Mandatory electric-only launches out of pit box possible for IMSA's new GTP class...
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/imsa-finalizing-elements-of-gtp-hybrid-usage/
Monday, October 31, 2022
'EV Launches' Under Consideration for GTP Class
Weekly Racing Roundup (10-31-22)
Recaps from Ferrari Challenge world final and Thailand Super Series, plus news and notes...
https://sportscar365.com/features/roundup/weekly-racing-roundup-10-31-22/
Sunday, October 30, 2022
Ferrari's return to prototype sports car racing
Ladies and gentlemen, on this Sunday morning, we can make it official. Scuderia Ferrari are set to return to the top echelon of endurance sports car racing with a Le Mans Hypercar for 2023, the 499P. This will be Ferrari's first effort as a factory sports car team in half a century. Here are all the details.
From Sportscar365 and their YouTube channel.
Check Out Ferrari 499P Launch Video
Read more about the car in these articles from Sportscar365.
Ferrari Reveals 499P for Prototype Racing Return
Cannizo: V6 Engine Was "Natural" Choice for Ferrari 499P
With all these new manufacturers between IMSA and the World Endurance Championship having begun this year, and filtering into next year and the year after, sports car racing is truly experiencing a renaissance, a new golden age, and fans have to be really enjoying it. Yours truly is extremely excited about it! 2023 and beyond should be absolutely astonishing.
Saturday, October 29, 2022
FULL RACE | 2014 6 Hours of Bahrain | FIA WEC
The full replay of the FIA World Endurance Championship's 2014 6 Hours of Bahrain.
John Hindhaugh, and Graham Goodwin call all the action from the broadcast booth, with Louise Beckett reporting from the pit lane.
Conwright Credits Diverse Driver Development Scholarship for Career Boost
The first recipient of the award showed growth throughout the season and looks forward to year two.
Crucial Confirms Two-Car McLaren Artura GT4 Program
Florida-based team joins forces with McLaren Orlando for two-car GS class effort...
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/impc/crucial-confirms-two-car-mclaren-artura-gt4-program/
Mid-November Target for Finalized LMDh Homologations
LMDh cars completing verification, wind tunnel testing in North Carolina...
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/imsa-aco-targeting-mid-november-for-final-lmdh-homologations/
Friday, October 28, 2022
From the official IMSA website
A few bits and pieces of news items that may or may not have been discussed as of yet, from IMSA, pertaining to the WeatherTech Championship and the new VP Racing Sports Car Challenge.
Castroneves, Pagenaud Return to Meyer Shank for Endurance Races
https://www.imsa.com/news/2022/10/25/castroneves-pagenaud-return-to-meyer-shank-for-endurance-races/
New Horse in Town: Ferrari 296 GT3 Ready for Racing in 2023
VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Offers More Opportunity
Scoop, There It Is! Expectations High for Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2
Thursday, October 27, 2022
Marciello Pleased With "Really Good Year" After Latest Title
Raffaele Marciello looks back on title-winning season with Mercedes-AMG...
World Endurance Championship coverage
Sorry, everybody. I have been extremely busy on all fronts as of late, in life in general, and have yet to finish working on the race report for the 6 Hours of Fuji with the FIA WEC finale at Bahrain fast approaching. Trust me, maybe this weekend you will indeed see a race report on the Fuji event. Time has gotten away from me and I apologize. There will be a race report on Fuji coming. It is on deck. Stay tuned.
IMSA Targeting 12-15 Cars Per Class for Series' Launch Season
VP Racing SportsCar Challenge seeing "a lot of energy building" for 2023 season...
Wednesday, October 26, 2022
Barwell Targeting Le Mans as Part of Lamborghini EVO2 Plans
SRO stalwart Barwell Motorsport aiming to join ACO ladder; sticking with Lamborghini under new EVO2...
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/elms/barwell-targeting-le-mans-as-part-of-lamborghini-evo2-plans/
Martin Returns to BMW Ahead of 2023 Season
Maxime Martin returns to BMW's roster after five years away...
https://sportscar365.com/industry/martin-returns-to-bmw-ahead-of-2023-season/
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
WeatherTech Championship Headlines
A smattering of headlines from the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship during the offseason with more testing for the new GTP cars still to come, in December.
IMSA Reverses LMP3 Driver Rating Requirments for 2023
United Autosports more than likely will not race in IMSA in 2023 and shall focus solely on their efforts in the FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series, and Asian Le Mans Series.
United Autosports Unlikely to Enter IMSA Races Next Year
Porsche Completes 36-Hour LMDh Endurance Test at Sebring
Castroneves, Pagenaud Confirmed for MSR Return
Monday, October 24, 2022
A Porsche Group C Reunion in Leipzig
Porsche: 40 years of Group C - a reunion in Leipzig.
With the introduction of the Group C sports car class for the World Endurance Championship from 1982 and the new complex fuel consumption rules, Porsche sees the opportunity to build an innovative racing car: Looking back, the Porsche 956, a "race car of the century," is born in 1981. The objective is not only to participate in the demanding World Sports Car Championship, but also, from 1984, in the U.S. IMSA series and other series that allow Group C vehicles to participate. In a development period of just nine months, a guarantee of success is created by the time of the first race in Silverstone in 1982, which in the following years turns out to be Porsche's most successful racing car of all time.
Derek Bell is now 81 years old, but when the lean Brit climbs into ‘his’ Porsche 956, he cuts as elegant a figure as ever. Yet while 40 years ago it seemed like he was simply doing his job, today he concedes: “We worked like crazy.” By ‘we’, he means all the racing drivers who drove the ‘supercar’ Porsche 956/962 models at racing speeds – although for today’s purposes, he’s thinking particularly of Jochen Mass, Hans-Joachim Stuck and Bernd Schneider. They all came to Leipzig to share their very special personal recollections of the most successful Porsche racing car of all time. It was 40 years ago that the Group C era began.
At the Porsche Experience Centre in Leipzig, Bell and his colleagues encountered the winning car from the 1982 24 Hours of Le Mans with chassis number 956-002. Also present was the 956 with chassis number 956-005, which won the 1,000-kilometre races at the Nürburgring and Spa, among other triumphs. This racing car was fully restored by the Porsche Museum and returned to its 1983 livery. These cars were also joined by the IMSA-spec 962 from 1984, which posted the fastest qualifying time in Daytona, and the 962 C that won the Supercup in 1987, both of which had also been restored to their original glory. Beside them was the 962 C with the starting number 17, the Le Mans winner in 1987. Also present was the youngest representative of Group C, the fourth-place finisher at Le Mans in 1990: the 962 C with chassis number 962-015, from the Joest customer team.
