It is time, to start the 2018 Blancpain GT Endurance Cup, at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy.
Trying to pick a winner is going to be tough. There are so many good combinations in this 54-car field. A new qualifying format uses average speeds of every driver who makes a qualifying run. This will be a great race. Alex Fontana starts the pole-sitting Emil Frey Racing Jaguar G3 XK. Eleven different makes are represented. Davide Rigon, for Ferrari, has pole, sharing with
Here we go! Green light! It's a drag race, and three wide! Can they all go through turn one at the Lesmo's safely? Yikes! Cars run wide, everywhere. Leading is Davide Rigon in the SMP Ferrari and we have the #44 Strakka Mercedes off the road with France's Adrien Tambay at the wheel. This is the third of the three Strakka Mercedes AMG GT3's, and Tambay (son of former Formula 1 and sports car driver, Patrick Tambay, who is also a former racer in the DTM), is sharing with DTM veteran Christian Vietoris of Germany, and Italian David Fumanelli.
Into the Lesmo's for the first time and into the Variante Ascari. Ferrari, Jaguar, Mercedes, Lamborghini, the top four. Miguel Molina is leading this motor race. Halfway around the lap, he pulls a second on the rest of the field. Molina is lead driver in the SMP Racing Ferrari 488 GT3, and the Spaniard shares with Russia's Mikhail Aleshin (a veteran of IndyCar and sports cars), and Italian Blancpain GT and FIA World Endurance Championship veteran, Davide Rigon. Into the Parabolica, completing one lap at Monza and the #11 Ferrari is damaged. Michel Bronizewski's car is crunched. Raffaele Marciello passes Vincent Abril.
So, we have a battle on our hands here, between Mercedes and Bentley. Molina leads over Alex Fontana in the Jaguar. Despite it's great performance in qualifying, this is likely to be the final year we see the Emil Frey GT3 Jaguar in competition. The Swiss team has three cars entered for Blancpain Endurance, including two new Lexus RC F GT3's, which we have also seen frequently in the U.S. in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship GT Daytona division of course. Alex Fontana from Switzerland is sharing the Jaguar with Canadian Michel Grenier, and Adrian Zaugg of South Africa.
The #35 car of Michael Meadows is off the road. Meadows is in one of the half dozen AKKA ASP Mercedes AMG GT3's entered across the Pro, Pro Am, and Am classes. The Brit shares the wheel of the #35 AMG GT3 with Russian driver's Dennis Bulatov, and former Formula 1 driver, Vitaly Petrov. Here comes Renat Salikhov on Michel Bronizewsski. This is a battle of the Ferrari's. Salikhov is in the first of the two Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 488 GT3's. The Russian driver is sharing with German veterans Alexander Matschull, and Dominik Schwager. The #488 sister car for Rinaldi has at the wheel, Germany's Pierre Ehret, Rory Penttinen of Finland, and Rick Yoon from South Korea.
Guy Smith in the Bentley #7, has a drive through penalty for contact. History repeats itself, as he had this same issue at Monza, a year ago. Bentley has kept most of it's driving team intact in both cars, except for recruiting Jules Gounon to share the #7 with Smith and Steven Kane. The driver lineup in the #8 machine, the sister car, remains unchanged, with Spaniard Andy Soucek, Vincent Abril of Monaco, and Maxime Soulet of Belgium sharing the driving chores. One of the Lamborghini's gets spun off the road in the chicanes, and the Bentley has carbon fiber damage on the right front corner. The headlight is wobbling around.m
This damage isn't good for Guy Smith at the wheel of it. Meanwhile, Mirko Bortolotti passes Stuart Leonard. Lamborghini vs. Audi. Similar cars. Leonard, once again, is sharing the #17 Pro class sister car for Belgian Audi Club WRT. The two WRT entries this year, feature, in #1, Dries Vanthoor of Belgium (younger brother of Porsche factory driver Laurens, who cut his teeth in Blancpain GT with Audi), Christopher Mies of Germany, and former IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship driver, Spain's Alex Riberas. Riberas joins WRT, in 2018.
