It is a tight points battle as we are ready for the final event of the 2018 Blancpain Endurance Championship at Circuit de Catalunya Barcelona. Raffaele Marciello and AKKA ASP vs. Yelmer Buurman and Black Falcon. Equally, there are championship battles in the Pro Am and Am divisions. The weather is gorgeous here in Barcelona, as we have a dozen championships to be settled as the cars are on their warmup lap. Maro Engel on the pole. Mercedes has been the most dominant manufacturer here at Barcelona for this three hour finale. The Bentley's and Lamborghini's are ready. Here we go. Red lights, out! away we go! Black Falcon gets a good start. In the lead, it's Maro Engel in the #4 Mercedes AMG Black Falcon Mercedes AMG GT3.
One of the BMW's took a shortcut. Hard to tell from this angle, which one it was, and there's the #58 McLaren going wide. This is the lead team car for Garage 59, the McLaren 650S in the hands of Brits Ben Barnicoat and Andrew Watson, and Frenchman Come Ledogar. It could be Andrew Watson in the car, starting the race. It's dusty off line as an AKKA ASP Mercedes, car #35 is off the road into the gravel trap. Denis Bulatov of Russia and Michael Meadows from Great Britain share the car, and their team mate for this weekend in the finale is Russia's Aleksey Korneev.
Now then, Raffaele Marciello is chasing Felipe Fraga. AKKA ASP vs. Strakka Racing. Fraga runs the defensive line. This is side by side stuff. Oh my. Fraga loses two places as the #63 Lamborghini of Mirko Bortolotti comes into contact with the sister car #19, look. So, a couple incidents to dissect here. Felipe Fraga, the Brazilian, is sharing the #44 Strakka Racing Mercedes AMG GT3, in the finale with Englishman Oliver Rowland, and German former DTM racer, Christian Vietoris.
How did Bortolotti make contact with the sister GRT Grasser Lambroghini? There are three GRT Grasser Lamborghini's in the race, and #19 has Italy's Raffaele Giammaria, Argentina's Ezequiel Perez Companc, and Italy's Marco Mapelli on the driver's strength. The last time we saw Mapelli, he was spinning a different Lamborghini, and having loads of trouble in the Intercontinental GT Challenge Suzuka 10 Hours.
There's a drive through penalty for the #23 Nissan. Bob Neville, team boss, won't be happy about that. #23 has an all British lineup this weekend with Alex Buncombe, Matt Parry, and Jann Mardenborough, who is making a return to Blancpain subbing for the injured Spaniard Lucas Ordonez, the regular third team driver in the #23 Nissan squad. Oh dear. The #14 Lexus is having trouble, too. Game over? It could be for Christian Klien, Marco Seefried, and Albert Costa. Klien of Austria, used to drive for the Red Bull Formula 1 team, and we know Seefried, the German, and Costa, the Spaniard are quick, too. This is the team that won at Paul Ricard earlier this summer.
It's not just Emil Frey Racing having trouble, as we see problems here, look, for the #53 Ferrari.
It's a loose rear wheel for the AF Corse Pro Am Ferrari 488 GT3 of Andrea Bertolini of Italy, Louis Machiels of Belgium, and Niek Hommerson from Holland. This is a team and a driver lineup that has been in Blancpain Endurance Cup since the very beginning, so they are familiar names to diehard fans. A lot of negative camber on the Ferrari, and it's game over at Emil Frey Lexus for poor old Albert Costa. He's out of the motor race along with team mates Klien and Seefried. This is not how they wanted their 2018 campaign to end. Maro Engel leads the motor race.
52 cars took the start for this race, and it was a good one as we watch it in replay. Audi #1 gets passed by Nicki Thiim in the Aston Martin. Raffaele Marciello is just doing his job, easily driving the car. 24 minutes into the race, Marciello and company are behind Black Falcon. Alex Riberas, Christopher Mies, and Dries Vanthoor are also in the championship fight. Pit strategy is on the side of WRT at this stage in the motor race. Marciello makes the apex into the corner, as we see some action on track. Michael Broniszewski spins the #11 Ferrari, the Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GT3. The Swiss team is probably the only team in this event with a two driver lineup. The Pole, Bronizewski, is sharing with Italian Ferrari GT veteran Alessandro Pier Guidi. There's some argy bargy, meanwhile, with the Nissan's.