The reunion was also attended by then-test engineer Helmut Schmid and – joining by video – Norbert Singer, the head of the project and metaphorical father of the legendary car. Such an assembly of experts and stars needed a host who can meet them on an equal footing – in this case Timo Bernhard, the Le Mans winner in 2010 with AUDI and 2017 and two-time World Endurance Championship winner with Porsche. “The 956 is the most successful racing car in the history of Porsche. It dominated everyone. And it remained a winner for an unbelievable 12 years,” he said to kick things off. The 956 was unbeaten at Le Mans from 1982 to 1985, and this success was seamlessly continued by its successor, the 962 C, which took first place in the 24-hour race at the Circuit de la Sarthe in 1986 and 1987.
The car’s list of successes is indeed impressive: five manufacturer’s and team titles, 43 individual victories at WEC races, five WEC driver’s titles, seven overall victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (from 1982 to 1987 with the 956 and 962 and with the 962 Dauer Le Mans GT in 1994), four IMSA titles, 52 individual victories in the IMSA races and five victories at the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Sunday, October 23, 2022
Glock Parts Ways With BMW After Ten-Year Stint
DTM veteran no longer BMW factory driver following Italian GT Championship season finale...
https://sportscar365.com/other-series/glock-departs-bmw-after-ten-year-stint/
Saturday, October 22, 2022
HARRISON: 2022 Pro-Am Champions
Ashton Harrison's latest column reflecting on her championship winning season in the Pro-Am class in SRO GT World Challenge America.
https://sportscar365.com/features/commentary/harrison-2022-pro-am-champions/
Falken First Customer Team to Race New Porsche 911 GT3 R
Falken to give 992 generation Porsche 911 GT3 R further development race outing in NLS...
https://sportscar365.com/other-series/n24/falken-first-customer-team-to-race-new-porsche-gt3/
Friday, October 21, 2022
WRT BMW's Among 32 GT3 Cars on Provisional Dubai Entry
Pair of BMW M4 GT3's for Team WRT among 32-car provisional entry for next year's 24H Dubai...
Isotta Fraschini Presents Michelotto-Built Hybrid LMH Car
This shall be a fascinating project should it be approved by the FIA and the ACO and be able to race. However, even with these small, boutique brands, they still must compete in a full-season effort in the FIA World Endurance Championship. I don't believe they would be allowed to run Le Mans as a one off event.
Classic Italian automaker Isotta Fraschini presents hybrid LMH car for 2023 Le Mans bid...
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/isotta-fraschini-presents-michelotto-built-hybrid-lmh-car/
Will the Isotta Fraschini be at Le Mans next year? It is coming faster than we think and of course, the car will have to be approved and crash tested once it is built. Watch this space. We'll see what happens to be honest.
Thursday, October 20, 2022
K9H Motor Festival Launched for Kyalami 9H
Week-long activities planned in buildup to February’s Kyalami 9 Hour…
https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/k9h-motor-fest-set-for-kyalami-9h-weekend/
GTP Manufacturers' Buy Into 'Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday' Mantra
Selling passenger vehicles remains the ultimate goal for the competing brands in the WeatherTech Championship's new top prototype class.
https://www.imsa.com/news/2022/10/20/gtp-manufacturers-buy-into-win-on-sunday-sell-on-monday-mantra/
Dinamic Set to Continue Two-Car Program with New Porsche
Dinamic Motorsport confirms plans to run Porsche's new Type-992 GT3 model next year...
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Porsche Cup Class Joins Updated 38-Car Gulf 12H Grid
Six Porsche Cup cars added to updated Gulf 12H entry alongside 32-car GT3 field...
https://sportscar365.com/other-series/gulf12h/porsche-cup-cars-join-expanded-gulf-12h-grid/
News from the official IMSA website
More WeatherTech Championship news from the official IMSA website.
Human Touch: Drivers Are Crucial Component of GTP Testing
Sims Slides Comfortably into Cadillac GTP Seat
GTP Manufacturers Walk Fine Line of Sharing and Developing
Garcia, Taylor Plan Return to No. 3 Corvette with a Splash of Milner
The Right Type: Porsche 911 GT3R. Type 991.2, Caps Era of Excellence
Kevin, Jan Magnussen Team Up in MDK Ferrari for Gulf 12H
Kevin Magnussen to make GT debut in MDK Motorsports Ferrari entry alongside father Jan...
https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/magnussens-team-up-in-mdk-ferrari-for-gulf-12h/
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
LIVE | Main Race | Donington Decider | Intelligent Money British GT Championship 2022
Four GT3 entries and three GT4 crews will battle to be crowned 2022 Intelligent Money British GT champions when Season 30 concludes at the #DoningtonDecider.
Welcome to coverage of the Donington Park decider for British GT 2022 featuring both GT3 and GT4. Plus, a review of the season before the finale. We join the commentary team of Andy McEwen and Harry Benjamin in the commentary box, and Bryn Lucas in the pit lane.
The two-hour title showdown is one of UK motorsport’s annual highlights and has a habit of turning conventional wisdom on its head by providing drama right up until the chequered flag.
RAM Racing’s Ian Loggie will be dearly hoping that isn’t the case this year, though, thanks to his sizeable but not insurmountable GT3 points advantage over Adam Balon and Sandy Mitchell (Barwell Motorsport), James Cottingham and Lewis Williamson (2 Seas Motorsport), and Morgan Tillbrook and Marcus Clutton (Enduro Motorsport).
The GT4 championship scrap includes one fewer contender but could deliver a classic showdown, even by British GT’s standards, thanks to a combination of existing points and Success Penalties yet to be served. Newbridge Motorsport’s Matt Topham and Darren Turner start with the initial advantage but will have two Silver crews – Richard Williams and Sennan Fielding (Steller Motorsport), plus Josh Miller and Jamie Day (R Racing) – to contend with.
Two anniversaries – British GT’s 30th season and 20 years of Intelligent Money – will also be celebrated when every car carries a one-off windscreen banner design featuring both the IM roundel and British GT’s pre-SRO logo. Donington hosted the series’ very first race in 1993, making it the perfect venue at which to commemorate the milestone.
IMSA Season Reviews
2022 IMSA season reviews in each class from the official website.
GTD 2022 Season Review: As Summer Heated Up, So Did De Angelis and No. 27 Aston Martin
LMP2 2022 Season Review: Farano 'Towers' over the Competition
LMP3 2022 Season Review: Braun, Bennett, CORE Take Smart Route to Title
GTD PRO 2022 Season Review: Determined Pfaff Rolls Away with Crown
DPi 2022 Season Review: Meyer Shank Prevails in Last Hurrah for Class
DOUBLE STINT: News Roundup; Listener Question & More (10-18-22)
The latest episode of the Double Stint Podcast.
https://sportscar365.com/podcasts/double-stint-news-roundup-listener-question-more/
NOLA Moved to Avoid IGTC Clash; Sonoma to Open Season
NOLA Motorsports Park event moved to accommodate Kyalami IGTC date; new cars...