There's a long way to go as we have only crossed the 20 minute mark in a three hour race. Trouble for Michele Beretta in the #78 Barwell Racing Lamborghini. Garage time. Hopefully not game over. He shares the Barwell Lamborghini Huracan GT3 with Sandy Mitchell from England, and Martin Kodric from Croatia. Alex Buncombe is moving up through the field after starting rom pit lane. He is working on passing Rolf Ineichen in the Lamborghini for Grasser Racing Team. Buncombe flies out of the Lesmo's and passes Ineichen. Raffaele Marciello and Maro Engel are racing with the sister Nissan GT-R #22.
GT Sport Motul Team RJN, has two different cars in the Blancpain GT Endurance Cup this year. Both Nissan GT-R's. But, the aforementioned #22 is the 2017 car, while the #23 is the 2018 spec version. In the '17 car (#22), the driving trio is Struan Moore and Jordan Witt of England, joined by Ricardo Sanchez of Mexico, a driver who did compete for a while, with a Nissan in Pirelli World Challenge in the U.S. Sanchez is a Nissan backed driver. Problems for Romain Dumas in the neon colored Porsche for Manthey Racing, and smoke out of the green Lamborghini of Ineichen. It's a punctured tire. Porsche and Lamborghini both in the pit lane for service.
You can't do anything until the cars are up on the jacks. Fuel the car first. Then, make the repairs.
The Manthey car, #911, with it's distinctive day glow chartreuse livery, is shared by Porsche GT factory pilots Romain Dumas, Frederic Makowiecki, and Dirk Werner. Ineichen is in the #82 GRT Grasser Lamborghini. The third, of their three entries in this motor race and in the Blancpain Endurance season. The Swiss driver shares with Christian Engelhart, and Andrea Caldarelli, two familiar names.
Trouble for the Walkenhorst BMW M6 GT3 at the Parabolica, tapped by Michel Broniszewski in the damaged Ferrari. It's a racing incident. Broniszewski has had some argy bargy with other competitors today. Not sure who was at the wheel of the #36. Team owner Henry Walkenhorst of Germany is one of the drivers, sharing with countryman Immanuel Vinke, and Anders Buchardt of Norway.
Meanwhile, Patric Niederhauser from Switzerland, in the Lamborghini Gallardo, is running very well, in an older car. He's not losing time and he's giving it a good race today. Niederhauser is one of the rising stars of GT racing in the young driver development team for car owner, Hans Reiter, who has been a part of Blancpain GT since it began, seven seasons ago. He shares with Lennart Marioneck of Germany, and another Norwegian driver, Mads Siljehaug. We have seen a lot of battles between the Gallardo, and the newer Lamborghini Huracan. There are differences between the two cars. '
Ooh. Some argy bargy and a spin for Guy Smith and he's facing the wrong way! This is not how Smith and Bentley wanted their Monza race to work out on the debut of the new generation Continental GT3 racer. There is a mix of the new cars for the factory team, and the older generation Continental GT3's being campaigned by their customers. Meanwhile, poor old Broiszewski is definitely crunched. He's got some real damage issues. Alexander West in the #188 sharing with Chris Harris and Chris Goodwin, is trying his best to move up. That's the McLaren 650S GT3. It is one of the Garage 59 entries. The Swede is putting in a good drive.
Another McLaren is also moving up. That's the Garage 59 entry, car #58, which is the sister car to the Goodwin, West, Harris driven machine. #58 has Come Ledogar of France at the wheel, sharing with Brits Andrew Watson and Ben Barnicoat. Barnicoat is another man we've seen in Pirelli World Challenge who is now taking a shot at racing in Blancpain competition. Meanwhile, we return to poor old Guy Smith. Smith wishes he could wave a wand like David Copperfield and make the Ferrari disappear.
That being said, racing is not like magic. This isn't like the movies ("Herbie The Love Bug", "Speed Racer", etc.). Lots of bits and pieces of carbon fiber all over the road. When a car hits that, it's game over. Cut down tire. There will need to be a full course yellow. The marshals are prepping for a full course yellow indeed. Neutralize the race so the marshals can get this track cleaned up. Procedure for a short task to run out and clean the track. Race Director Alain Adam says this yellow will be short, and it is.
