2009 Formula Le Mans Cup
# 2009 Formula Le Mans Cup

The 2009 Formula Le Mans Cup season was the only season of the Formula Le Mans Cup, a support series for the Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. All competitors utilized the Oreca FLM09 spec prototype. The season featured ten races held over six events from 10 May to 20 September 2009. Nico Verdonck claimed the title ahead of Gavin Cronje, despite the drivers sharing a car all season. Verdonck benefitted from points awarded for pole positions and fastest laps, giving him a four-point advantage of Cronje. Their team, DAMS, also won the teams championship.

## Race calendar and results

The Formula Le Mans Cup schedule consisted of several types of events. Four events, held in support for the Le Mans Series, featured two races of 60 minutes each. A fifth event at the 24 Hours of Le Mans utilized only a single 60 minute race. The final event of the season at Magny-Cours featured three 60 minute races in succession with a winner determined only at the end of the third race.

| Round | Circuit | Date | Winning Drivers | Winning Team |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps | May 9 | Nico Verdonck Gavin Cronje | DAMS |
| 2 | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps | May 10 | Nico Verdonck Gavin Cronje | DAMS |
| 3 | Circuit de la Sarthe | June 13 | Nico Verdonck Gavin Cronje | DAMS |
| 4 | Autódromo Internacional do Algarve | July 31 | David Zollinger Damien Toulemonde | Applewood-LD Autosport |
| 5 | Autódromo Internacional do Algarve | August 1 | Nico Verdonck Gavin Cronje | DAMS |
| 6 | Nürburgring | August 22 | Nico Verdonck Gavin Cronje | DAMS |
| 7 | Nürburgring | August 23 | Nico Verdonck Gavin Cronje | DAMS |
| 8 | Silverstone Circuit | September 11 | Nico Verdonck Gavin Cronje | DAMS |
| 9 | Silverstone Circuit | September 13 | Mathias Beche Valle Mäkelä | Hope Polevision Racing |
| 10 | Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours | September 20 | Mathias Beche Valle Mäkelä | Hope Polevision Racing |

## Championship standings

Points are awarded to the top ten finishers in the order 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1.

### Drivers' standings

An additional bonus point was available for individual drivers at each race; these could be earned by winning pole position or by setting the fastest lap of the race. A championship was also awarded to the best amateur driver over the season.