Monday, October 17, 2022
More WeatherTech Championship news
The offseason may be in full swing as far as IWSC before going into 2023. But the news cycle never takes an offseason break. Here is what is going on. All the news you can use as far as the WeatherTech Championship is concerned.
First Images of Corvette Z06 GT3.R Revealed
BMW Selects Van der Linde, Wittmann For Florida Enduros
Lamborghini Expects "At Least Five" New EVO2s for Daytona
Jeff Westphal's latest column.
WESTPHAL: Left Wanting More
Corvette to "First Focus" on U.S. GT3 Customers in 2024
Cadillac Making 'Major Progress' After 11,000 kms in Testing
IMSA Adjusts Red Flag Driver Time Requirements
Kelly-Moss Planning Two-Car Porsche GTD Effort for 2023
TDS Confirms Second LMP2 Entry for Thomas
GM: LMDh Hybrid Deployment Methods "Still in Motion"
Le Mans Cup & European Le Mans Series
I know. I know. I have been asleep at the switch for a bit now. I hope to have the energy and time over the off-season to cover the action in both the Le Mans Cup and the remainder of the European Le Mans Series season which actually concluded last weekend and settled which cars and teams from the championship will be invited to the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans, the centenary of the great race. Stay tuned because I sincerely hope to bring you the Le Mans Cup and ELMS action over the winter. I shall do everything I can to make that happen.
Pro Class Confirmed for 2023 Bathurst 12H
All-pro lineups to feature in next year’s Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour…
https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/pro-class-confirmed-for-2023-bathurst-12h/
Sunday, October 16, 2022
Post-Race News After Barcelona
Post-race news after the SRO GT World Challenge Europe race in Barcelona, completing the 2022 season.
Akkodis ASP Wins Endurance Cup Title at Barcelona Finale
Title-Winning ASP Crew "Didn't Have the Cards in Our Hands"
JP McLaren Inherits Gold Cup Win After Winward Penalty
Barcelona Post-Race Notebook
Iribe: Completing Ambitious Title Mission "A Dream Come True"
Saturday, October 15, 2022
Winner & Highlights of the GT World Challenge Europe Finale at Barcelona Catalunya
It is the finale of the 2022 SRO GT World Challenge Endurance Cup at Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. Now, before we begin, I know what you are asking. Where on earth is coverage of the sprint final? Do not be alarmed. Yours truly shall get to the sprint championship final which took place before this one. However, that one is going to be totally in highlight form because those events are only an hour long with two races across the weekend. There is also catching up to do insofar as GT4 Europe and I plan to do that as well, maybe over the off season. With all these races happening so close together, some of the events just get away from me.
We come into Barcelona off the back end of an extremely wild and wooly event at Hockenheim last month. This is the title decider for the GTWC Europe Endurance Cup. It is championship showdown day, today. Circuit de Catalunya outside Barcelona, and the championship challenge is a two-team fight. The Prancing Horse of Ferrari and Iron Lynx vs. the three-pointed star of Mercedes and Akkodis ASP. It is Antonio Fuoco, the Italian, vs. the Spa 24 Hours winning trio of Daniel Juncadella, Raffaele Marciello, and Jules Gounon. They are in the pound seats. The Mercedes has run so well all year. Recall their litany of woe at Hockenheim. However, that has not put them on the back foot whatsoever. They are loaded for bear and looking for the title today.
Daniel Juncadella says that they are focusing on their own race and not worried about what their rivals are doing. Raffaele Marciello says all will be well if they keep up the pressure on the Ferrari and Jules Gounon believes it is a combination of being humble but also giving it everything they have in order to win the crown. Antonio Fuoco did not score points at Hockenheim. The Italian former open wheel racer is ready and so is the whole team at Iron Lynx. They know they want to uncork qualifying laps and then go for it during the race, all the way. In the Gold Cup class, McLaren have the lead with the Inception Racing car of Ollie Milroy, Fredrik Schandorff, and Brendon Iribe.
They have won twice. Brendon Iribe is flying in from America to go for the title after also competing in the opening stint for Inception Racing at Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta which was the IMSA finale we covered here on the blog last Saturday night. If you missed that race, I urge you to go back and read about it. It was a sizzler! Ollie Milroy says that they had a good day at Hockenheim and they believe momentum is on their side. Fredric Schandorff too, the Dane who is the third driver is confident. The other team they will be watching out for is the other Iron Lynx Ferrari, the Iron Dames entry. Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting, and Sara Bovy could win after winning at Spa.
Michelle Gatting says it was amazing to be able to come into the finale to fight for the title. They want to bring it home. Sarah Bovy says you need performance and luck. They believe they can do it and they don't want to leave anything on the table. Pro-Am competition will be hot and heavy. We have to look at Louis Machiels and Andrea Bertolini as favorites. They are serial winners in SRO GT World Challenge Europe competition. They have won a bunch. Stefano Constantini is the third driver. They want to win but the deal is that the championship is what they want.
Racing drivers always want to win. Stay calm, enjoy the weekend just the same. Garage 59 McLaren will be on the attack fully this weekend in the #188 McLaren 720S GT3 for Alexander West, Miguel Ramos, and Henrique Chaves. The McLaren is competitive, but they will have to score very well. Ramos is aware of bad luck striking. So, they want to win. They don't want any gremlins and Alexander West, the Swede, agrees. We have to also have a Captain Cook at the #20 SPS Automotive Performance Mercedes AMG GT3 that has been shared by Dominik Baumann and Valentin Pierburg. Once again they are joined by Ian Loggie of England, this weekend.
Dominik Baumann had different co-drivers at Spa in the 24-hour race and thus he is on a different number of points coming in. Recall that he was sharing with Pierburg I believe but they also had Reema Juffali and George Kurtz in the car. I think Colin Braun, Kurtz's co-driver in GT World Challenge America, may have been there, too. But don't quote me on that. My memory is a wee bit rusty. So Baumann is handing back points in order for he and Pierburg to be on equal footing. The team can still go for the title. In the Silver division we have seen much success come the way of the #30 ROFGO Audi R8 and in both Sprint and Endurance.
I know. I know. I have not covered the sprint events closely enough. We shall get there. Bear with me ladies and gentlemen. This is hard work cataloging all these races and trying to keep things together. The trio of Jean Baptiste Simmenauer, Benjamin Goethe, and Thomas Neubauer, have been a potent trio all year. They are champions and one of the guys has dyed his hair already to celebrate. Thomas Neubauer says their objective is the team's title. OK. Cue the other theme music. That means we are looking at the points structure. Drivers and teams, titles to be won for full season, Endurance Cup, and Sprint Cup. The Sprint Cup points that have already been scored are going to be added to the Endurance Cup points once this motor race is done and dusted.