Who is awake? Who is dozing? Green flag! Go! Oh my! Alex Fontana was caught napping and one of the Mercedes AMG GT3's sweeps around him! Now, Fontana seems to have gotten back on the road, and Maro Engel didn't need to be asked to pass. Engel is at the wheel of the first of the three Black Falcon entered Mercedes AMG GT3's in this race. Black Falcon just won the qualifying race, last weekend, for the Nurburgring 24 Hours, a race that also features GT3 cars. Engel shares with Luca Stolz, (two German drivers), and Yelmer Buurman, of the Netherlands. Again, these chaps won the Nurburgring 24 qualifier last weekend, just to emphasize.
Their team cars have not been anywhere near the sharp end today. #5 has Rui Aguas of Portugal (a veteran GT racer), Saud Al Faisal of Saudi Arabia, and Kriton Lendoudis of Greece, sharing the driving chores, while car #6 has Al Faisal's brother or cousin, Abdulaziz Al Faisal, also of Saudi Arabia, sharing with Hubert Haupt of Germany (another GT endurance racing veteran), and Italy's Gabriele Piana, another man we saw race competitively in Pirelli World Challenge recently.
Into the pits, the second place Mercedes AMG GT3. The Mercedes does not have the fuel mileage the Ferrari does. You can't be under 72 seconds on a pit stop. Mercedes #4 is in the lane. Wide line for the Ferrari as he dives for the lane. 32 laps done on a tank of fuel. If there's a change of place, there's a good pit stop or a bad one. Don't go under the pit stop time, as Luca Stolz heads for the Parabolica. Stolz gets nabbed by the Ferrari and we see one of the Strakka Mercedes AMG GT3's in this scrum as well! Side by side through the Curva Grande!
Some trouble for the aforementioned Reiter Lamborghini Gallardo #24. They are pitting the car, but have air jack trouble, and have to fuel the machine before they can change tires. Now, for the race lead, Luca Stolz is pressing the #72 Ferrari! Again, he is in the first of the Black Falcon cars, along with Engel and Buurman. Oh, deary me! A spin in the Lesmo's, and it's an Audi R8. It's the #26, one of the two Sainteloc Audi R8's. That's the machine of Markus Winkelhock of Germany, Marc Rostan of France, and it's current driver, a new name to Blancpain, from France, Nyls Stievenart.
Car #7, the Bentley, and a bunch of others will be penalized for not respecting speed during the full course yellow. Remember the cars being pinged for speed violations? Guy Smith in the Bentley is one. Adhere to regulations that are strictly enforced. If you transgress, you will get a major penalty. The Sainteloc Audi was the one spinning off.
Alex Riberas gets passed by Maximilian Buhk. Riberas wants the place back and Buhk slams the door in his face! We've got less than an hour to go in the race. Luca Stolz serves his penalty. Adrian Zaugg and Maximilian Buhk move ahead. So, at the front, it's Jaguar vs. Mercedes. Tristan Vautier passes Alex Riberas. Oh! Someone spins in one of the Lesmo's. That's one of the Lamborghini of Leo Machitski, spinning. Matchitski drives the first of the two Barwell Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3's. The Russian driver shares with Adrian Amstutz of Switzerland, and Francisco Guedes of Portugal.
Game over for Team RJN. Both of Bob Neville's Nissan's are out, #22 and #23. The Reiter Lamborghini is back in the lane, because one of the fuel bowsers wasn't working. Maximilian Buhk is chasing down Alex Fontana in the Jaguar. He is lapping quicker than Mikhail Aleshin's Ferrari.
Excuse me, that's Davide Rigon. Adrian Zaugg has to wait to roll into the throttle. He's stymied by a lapped car, and a yellow flag. There's a Full Course Yellow in the Parabolica. There is a cone someplace on the road. 3-2-1. Green flag. Oh dear! Adrian Zaugg,k stalled the Mercedes! That's really strange. Jaguar, excuse me. That's Zaugg, who has taken over the Jaguar. Alex Riberas wants by.