Matt Parry runs into someone else but keeps the car on the road. Marciello tries to make a pass on Christopher Mies. Mies actually wants the spot, but Marciello slams the door in his face. We are 47 minutes into the motor race. Mies moves over just enough, look, to avoid any kind of argy bargy. The big V8 torque of the Mercedes pulls it off. Now, the race leader has been outpaced. Maro Engel sharing with Luca Stolz and Yelmer Buurman, still leads. The team of two Germans, and a Dutchman. We move ahead in the action, and pick it up nearly an hour in. The Mercedes seems to be holding things together, but the Aston Martin V12 Vantage has more grunt. Into the fight has come the second of the two R-Motorsports Aston Martin's, car #76 in the hands of the Brit Jake Dennis, sharing with Frenchman Matthieu Vaxiviere and Dane Nikki Thiim, who we all know not only from Blancpain but also from the FIA WEC.
So, Nikki Thiim has made the pass on Raffaele Marciello. Look out! Christopher Mies can't seal the deal and make the pass. But, it's time for a pit stop. An early pit stop to be sure, for Nikki Thiim. He needs new tires. Now, the motor race will change. The AKKA ASP Mercedes is also in the lane and it's all to play for on pit stops. The Aston Martin has taken over from the Mercedes, now with Tristan Vautier at the wheel of it. Into the lane, Audi #1. Christopher Mies had a lot to contend with. Dries Vanthoor or Alex Riberas get into the car. Vanthoor it looks like, is taking over for the next stint.
The Audi is slow away from the pit box and the Aston Martin and the Mercedes go by. Pardon me, it's Alex Riberas. The mechanic is telling Riberas to start the car. Vapor lock in the fuel tank, perhaps.
Simon Gachet has made a pass. We are already two hours and ten minutes into this race, just 50 minutes left in the season, and the status of the race, sees Audi on the back foot. Back to that earlier pass. Down the inside, Simon Gachet makes a move on Rolf Ineichen. Sainteloc passes Grasser. Gachet is sharing the #25 Audi R8 with his regular team mate Christopher Haase, the very rapid German, and new recruit, Switzerland's Ricardo Feller, this weekend. Rolf Ineichen currently has the wheel of the #82 GRT Grasser Lamborghini, which the Swiss driver has shared all season with Brit Phil Keen, and Frenchman Franck Perrera.
Alex Riberas has Andy Soucek in the #8 Bentley all over him like a rash. Watch out for the aforementioned Ricardo Feller as well. Boom! There's argy bargy, and Soucek loses a place to Ineichen. That was a very narrow passing zone to be fair. The Lamborghini to the left, Andy Soucek on the dirty line, and bang! Oh no. More trouble for Andy Soucek as he plows through the kitty litter. The #82 Lamborghini loses traction, and Rolf Ineichen does a full 360. Around she goes.
Poor old Andy Soucek could have had a real problem as Mauro Ricci and one of the Ferrari's get into a shoving match. Which Ferrari was it? Hard to tell from the picture. Jake Dennis now, he will have to continue to hold off Daniel Juncadella as the #4 Mercedes continues to lead this motor race.
Riberas squeaks by Alvaro Parente in the Strakka Mercedes. Less than an hour and a half to go in the season. Big lockup from the #6 Mercedes. The Audi does pass the #43 Mercedes. How do you react to a chain reaction? Full course yellow, as there's trouble for the #87 and #777 car. One of the other AKKA ASP Mercedes AMG's and the #777 HB Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 are tangled up. HB Racing, from Austria, has their Ferrari 488 GT3 in this finale for the Blancpain Endurance Cup for the all German trio of drivers including Jens Liebhauser, Luca Ludwig, and Florian Scholze.