The classes who will be earning respective points are all four we have just mentioned. Overall/Pro, Pro-Am, Gold, and Silver. Class lineups look like this.
Overall - any drivers
Pro Am - Platinum/Bronze/Bronze
Silver - Silver drivers only (they are what we in the sports car racing world call "sneaky Silver's")
Gold - Platinum/Silver/Bronze
For this race in Barcelona, we shall have 48 starters split between seven manufacturers. Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes, and Porsche are all here. Let's review the pit stop procedure. In cas you've forgotten, all four wheels must be changed. There must be a driver change. The maximum stints per driver are 65 minutes. The minimum refueling time is 37 seconds. Here's the breakdown of points in this three-hour race and any other three-hour event. The 24 Hours of Spa of course, because it is the biggest enduro and a special event, has a totally different points scale.
1st: 25 points
2nd: 18 points
3rd: 15 points
4th: 12 points
5th: 10 points
6th: 8 points
7th: 6 points
8th: 4 points
9th: 2 points
10th: 1 point
We are also seeing the Fanatec Points Boost. Now, this is something I cannot recall hearing about in the other races we have covered so far this year at Monza, Paul Ricard, Spa, and Hockenheim. I know why and this is because it factors in the Esports series, the virtual racing series. Yours truly does not get his head around virtual racing. Needless to say, first through fifith in the Esports Cup gives (on a sliding scale), from first through fifth, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point. Here are the global manufacturer's points and we can see that Mercedes AMG is way ahead of both Audi Sport and Ferrari. The totals are:
Mercedes with 19,360 points
Audi Sport with 14,974 points
Ferrari with 12,722 points
With all that number crunching out of the way, now we can get to racing. Much of pre-qualifying and Free Practice was chilly and the race conditions see much warmer conditions. The grid based on time averages. Welcome David Addison and John Watson in the commentary box. This is a race to win and a championship. In the morning qualifying session, with 48 cars in three, 15-minute sessions, where on earth do you find a clear lap? Now, the track temperature is the same, but the ambient temperature is hotter. Mr. Watson is absolutely right. Don't get me started chuntering on about tires because the fact f the matter is that tire preservation is going to be absolutely critical.
Traffic is as always a major deal. Big grids especially in sector three here at Barcelona is a bear. We also join Jemma Scott in the pit lane. Jules Gounon is still nursing a sore back but he doesn't care about the pain. He is going to drive through it going for a title. Qualifying was a big deal. The Akkodis ASP team left nothing on the table but they only managed to qualify in eighth spot. Gounon is going to take the second stint while Juncadella is first in the car and Raffaele Marciello will take the car to the flag. The Ferrari on pole is in the pound seats with Alessandro Pier Guidi slated to start that automobile. Traffic is going to be a bear.
Let's hope that everything will be clean. The GT4 race was a mess. I hope to cove those events when I can. We'll see. But what a great location for the GTWC Europe finale. Antonio Fuoco has a point in the bag for pole at Ferrari. Antonio Fuoco, the man of the hour, is here. The pressure is on. Fuoco says that it will be tough. Everyone put solid laps together. They know the challenge. Alessandro Pier Guidi will start and then they know the tire degradation on the Pirelli P Zero's will be a major deal. Iron Lynx have Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina, and Giancarlo Fisichella. But poor old Fisichella, the Formula 1 veteran, he had argy bargy in qualifying with Dennis Lind in the McLaren, so he cannot really help the sister car going for the title.
Fisichella should let his teammate by and whoever is following, make their life difficult and play the role of blocker. That is what will have to be done. Albert Costa, the Spaniard, at his home race. He is driving the Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini and last time he raced here in Barcelona in 2019, he won the race that day. Costa is driving the second stint at Emil Frey Racing. He wants the team to show their real pace. They are looking for a great result and have not had the best 2022 season, not the one they wanted. Valentino Rossi starting 12th in the #46 Audi. He will start the WRT car. It is his final race of the year. He wants to do the Gulf 12 Hours, the finale for the Intercontinental GT Challenge.
In IGTC, we shall see what happens but as far as Fanatec GT Europe this is the end of an era. Audi and WRT are to split after this event because WRT are going towards racing with BMW and should be doing so in the prototype category going forward. Chris Reinke, head of Audi Customer Racing is wishing Rossi well. This is his first time starting an endurance race in Fanatec GTWC Europe. He will have to be on his toes, that is for dead sure. Stay out of trouble and watch out for the first few corners. It can be even worse to tiptoe into the opening corners instead of divebombing in there way too hot when you might just know you are going to overcook it.
Mercedes have won three of four endurance races here at Barcelona. The race is due to begin in about ten minutes. Rossi ran in stint one at Paul Ricard too. Every car in this race is of the same GT3 spec from the different brands we always talk about, and the driver ratings are different. Pro, Pro-Am, Silver, Gold. It is the end of an era, Vincent Vosse and Audi. 13 seasons with Audi, since 2009. This is the last one and Vincent Vosse wants to finish this one on a high. Vincent Vosse was also a good driver in open wheel and in GT racing. He drove a Dodge Viper years and years ago as we hear the Spanish national anthem in the background.
All of the McLaren's have been very strong and we shall have to watch out for them as this race goes on. 48 cars set to start this race and staying out of trouble is the biggest key deal today. That is what everybody shall want to do. We don't want incidents and have to have Full Course Yellows and safety car deployments. There was a red flag in the GT4 support race. If you run off the road, you have to go behind the bollard. Tons of fans here looking on and a lot of them are for Valentino Rossi, the many-time motorcycle racing champion. The formation lap is now underway according to Race Director Alain Adam.
It is a long straight downhill to turn one before you climb to the other side. Don't run too far offline. Some teams are doing a different driver rotation than usual. Clashing sports car races mean different driver lineups. Again, we have 48 starters. Any cars that have trouble or are not able to set a time in qualifying are demoted and must start caboose on the field. So, it is the final race of GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. Tires, tires, tires, will be critical. There will be rubber shredding off the tire and it will narrow the racing line. Watch your track position in the first turn. The safety car is in the pit lane.
The field is formed up. We have a green flag and we're underway for the GT Europe final in Spain! Pier Guidi gets a whale of a jump as we see Ferrari, Porsche, and Mercedes glued together running to turn one for the first time of asking. Pier Guidi to the lead followed by Klaus Bachler in the #54 Dinamic Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R and now, Jack Aitken is making his presence known in one of the Emil Frey Racing dark blue Lamborghini's on the inside line and he makes the pass. Everyone is safe as one of the Audi's goes off and on and so does Philipp Eng's BMW. Jack Aitken leads Klaus Bachler. He can focus on catching the #71 Ferrari.