Three wide into Lesmo 1! Yikes! Adrian Zaugg is defending from one of the Audi's. Mikhail Aleshin is being hounded by Maximilian Buhk into the Parabolica and he passes for the lead! What a move! What a move! Carry the speed, not lose control of the car, and take the lead away! Strakka Racing leads Blancpain Endurance at Monza! Into the pit lane, is the #1 Audi, and the #72 Ferrari. One hour or so to go now. Maximilian Buhk is also into the lane for a scheduled stop.
Maximilian Goetz will take over. A fuel fire for the Ferrari of Duncan Cameron. The fire extinguished quickly. Now, the #63 Lamborghini, the defending champions of this race, have not had a very good one today. Christian Engelhart has been pretty quiet, but he is now ahead of Dries Vanthoor and the Maxi Gotz Mercedes. Same with the Ferrari for SMP. Dries Vanthoor has a 2.4 second gap over second place, as he is making a move on the Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3. Max Gotz is not slow, but Dries Vanthoor is going for it, with team managers Vincent Vosse and Thierry Tassin, looking on.
Car #1 overtook outside track limits, and Vanthoor has to give up the lead. He gives the spot back. We're into the last half hour of this race now. Ooh! Off the road goes Dries Vanthoor! Vincent Vosse, can't believe it! In fairness, the Mercedes had two wheels off the road. Vanthoor was off the road. Now, #43 has to give up a place. The Mercedes had just two wheels off. This is controversial, because it was just good, hard racing. It was not a malicious move, but Race Director Alain Adam has laid down the law.
Dries Vanthoor passes Maximilian Gotz. Yelmer Buurman is trying to pass the Grasser Lamborghini. Davide Fumanelli tries to pass, and Robin Frijns in the Audi was actually the one trying to pass, but he gets swamped by two cars including the Aston Martin with Maxime Martin at the wheel of it. Christian Engelhart is holding off Yelmer Buurman. Buurman has the image of the Lamborghini seared into his memory. Dries Vanthoor is getting away as we close in on 20 minutes to go, through the Variante Ascari.
Alexander Matschull leads Pro Am going through the Lesmos. We have a drag race between the Lamborghini, and the Mercedes! Yelmer Buurman has passed Christian Engelhart! Just five minutes to go in the race now. We have a drag race between the Lamborghini and the Mercedes! Yelmer Buurman has passed Christian Engelhart! But, at WRT, it's time to celebrate. They win the opening race of the Blancpain Endurance Series for 2018! Congratulations, Dries Vanthoor, Alex Riberas, and Christopher Mies!
We have four class winners, as there is a Silver rated driver's trophy as well as the Pro, Pro Am, and Am trophies. In the Silver division, the winner is car #54, the Emil Frey Jaguar who we saw earlier on in this contest. Alex Fontana, Mikael Grenier, and Adrian Zaugg, hold on to win! Switzerland, Canada, and South Africa, celebrate your winning drivers in Silver! Rinaldi Racing and the #333 Ferrari win Pro Am with Alexander Matschull, Rinat Salikhov, and Dominik Schwager. The Am victory goes to the #89 AKKA ASP Mercedes AMG GT3 of Fabien Barthez and Eric Debard of France, and their Swiss co-driver, Philippe Giauque.
Lots of hardware to be handed out on the podiums by the Blancpain watch representatives, who of course, sponsor this great series. So, your winners in Blancpain Endurance round one, the season opener, at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, are:
Overall/Pro: #1 Vanthoor/Mies/Riberas Audi R8
Silver: #54 Fontana/Grenier/Zaugg Emil Frey GT3 Jaguar
Pro Am: #333 Matschull/Schwager/Salikhov Ferrari 488 GT3
Am: #89 Barthez/Debard/Giauque Mercedes AMG GT3
What a wild race! Fireworks aplenty in the season opener for Blancpain GT Endurance 2018. The Sprint championship has another race coming up in England at Brands Hatch, in May. Details when that race happens. As for Endurance, the next stop on their acceleration show, will be in Jolly Old England at the legendary Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, for another three hour sprint, in less than a month's time.
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