Also, the #6 Black Falcon Mercedes of Abdulaziz Al Faisal coming to grief out on the circuit. The third Black Falcon car has not had much luck all year, as in this race, once again, Al Faisal from Saudi Arabia, shares with GT racing veteran Hubert Haupt of Germany, and Gabriele Piana of Italy. Green flag again with just over an hour to go in the season. Jake Dennis goes for it, and the Mercedes has to play catch up. Daniel Juncadella and Alvaro Parente, are both going all out! Alexander West gets spun off the road! He is challenging for the Am class championship. So, can the Swede and his team mates Chris Harris and Chris Goodwin, hold on? Dries Vanthoor, bangs in the fastest final sector time, which tells you he isn't giving up either.
#88 in pit lane as well as Daniel Juncadella will drive the car to the finish. Oh no. #25 is off the road. He had a drive through penalty for not reaching his minimum pit stop time. We've followed the escapades of the Sainteloc Audi all race. The #76 Aston martin is now right behind the AKKA ASP Mercedes, the #88 machine with Tristan Vautier at the wheel of it. Dries Vanthoor will now have to go for it, but there's a full course yellow as the Ricardo Feller driven Audi is off the track.
Black Falcon is not leading. A swansong for the Emil Frey jaguar, a gorgeous car. The Jaguar is leading the McLaren, but the Black Falcon car will be going for it. Jake Dennis is in the Aston Martin wants it. Jaguar vs, Mercedes, Mikael Grenier in the #54 Jaguar, gives way to Tristan Vautier. Grenier from Canada, and his team mates from Switzerland, Adrian Zaugg and Alex Fontana have run very well in 2018, and it's sad to see the Jaguar end it's racing career in Blancpain competition, though the car has been around now for a number of years. Just 45 minutes now remain in this motor race and in the 2018 season. Dries Vanthoor needs to pass the SMP Ferrari. It's worked its way forward from the back half of the top ten. Ferrari #72 opens the door for Dries Vanthoor.
The SMP Racing entry has been shared all season of course, by Mikhail Aleshin of Russia, Davide Rigon of Italy, and DTM turned sports car racer Miguel Molina of Spain. Engel, Stolz, and Buurman could still win the championship. It's not
done yet. Oh. Some argy bargy between the audi and the Aston Martin. Damage for the Aston and a puncture, look. Matthieu Vaxiviere trundles back to the pit lane. There's bodywork and door damage as he gets punted through the gravel trap.
A spin for the #488 Ferrari! That's one of the Rinaldi Racing cars, Finland's Rory Pentinen at the wheel of it, sharing with Rick Yoon from South Korea and Pierre Ehret from Germany, another veteran sports car driver who has seen action in both GT and prototype racing. The #7 Bentley narrowly avoided contact with the Ferrari. The safety car is in for a cup of tea at the end of this lap. Release the beasts! Just a half hour to go in the season. Raffaele Marciello is going to be chasing the Black Falcon car, as Dries Vanthoor passes the Jaguar. Jesse Krohn, meanwhile is holding off Maxime Soulet. Krohn, in the #99 Rowe Racing BMW M6 GT3. The Finn is sharing it in this finale with Briton Alexander Sims and Austrian Philipp Eng. BMW has many factory drivers and they know where to race them each and every weekend, whether it is here, in Blancpain, in the FIA WEC, or in IMSA.
Incidentally the sister Rowe BMW #98 has Tom Blomqvist, Nicky Catsburg, and Jens Klingman, the German, sharing the driving chores. Blomqvist was part of the team, at Walkenhorst Racing, that beat Rowe to victory at the Spa 24 Hours back in July of course, at the penultimate endurance championship race. How ironic. Jesse Krohn is the chap holding off the charge by Maxime Soulet in the #8 Bentley. A drive through penalty has been assessed to the #1 WRT Audi of Dries Vanthoor! No championship for WRT because of this penalty, it seems. The overall championship is out of their grasp. The #22 Nissan GT-R GT3 is off the road as Struan Moore has spun into turn one with just 15 minutes to go.
