Motorsport by Wolf-Power Racing Fabian Danz Rhys Lloyd Marlon Menden Yannick Mettler Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR +29 Laps 286 Volkswagen 2.0 L I4 11 GT3 58 MP Racing Corinna Gostner Manuela Gostner Thomas Gostner Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo +30 Laps 285 Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 12 TCR 188 AC Motorsport David Dermont Mathieu Detry Stéphane Perrin Audi RS 3 LMS TCR +32 Laps 283 Volkswagen 2.0 L I4 13 TCR 123 Tictap Totcar Sport Jorge Belloc Diaz Jorge Belloc Ruiz Álvaro Rodríguez Sastre CUPRA León TCR +35 Laps 280 Volkswagen 2.0 L I4 14 991 909 DUWO Racing Andrey Mukovoz Sergey Peregudov Stanislav Sidoruk Porsche 991 GT3 II Cup +47 Laps 268 Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 15 GTX 701 Vortex V8 Olivier Gomez Bastien Gouret Philippe Gruau Vortex 1.0 GTX +66 Laps 249 Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 16 TCX 226 Nordschleife Racing Thierry Chkondali Guillaume Roman Daniel Waszczinski Ligier JS2 R +78 Laps 237 Ford 3.7 L V6 17 991 978 Speed Lover Dominique Bastien Olivier Dons Eric Mouez Porsche 991 GT3 II Cup +85 Laps 230 Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 18 TCX 278 CWS Engineering Jean-Francois Brunot JM Littman Colin White Ginetta G55 Supercup +88 Laps 227 Ford Cyclone 3.7 L V6 19 GTX 712 Vortex V8 Philippe Bonnel Pierre Fontaine Nicolas Nobs Vortex 1.0 GTX +96 Laps 219 Chevrolet 6.2 L V8 20 GT4 401 PROsport Performance AMR Rodrigue Gillion Kurt Hensen Nico Verdonck Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 +111 Laps 204 Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8 DNF TCR 108 RC2 Junior Team by Cabra Racing Felipe Fernández Rubén Fernández Victor Fernández Cupra León Competición TCR Contact 108 Volkswagen 2.0 L I4 DNF TCR 101 Red Camel-Jordans.nl Ivo Breukers Luc Breukers Rik Breukers CUPRA León TCR Engine 98 Volkswagen 2.0 L I4 DNF GT4 438 ST Racing Chandler Hull Jon Miller Samantha Tan BMW M4 GT4 Headgasket 59 BMW N55 3.0 L Twin-Turbo I6 DNF GT3 92 Herberth Motorsport Stefan Aust "Bobby Gonzales" Jürgen Häring Marco Seefried Porsche 911 GT3 R (2019) Damage 53 Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 DNF GT3 8 Kessel Racing Nicola Cadei Alessandro Cutrera Leonardo-Maria del Vecchio Marco Frezza Marco Talarico Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo (2019) Collision 0 Ferrari 3.9 L Twin-Turbo V8 Source:

Footnotes

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