Alessandro Pier Guidi building the lead. Up the hill it is a scrum between Audi and Mercedes. That is Maro Engel vs. Charles Weerts. So, the #2 AMG Team GetSpeed Mercedes AMG GT3 vs. the #32 WRT Audi R8. We don't know if rival Mercedes teams will help Akkodis ASP battle the Ferrari's as Ollie Wilkinson tries it on Valentino Rossi. Rossi is the one staying ahead of Ollie Wilkinson as we get underway here in Barcelona. A long way to go yet. Heroics on the first lap in one of these long races is not what you want. Sure, this is only a three-hour event. But the point still stands. We saw heroics in Petit Le Mans, the IMSA finale on Saturday and that didn't go so well.
Down into the chicane and Ollie Wilkinson must shortcut the chicane. He cannot gain a place but gained time. Will there be a penalty? One of the Emil Frey Lambo's runs wide, Leo Roussel in #19. he is back on the button. Now, Alexander West, though, in the #188 Garage 59 McLaren is headed for the pit lane early doors. What is going on? We shall keep you updated. Alexander West to the pit lane. He probably did not warn the team about coming to the pit lane. The McLaren is in the pit lane and being pushed into the garage. In the chicane, the #31 Audi got turned around and the #188 got caught up in the shemozzle. That is the #31 WRT entry of Finlay Hutchison and he was tagged by Alexander West's McLaren 720S GT3.
He will lose a lap or two and it might be game over for Garage 59 as they were innocent bystanders. So, Alessandro Pier Guidi is building his lead, 2.3 seconds to the good over Jack Aitken, Klaus Bachler, Christian Klien, and more. Your top ten as they run is Pier Guidi, Aitken, Bachler, Christian Klien, Nicolai Kjaergaard, Daniel Juncadella, Maro Angel, Charles Weerts, Luca Ghiotto, and Valentino Rossi. Rossi chasing after Ghiotto. Audi vs. Audi. The BMW M4 GT3 is next up. The BMW has some great technology, and it is definitely a race car more than a production car. Finlay Hutchinson pits the Audi and Leo Roussel is also in the lane early doors. Roussel driving one of the other Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini's.
The Frenchman is the lead driver in the #19 car sharing alongside countryman Arthur Rougier, and Giacomo Altoe of Italy, a man we have seen racing in SRO America in GT World Challenge America, also at the controls of a Lamborghini in the American series. Konsta Lappalainen is driving one of the team cars for Emil Frey as they climb over the brown. There is a raging battle in the Gold Cup right now as we speak. Iron Lynx Ferrari #85 vs. Herberth Motorsports Porsche #911. Sara Bovy and Ralf Bohn having a scrap in the middle of the pack. Giancarlo Fisichella is booking it. He started 47th on the grid and in two laps he has motored his way up 15 places to 32nd. He will continue climbing, the former Formula 1 driver turned Ferrari sports car ace.
Hang back? Wait for an advantage? No way. I am going for it all the way. Brendan Iribe fifth in Gold in the #7 Inception Racing McLaren. Hubert Haupt in the #5 HRT Mercedes in the Gold Cup, he is taking the opening stint. But, like Brendon Iribe did traveling from Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta to here in Barcelona, Haupt has to finish his stint, get changed, and fly to an important business meeting. A lot of these drivers are Pro-Am or "gentleman" drivers, who do not make their full living at racing and they have other businesses. The team owners are sometimes the same way. They have other businesses outside of motor racing that they attend to during the week.
Good scrap here between Audi and Lamborghini as we watch Baptiste Moulin fighting his way through the traffic alongside Luca Ghiotto. So, it is the #563 VSR Lamborghini Huracan GT3 vs. the #12 Tresor by Car Collection Audi R8 in this positional fight. Lambo runs wide on the exit and has to give it up. Meanwhile, Valentino Rossi is having a clean race but is being pulled along by Luca Ghiotto. Rossi and Ghiotto. Sounds like an Italian race to me. Two identical Audi's right in the hunt and battling each other for track position here in Barcelona. Well, well, well. As the fuel load burns off and the tires warm up he will go quicker.
Noted incident between Rossi and the #19 Lambo we mentioned earlier, the Emil Frey entry in the hands of Leo Roussel. Incident in Turn 15 noted. Thank you, Alain Adam, for that information. So, we shall see what comes of that. If those two get tangled up again, each driver could have a penalty in their future. Finlay Hutchinson and Brendon Iribe made contact. Huchunson has damage. Another three-way scrap to watch in the middle of the pack. Barcelona is the action track this afternoon ladies and gentlemen! Wow. Ollie Wilkinson at the wheel of the #38 Jota Sport McLaren is being harried by two Audi's. The #25 Sainteloc Junior Team car of Swiss driver Lucas Legeret all over the tail of the McLaren with the #30 Team WRT Audi of Benjamin Goethe in hot pursuit.
Rossi and Iribe have both been tagged by the stewards for incident responsibility although no official word from Race Control yet. Iribe, remember, is fighting for the championship in the Gold Cup driver's category. Again, we shall reiterate that all of these cars from the myriads of brands, are built and run to GT3 specification. The difference is in the ratings of the drivers. I know. I know. I have crusaded about this madness before. I don't like the driver rating system in international sports car racing and I think it is silly. So, I shall step off my soapbox. But, at the same time, that is just what we have to deal with at the present moment and that is how the classes are defined by the ratings of these drivers based upon their skills and experience no matter the car and platform of car they are driving.
At the start it looks like Rossi cut in on the blue Lamborghini in the yellow liveried #46 Audi we can see on the right of the screen. There was McLaren taking evasive action but then we saw the shemozzle between Brendon Iribe and Finlay Hutchinson and of course Alexander West ended up getting the worst of that mess. Oh man. Just when you thought this race would settle down. Not a chance, mate. There's another four-car scrap here, look, for 15th place. Lucas Legeret and Benji Goethe trying to get away and at the same time being monstered by Konsta Lappalainen and Phillip Eng. Audi, Audi, Lambo, BMW.
Eng hovering, probing. Eng very nearly shoves the Lamborghini into the turn. This is the second wave. Eng all over Lappalainen like a cheap suit, but at the same moment we can see that Ollie Wilkinson is the cork in the bottle. He is holding up this whole line. In the championship fight Alessandro Pier Guidi is in the lead of the motor race while Dani Juncadella is sixth on the road currently. In replay we can see the earlier incident when Brendon Iribe tags Finlay Hutchinson into a spin. He is sitting there wondering what to do and then... bang. He gets crunched again by Alexander West and that is where poor old West received the damage to the McLaren. So that is a lose, lose situation for both of those blokes.
