Nissan drivers Lucas Luhr and Michael Krumm took first blood at Paul Ricard by winning the qualifying race for the latest round of the GT1 World Championship.
The German duo took a clear victory in their JRM-run machine after moving to the front during the pit stop sequence. Luhr trailed his teammate Peter Dumbreck through the first half of the race, but a quicker stop for the second-placed car reversed the positions.
Dumbreck's co-driver Richard Westbrook briefly edged ahead on the start-finish straight at the end of Krumm's out-lap, but the German held the inside line into the first corner and was able to hang onto the lead. Krumm subsequently edged away from Westbrook, whose pace dropped off over the last third of the race.
Krumm said: "It was an incredible turnaround; the boys did an amazing job in the pits. I struggled to get my tire pressures up and Richard caught me and was almost past. It was a hard race until his tires went off."
Tomas Enge chased down Westbrook in the closing laps in the best of the Young Driver AMR Aston Martins and claimed second place with an opportunist move at the chicane on the Mistral Straight on the final lap.
Westbrook lost momentum and was caught and passed by Stefan Mucke in the second Young Driver Aston for the final podium position at the penultimate corner.
Fifth place, behind the Dumbreck/Westbrook Nissan went to the best of the Marc VDS Fords driven by Maxime Martin and Frederic Makowiecki.