The Jaguar E-types had been outgunned by the AC Cobras in dry qualifying and William Paul started the car he shared with Priaulx from 13th.
He kept the car in contention while Marino Franchitti led the early damp-but-drying running in the Bryant family Cobra.
The pack was brought back together when Brian Caudwell’s Cobra got beached in the Lavant gravel, bringing out the safety car.
Bill Shepherd’s Cobra overtook Richard Kent’s E-type at the restart to run behind Franchitti, after which most of the frontrunners peeled into the pits for their mandatory stops.
Kent’s co-driver Nicolas Minassian emerged ahead of Romain Dumas in the Shepherd Cobra and Oliver Bryant (in for Franchitti) but Dumas powered past the E-type on the out-lap.
At this point, two-time Le Mans winner Dumas looked set to win. He recorded the fastest lap of 1m24.162s, quicker than his pole time, as he pulled away.
Source: Autosport