That is why the stewards are studying Iribe's driving. Jack Aitken uncorks fastest lap of the race thus far but is still 2.7 seconds in-arrears of the leading Ferrari, the #71 of Alesandro Pier Guidi and meanwhile, the green #54 Dinamic Motorsports Porsche of Klaus Bachler, he doesn't need a written invitation to this party. He is already joining in the fun. As our pal John Watson points out, we don't see this stretched, gapped field in an endurance race so quickly. But that is surely what we are getting as the race is well underway here in Barcelona. 2.7 seconds the lead gap in the motor race working lap six around this 2.905-mile circuit. 17 miles in the bag.
There's a long way to go. The lead gap is 2.7 seconds as Rossi is pressing Ghiotto. Christian Klien aboard the #111 JP Motorsports McLaren 720S, the former Formula 1 driver is listed as the fourth-place runner, but his transponder is on the fritz. This is first of the two JP Motorsports McLaren's that Klien shares with Dennis "The Menace" Lind and Vincent Abril, the Monegasque driver. Silver leader Nicolai Kjaergaard, the Dane, in another McLaren is right behind him. Kjaergaard driving for Garage 59 in the all-blue with white stripes liveried car. One Pro and one Silver class car. The McLaren's are staying ahead of Dani Juncadella and the Akkodis ASP #88 Mercedes.
Juncadella and company need to move to the front and fast. Thank you for another important point, John Watson, and that is, while your tires are fresh, not even thinking about your pit strategy, you as the driver of that race car want to make hay while the sun shines. Trying to pass that McLaren battle between Klien and Kjaergaard may become a bugaboo for Dani Juncadella. Meanwhile, in the Gold Cup, we see Hubert Haupt leading the class for his eponymous team in the #5 Mercedes AMG GT3. Hubert Haupt is kind of a living legend. He took time out of motor racing to work with his businesses.
He has run at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, run in the DTM, and might be back in DTM too now that their championship (like SRO Europe) is running GT3 machinery. Kjaergaard and Klien as we said, are in their own internecine McLaren battle. Haupt got rejuvenated and returned to DTM. Right now, the points are such in the Gold Cup division are a dead heat between Iron Dames and Inception Racing with the Haupt Racing Team drivers Hubert Haupt and Arjun Maini of India, tied all on identical points tallies. You have Bovy/Frey/Gatting on 94 markers, and Schandorff/Milroy/Iribe on 94 markers and then on 77 points is the duo of Haupt and Maini.
That title fight in Gold could very well come down to a tiebreaker. We see Chris Froggatt making good progress in the #93 Sky Tempesta Racing Mercedes. Froggatt is also in the Gold division and is currently ahead of Brendon Iribe. All year, Chris Froggatt has been sharing with Jonathan Hui and with Eddie Cheever III. Down to the braking zone in turn four we can see Iribe chasing Cheever right now as we speak. The running order in Gold Cup is Haupt, Bovy, Froggatt, Iribe, Ralf Bohn, Arnold Robin, Maciej Blazek, Karim Ojjeh, Nico Gomar and Jens Liebhauser.
Meanwhile, look, Giancarlo Fisichella needs no second invitation to pass Brendon Iribe. He sees the open door and step right through saying, "grazie mille", and "I'll have some of that, thank you." Whoops. Brendon Iribe is getting freight trained because Ralf Bohn in the Porsche also sees the door is still wide open. Oh, Brendon. You've left yourself perfectly exposed to your rivals, sunbeam. With Bohn passing Iribe, then, if things stay static, the Iron Dames, the Ferrari driven by those three ladies, would win the Gold Cup championship. Now, there's a long way to go. We shall see who does what in the Gold Cup. But indeed, beyond Iribe and company and Bohn and company and their teams, Nielsen, Gatting, and Bovy surely have a shot at it.
The pressure is too much for Brendon Iribe as he is tagged and spins! The Lamborghini biffed him right up the back. Spaniard Isaac Lopez ended up giving him a little nudge and sent poor old Brendon Iribe on the whirligig. Inception Racing team boss Bas Leinders will be beside himself. He cannot believe what he's seeing! That whole shemozzle started with what we saw earlier when he was challenged by Ralf Bohn and by Sara Bovy. The stewards will be eyeballing that one and for now at least the Iron Dames are in good shape.
Inception have just lost ten points to the Iron Dames which means Iribe and then his co-drivers later in Fred Schandorff and Ollie Milroy, they will have a tough road to hoe here in the latter stages of the motor race. Right now, Sara Bovy is pulling clear of the second Dinamic Motorsports Porsche #56 in the hands of Giorgio Roda. Roda, the Italian, sharing with a pair of Scandinavians, Marius Nakken from Norway and Mikkel Pedersen from Denmark. Bovy is sandwiched between Giorgio Roda and Alex MacDowall who is at the wheel of the #77 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3.
MacDowall sharing in that all-British trio with Jordan Witt and James Dorlin. Ideally, Sara Bovy has her own line on track and she can run her own race ahead of Giorgio Roda, Alex MacDowall and others. She is in a good spot. In the meantime, look, Giorgio Roda stays ahead of Chris Froggatt. The British Mercedes driver was making inroads and clearly, he wants to take the fight to the Dinamic Motorsports team. But right now, he will have to exercise patience. You know the saying. Discretion is the better part of valor. We resume having a look at the lead scrap.
It isn't really a scrap of any kind because presently, Alessandro Pier Guidi is leading Jack Aitken to the tune of 3.3 seconds and in third spot is Klaus Bachler, the Austrian Porsche driver. Clearly, these are the top drivers in GT3 for their respective makes. Pier Guidi, a Ferrari specialist. Bachler is an anchor for the Porsche team and in terms of the raging bull, Jack Aitken has become one of their top pilots after really making his name at first in open wheel racing or single seaters if you prefer that description. Christian Klien in the McLaren is up the order, the former Formula 1 driver from Austria who very famously raced for Red Bull.
Going back to Mr. MacDowall in the Barwell Lambo, he is 29th in the overall right now. More battles to have a Captain Cook at as we see in Pro-Am down the straight, it is Ferrari vs. Audi. Alex Malykhin the Pro-Am leader aboard the #91... pardon me, that's a Porsche, not an Audi. Anyhow, Malykhin leads over Louis Machiels in the Ferrari, the Belgian veteran driving for AF Corse. Gosh, I can remember Machiels in the early days of this championship when it started as the old Blancpain Endurance Series way back in 2011, so that's well over a decade ago now. Oh. The other car in the scrap there was the orange and black Boutsen Racing Audi, the #10 car. Machiels nearly chops off the Audi's nose! We can see Alex Malykhin in the Allied Racing Porsche. He is sharing in a two-driver team with Turkish driver Ayhancan Guven.
