Wendlinger and Beretta regain lead

However, normality returned and Oreca took its fifth win of the season, with Karl Wendlinger and Olivier Beretta regaining the Championship lead.

While the Oreca Vipers started an unaccustomed sixth and seventh on the grid, Julian Bailey, in the pole-sitting Lister Storm, built up a commanding lead during the first stint.

Early in the race Belloc and Duez, in the #2 Oreca Viper, retired with a broken gear-box, while Beretta and Wendlinger made a slow climb up the field.

However, a decision to only change two tyres on the Lister left Andy Wallace with a virtually undriveable car for his stint, and Wendlinger converted a thirty second deficit to a thirty second lead in under twenty laps.

'It was like driving on ice,' Wallace said. 'I couldn't stop, no matter what I did.'

After a tyre change, Jamie Campbell-Walter was lying second, ahead of the second Lister, when their race ended.

'The engine started to vibrate, and then flames came from the dashboard, so I got out!' he said.

The #34 Lister Storm, driven by the Dutch pair of Mike Hezemans and David Hart, continued after a splash-and-dash, to take third place behind Amorinand Seiler in the Chamberlain Motorsport Viper.

Fourth place went to the Freisinger Porsche, despite damage sustained when Michel Ligonnet took a spectacular trip over the gravel.

Paul Belmondo Racing took its best finish of the season with fifth.

Konrad Motorsport, third for the last two races, were happy with sixth after boost problems slowed them considerably.

The race saw a lot of breakdowns, and only 11 cars were running at the end.

Among the less fortunate teams were Roock Racing, with gearbox failure after running second behind the Lister early on, and Seikel, whose car stopped with fuel problems when they had been sixth.