| Pos | Driver | Team | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Rd 10 | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Nico Verdonck | DAMS | (21) | 20 | 20 | 13 | 20 | 20 | (21) | 21 | 15 | 0 | 171 |
| 2 | Gavin Cronje | DAMS | 20 | 20 | 20 | 12 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 0 | 167 |
| 3 | Mathias Beche | Hope Polevision Racing | 12 | 15 | 16 | 10 | 15 | (16) | 3 | (16) | (22) | 21 | 146 |
| 4 | Valle Mäkelä | Hope Polevision Racing | 12 | 15 | 15 | 10 | 15 | 15 | 3 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 140 |
| 5 | David Zollinger | Applewood-LD Autosport | 2 | 13 | 0 | (21) | 12 | 6 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 15 | 106 |
| 6 | Damien Toulemonde | Applewood-LD Autosport | 2 | 12 | 0 | 20 | 12 | 6 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 15 | 104 |
| 7 | Gary Chalandon | Boutsen Energy Racing | 15 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 89 |
| 8 | Christophe Pillon | Hope Polevision Racing | 8 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 20 | 87 |
| 9 | Dimitri Enjalbert | Boutsen Energy Racing | 16 | 2 | | 15 | (11) | 13 | 10 | | | | 67 |
| 10 | Natacha Gachnang | Hope Polevision Racing | | | 12 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 3 | 6 | | 52 |
| 11= | Luca Moro | DAMS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 48 |
| 11= | Wolfgang Kaufmann | DAMS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 48 |
| 13 | Dominik Kraihamer | Boutsen Energy Racing | | | 6 | 8 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 46 |
| 14 | Lionel Robert | Boutsen Energy Racing | | | | | | | | 10 | 12 | 10 | 32 |
| 15 | Richard Mori | Ibañez Racing Service | 0 | 3 | | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 25 |
| 16 | Luke Hines | Boutsen Energy Racing | | | | | | | | 10 | 12 | | 22 |
| 17= | Johan-Boris Scheier | Boutsen Energy Racing | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | | | | | 8 | 20 |
| 17= | William Cavailhès | Ibañez Racing Service | | | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | | 20 |
| 19 | Philippe Haezebrouck | Applewood-LD Autosport | | | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 4 | | | | 19 |
| 20 | Thor-Christian Ebbesvik | Hope Polevision Racing | 8 | 8 | | | | | | | | | 16 |
| 21= | Jean-Michel Martin | Boutsen Energy Racing | 10 | 4 | | | | | | | | | 14 |
| 21= | Maxime Martin | Boutsen Energy Racing | 10 | 4 | | | | | | | | | 14 |
| 23= | Michaël Rossi | Exagon Engineering | 3 | 10 | | | | | | | | | 13 |
| 23= | Mehdi Bennani | Exagon Engineering | 3 | 10 | | | | | | | | | 13 |
| 23= | Marc Faggionato | Applewood-LD Autosport | | | 3 | 6 | 4 | | | | | | 13 |
| 26= | Damien Charveriat | DAMS | | | | | | | | 4 | 8 | | 12 |
| 26= | Charles Hollings | DAMS | | | | | | | | 4 | 8 | | 12 |
| 26= | Stéphane Lemeret | DAMS | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | 12 |
| 26= | Vincent Vosse | DAMS | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | 12 |
| 30 | Fabien Rosier | DAMS | | | (11) | | | | | | | | 11 |
| 31= | Vincent Capillaire | DAMS | | | 10 | | | | | | | | 10 |
| 31= | Mathieu Cheruy | Boutsen Energy Racing | | | | | | 10 | 0 | | | | 10 |
| 33 | François Desprez | Ibañez Racing Service | 0 | 3 | | | | | | | | 6 | 9 |
| 34= | Julien Canal | Graff Racing | | | 8 | | | | | | | | 8 |
| 34= | Ludovic Badey | Graff Racing | | | 8 | | | | | | | | 8 |
| 36= | José Ibañez | Ibañez Racing Service | | | | | | | | | | 6 | 6 |
| 36= | Linus Ohlsson | Applewood-LD Autosport | | | | | | 2 | 4 | | | | 6 |
| 38 | Thomas Duchene | Exagon Engineering | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | 0 | 1 | | 5 |
| 39= | Frédéric da Rocha | Ibañez Racing Service | | | 4 | | | | | | | | 4 |
| 39= | Tom Cloet | Applewood-LD Autosport | | | | | | | | | | 4 | 4 |
| 39= | Jean-Philippe Belloc | Applewood-LD Autosport | | | | | | | | | | 4 | 4 |
| 39= | Raymond Narac | Applewood-LD Autosport | | | | | | | | | | 4 | 4 |
| 43= | Kosta Kanaroglou | Escuela Española de Pilotos | | | | 0 | 3 | | | | | | 3 |
| 43= | Oliver Campos-Hull | Escuela Española de Pilotos | | | | 0 | 3 | | | | | | 3 |
| 43= | Damien Chanard | Boutsen Energy Racing | | | | 1 | 2 | | | | | | 3 |
| 46= | Anthony Beltoise | Boutsen Energy Racing | | | 2 | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 46= | Gabriël Abergel | Boutsen Energy Racing | | | 2 | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 46= | Pascal Ballay | Boutsen Energy Racing | 1 | 1 | 0 | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 49= | Franck Lagorce | Exagon Engineering | 0 | (1) | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| 49= | Keiko Ihara | Exagon Engineering | | | 1 | | | | | | | | 1 |

Key :

| | Rookie |
| - | - |
| Bold | Pole position |
| (Brackets) | Fastest Lap |

### Teams' standings

| Pos | Team | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Rd 10 | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | DAMS | 26 | 26 | 30 | 14 | 28 | 24 | 28 | 26 | 23 | 12 | 237 |
| 2 | Hope Polevision Racing | 20 | 23 | 27 | 14 | 21 | 23 | 15 | 18 | 26 | 21 | 208 |
| 3 | Boutsen Energy Racing | 25 | 6 | 8 | 23 | 12 | 22 | 10 | 18 | 15 | 19 | 158 |
| 4 | Applewood-LD Autosport | 2 | 12 | 3 | 26 | 16 | 8 | 19 | 12 | 10 | 19 | 127 |
| 5 | Ibañez Racing Service | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 29 |
| 6 | Exagon Engineering | 3 | 10 | 1 | | | | | | | | 14 |
| 7 | Graff Racing | | | 8 | | | | | | | | 8 |
| 8 | Escuela Española de Pilotos | | | | 0 | 3 | | | | | | 3 |