Guven in this two-driver team, is a champion in Porsche Super Cup. Let's have a look at Pro-Am points, because now the Garage 59 McLaren is out of the motor race. It is game over for Alexander West, Miguel Ramos, and Henrique Chaves. Machiels is running second in Pro-Am. Let's have a look at the Pro-Am championship points as they run. I can't stand points as they run, because things change through the race. But enough of my beef. Now, Machiels, Bertolini, and Constantini are tied on 121 points for the lead. There is also a tie for second between co-drivers at SPS Automotive Performance and their Mercedes, and that's the Pierburg/Baumann duo, the German and Austrian pairing. Then, it is Garage 59.
So, with their tale of woe as it is now, Alexander West, the Swede, is tied with his Portuguese co-drivers, with Miguel Ramos and Henrique Chaves, on 87 points apiece. For a 48-car field through almost 20 minutes of a three-hour motor race, this has been squeaky clean for the most part. Oh, here we go. The understatement the day, mate, because you just know that the argy bargy, the hip and shoulder, the crash, bang, wallop kind of stuff... whatever you call it, is going to get into high gear, maybe. The gap now has ballooned to 3.4 seconds, and we still see Klaus Bachler in the Porsche right on Jack Aitken's six. He has gone nowhere.
Those two are motoring away from the next group which is Christian Klien and Nicolai Kjaergaard in a couple more McLaen's before you find other drivers like Dani Juncadella, Ollie Wilkinson, there's a whole mess of cars running mostly single file right now. The field is just streaming right through and now we hear Alain Adam, Race Director on the radio. Incident between cars #27 and #7 in turn 12 under investigation. That is the Brendon Iribe McLaren and the #27 Lamborghini Huracan of Isaac Tutumlu Lopez to give him his full name. Lopez is sharing the Leipert Motorsports car with Brendon Leitch from New Zealand and with American Tyler Cooke.
Now, we have seen Leipert Motorsports before specifically in Creventic 24 Hour Series racing with a Lamborghini and Tyler Cooke and Brendon Leitch have been a part of those driver lineups before. Isaac Lopez in this instance may be required to visit the sin bin and cop a penalty for his actions. Greg Masters and Richard Norbury are two British stewards who have a lot of experience and are permanent stewards on the team for SRO Europe. Isaac Lopez went for a gap that never existed there. You could have put a piece of A4 paper between the front bumper of the Lambo and the reat tail of the McLaren and that move was just not on.
As a driver, don't be foolish like that. You are just sticking your nose in a spot where it doesn't belong and you can't just drive through the other bloke who is minding his own business in front of you. Hence, you spin the guy out and he can't believe his luck. The other chap is thinking, "oh great! What did I do to deserve this?" Hence, the stewards will ping you and send you like the naughty student sent by the teacher to the principal's office to get your hand slapped with the ruler. John Watson you're bang on the money! You just took the words right out of my mouth. What have I done to deserve this? That is what every driver asks in these situations.
Alex Malykhin was also a jolly lucky bloke to avoid the McLaren by a gnat's whatsit. The McLaren fight continues, Pro vs. Silver with Christian Klien and Nicolai Kjaergaard. Yours truly is getting tongue tied here. The trouble is that Dani Juncadella is buried in sixth place and can't make any worthy moves. Team manager of Leipert Motorsports Lamborghini, please report to the stewards' office. Please report to the stewards' office immediately. That will be all. Giancarlo Fisichella, meantime, is motoring. He has made it to 33rd overall and 15th in class in the Pro division. Your Pro division standings look like this, sans Leo Roussel.
The order is Alessandro Pierguidi, Jack Aitken, Klaus Bachler, Daniel Juncadella, Maro Engel, Charles Weerts, Luca Ghiotto, Valentino Rossi, Christian Klien, Oliver Wilkinson, Lucas Legeret, Phillip Eng, Neil Verhagen, Kim Luis Schramm, and Giancarlo Fisichella. Fisichella is now trapped behind Bachler and has to find a way around that lime green and black Porsche. Oh my! Look at that! We have a massive chunk of debris in the chicane. That looks like a fender, a fender well, a massive chunk of carbon fiber and it's just sitting there. This has to mean we are going to deploy the safety car. Where did this massive chunk of bodywork come from?
It's not on the racing line but it's wedged in the chicane on the inside of the curb. There's a turtle there, a big curb, and this piece of bodywork is sitting just beyond it. Maciej Blazek, the Polish driver, is in a rush to get to the front just like Giancarlo Fisichella. Fisichella has moved up 14 places. He started 47th and is running 33rd. That bodywork is a fender off of a Porsche and the #911 Herberth Motorsports entry is the culprit. He gets clouted in the back and spins out and then that fender just, the air pressure caused by the spin, upsets the aerodynamics on that Porsche and rips the fender away on the left front corner.
You can see on the camera it is the whole left front corner of that car was sheared off. #27 was next in the queue for sure. But there's no way the bodywork from the front would have been dislodged by a rear end hit. Ralf Bohn should make his wayt to the pit lane because if the left front corner is dislodged then, the whole front bumper and the rest of that bodywork is liable to lose it's aerodynamic integrity and become yet another flying projectile. Scary stuff. Pier Guidi leads Aitken now by four seconds. Pier Guidi pulling away from Aitken on a Sunday drive here in Spain.
The marshals will be displaying the meatball flag to the Herberth Motorsports Porsche very soon because of the level of damage we have already highlighted. Again, the meatball flag is the black flag with the orange dot that tells a driver there is something that has mechanically compromised their race car. Aitken and Bachler continue their battle and now, Fisichella gains yet another spot, look, on the sister Dinamic Motorsports green and black Porsche. He's doing all he can to pass countryman Giorgio Roda. But Roda doesn't want to give it up.
Roda had the preferred line going into turn five. Fisichella passes though and makes it stick. Done and dusted. Ralf Bohn did tap Fisichella's car in the back and there's a black streak on the back of it, although I think that is part of the Ferrari graphics, or paint scheme or whatever. I don't think Bohn traded paint with Fisichella in that shemozzle. Co-driver Miguel Molina, the Spaniard, looking on. Molina will be the next driver behind the wheel when the pit stops occur just after the hour mark and the driver rotation begins for this three-hour race. Typically, you have three drivers and they each drive for one stint. That is how one of these three-hour enduros works.