Let's see. He runs across the gravel trap, and ker-runch! So, Nissan's season is over with one silenced and damaged GT3 car. Raffaele Marciello gets the Sprint Cup and overall Blancpain GT titles, but the Endurance title will go the way of a different team. Bentley #8 of Maxime Soulet passes Jesse Krohn, and Maxime Soulet makes a pass on Jesse Krohn, while Marco Mapelli passes the #44 Strakka Mercedes and the #99 Rowe Racing BMW. The #4 Mercedes of Yelmer Buurman wins!
92 laps run here at Barcelona. Celebrate, Black Falcon. Raffaele Marciello wins a couple of the titles in sprint and overall, but not in Endurance. Black Falcon wins the Endurance Cup. Raffaell=e Maricello is the overall champion in Blancpain combining sprint and endurance. The overall champion, is Raffaele Marciello. That's it, from Blancpain GT 2018. We'll see you next year, in 2019. For now, from Spain, adios amigos.
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Post-script
Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot get to the official results yet. Is the 2018 Blancpain GT Endurance Cup season in the bag yet? Not quite. At first, it was thought that with their victory, Black Falcon was going to win not only the race, but also the championship title for the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup in 2018.
Black Falcon Wins Barcelona, Endurance Cup Title
https://sportscar365.com/sro/blancpain-gt/black-falcon-win-barcelona-endurance-cup-title/
No. Wait. Stop. Hold everything! Don't spray the champagne just yet, boys. Put the cork back into the bottle. The drivers are ready to spray the champagne on the podium. Insert DJ record scratch sound effect. OK. Folks, you didn't win the race!
Black Falcon and their blue Mercedes have been disqualified!
Black Falcon Disqualified, Marciello Provisionally Wins Title
https://sportscar365.com/sro/blancpain-gt/black-falcon-disqualified-marciello-provisionally-wins-title/
They have been found, like WRT was after qualifying for the 24 Hours of Spa, to have put tape on the air inlet to the engine. This is a no no. With the disqualification, this provisionally means that the #88 AKKA ASP Mercedes AMG GT3 of Raffaele Marciello, is not only the race winner, but also the Endurance Cup champion. Tristan Vautier, Daniel Juncadella, and Raffaele Marciello, have been declared winners of the race in Barcelona. In the Silver Cup, in it's swansong race, the Emil Frey Jaguar wins with Alex Fontana, Mikael Grenier, and Adrian Zaugg, the driving trio of two Swiss pilots, and Grenier, the Canadian.
Pro Am honors go to Daiko Lazarus Racing and their Lamborghini Huracan GT3 #27 shared by Italian's Giuseppe Cipriani and Fabrizio Crestani, along with Portuguese sports car racing veteran, Miguel Ramos. In the Am division, Barwell Motorsports doubles up, after their triumph in the class at the 24 Hours of Spa, also winning at Barcelona Catalunya. Congratulations to the #777 crew of Richard Abra from England, Switzerland's Adrian Amstutz, and Leo Machitski from Russia.
Provisionally, here are your race winners in Barcelona. This could change, perhaps?
Overall/Pro: #888 Vautier/Juncadella/Marciello Mercedes AMG GT3
Silver Cup: #54 Fontana/Grenier/Zaugg Emil Frey GT3 Jaguar
Pro Am: #27 Cipriani/Crestani/Ramos Lamborghini Huracan GT3
Am Cup: #77 Abra/Amstutz/Machitski Lamborghini Huracan GT3
Another exciting season of Blancpain GT Endurance Cup comes to it's conclusion, here in Barcelona. We remain in wait, for the official results, so if indeed the disqualification for Black Falcon should stand, this means that yes, AKKA ASP wins the race, and Raffaele Marciello is the 2018 Blancpain GT Series overall champion. We'll find out. Stay tuned for more news as it unfolds. But, for now, we cap off the season, and say adios to you, from Barcelona Catalunya, everyone.
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