Pier Guidi leads overall, Kjaergaard leads Silver, Haupt is at the top of the shop in Gold, and in Pro-Am it is Alex Malykhin leading in class in 36th overall. Four cars covered by half a second. Kjaergaard, Juncadella, Maro Engel, and Charles Weerts are covered by a second and then comes Valentino Rossi followed by Luca Ghiotto. It is now official from Alain Adam over the radio and that is Isaac Lopez will earn a penalty for his collision with the #7 Inception Racing McLaren of Brendon Iribe. It is indeed a drive through.
Right now, Charles Weerts is the best placed of the Audi's in eighth spot. Weerts is losing time in traffic and is stuck behind Maro Engel and Daniel Juncadella, both of the Mercedes drivers. Charles Weerts has to know that if he cannot pass the Mercedes' on the road, then he will hope for a lightning quick pit stop from the WRT team and can leapfrog them that way. The #32 Audi has been readjusted insofar as rear bodywork. On the Saturday they seemed to be running sans the rear fenders or something. That is all enclosed bodywork as opposed to half closed and half open. In the meantime, speaking of WRT Audi, Finlay Hutchison and company are headed for the bench.
Game over and season over for Hutchison, Diego Menchaca, and Lewis Procter. We'll see you boys in 2023. Another full on retirement is the Lamborghini driven by Leo Roussel. So, that is #19 Emil Frey Racing Huracan GT3 he was due to share with fellow Frenchman Arthur Rougier and Giacomo Altoe from Italy. For them, too, it is game over and a retirement. Alexander West is back into the race but is six laps down due to damage repairs on the Garage 59 McLaren. So, he and his team are still in the race but not in contention. Oh man, I could've been a contender! Not on this day, sunbeam, I'm afraid.
Weerts patiently waiting to see if he can get an opportunity. The McLaren battle is JP Motorsports vs. Garage 59. Nicolai Kjaergaard should be able to considerably hold of the former Red Bull Formula 1 ace, Christian Klien, at this stage of the game with barely 25 minutes on the board. Daniel Juncadella is keeping a watching brief and waiting to pounce if those McLaren's might make a false move and throw it off into the weeds. OK. OK. I cannot stand points as they run. However, if the race were (by some bizarre circumstance) to end now, Antonio Fuoco and Ferrari would take the title over Daniel Juncadella by seven points. Here in fact is your top eight scenario early doors.
1. Antonio Fuoco ITA. 94 points
2. Daniel Juncadella ESP. 87 points
3. Jules Gounon FRA. 87 points
4. Raffaele Marciello CHE. 87 points
5. Davide Rigon ITA. 68 points
6. Daniel Serra BRA. 68 points
7. Luca Stolz GER. 55 points
8. Steijn Schothorst NLD. 55 points
So, you have a situation where the second-place runners are all tied up (a three-way tie), and a further two-way tie between Rigon and Serra, plus a tie between Stolz and Schothorst as well. Juncadella, Gounon, and Marciello have to book it. Kjaergaard is a second ahead and Pier Guidi is 15 seconds ahead. Poor old Juncadella is caught in traffic. How will Juncadella be able to find the pace to get by the McLaren's? He's got nothing right now.
14 laps now done and dusted here at Barcelona, so that is just about 40 miles complete. We have not even scratched the surface yet. Stay with us, ladies and gentlemen because this race for GTWC Europe Endurance 2022 at the curtain closer, could very well get spicy before it's done and dusted here this afternoon, or this morning if you are watching stateside. The top five cars are cutting their best laps at this juncture in the 1:47-1:48 range. Alessandro Pier Guidi aboard the #71 Iron Lynx Ferrari, he has the most consistent average lap time over a five-lap period.
These listings of lap times are for the Pro category. That is the talent level of these Pro drivers in the GT3 cars because they can metronomically bang out quick laps consistently over and over and over and are totally unphased. That is what the team bosses and the manufacturers expect. Winning is the only objective. There is no time for second best here. This is indeed a motor race and not, oh, a friendly game of checkers. Weerts is closing in on Engel and gaining on the Mercedes driver. WRT Audi vs. AMG Team GetSpeed Mercedes. That is the battle we are looking at. Last corner entry speeds for the top cars are mostly calculated at 146 kilometers an hour, and Pier Guidi at 148 kilometers an hour. Again, a narrow margin, anywhere between 91 and a quarter miles an hour and 92 and a half miles an hour.
Weerts is giving it all he has but does not have the speed to stay totally glued to the Mercedes cars. Alessandro Pier Guidi leads the motor race overall and his main intent is really to do his part to help Antonio Fuoco to the title. He is the reigning endurance champion but won't be this year. Hockenheim last time out was a catalog of disaster for a number of teams. It gave us a jumbled result at the end of a good race. Meanwhile, Christian Klien is losing ground to Klaus Bachler in the Porsche with Nicolai Kjaergaard next in the queue. There will be driver changes coming in the next half an hour. Klien losing time to Bachler, and he has to go like the clappers to stay ahead.
In the meantime, Klaus Bachler himself, the Austrian Porsche veteran, has his hands full trying to make a move on Jack Aitken in the other of the two remaining Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini's, the car he shares alongside Albert Costa and Mirko Bortolotti. Bachler is reeling in Aitken a tenth of a second at a time, going extremely fast right now. Aitken, 1:48.3, Bachler, 1:48.2. Klaus Bachler is right on Aitken's six. These chaps have eked out a major gap over Christian Klien out of corner nine and as we look at that turn on the road, here are the speeds. Aitken is fastest at 154 kilometers an hour (96 and a quarter miles an hour). Two drivers, Alex MacDowall and Alessandro Pier Guidi are running 150 kilometers an hour (93 and three quarters miles an hour), and two more are clocked at 148 kilometers an hour (92 and a half miles an hour), and those are Christian Klien, and the second of the GetSpeed Mercedes cars that has Frenchman Sebastien Baud at the wheel of it.
Lamborghini, Ferrari, and McLaren, all mid-engine cars while the Mercedes is front engine of course. 17 laps now completed and Alessandro Pier Guidi runs six seconds clear of the Lamborghini. When it rains it pours, even on a sunny, gorgeous day here in Barcelona for Isaac Lopez. Remember how he tipped Brendon Iribe into a spin at the start? Now he has been reported by the stewards for speeding in the pit lane and will have to incur a drive through penalty for that transgression. Just like yellows breed yellows and safety cars breed safety cars, it is obvious that drive through penalties breed drive through penalties. OK. Enough said about that.
Pier Guidi has run fastest lap of the race and set a personal best lap as well. Hubert Haupt aboard the #5 Mercedes for his eponymous team is the class leader at 1:48.840 and in the high 1:48 to low 1:49 bracket, the Gold Cup fast laps order is Haupt, Sara Bovy, Chris Froggatt, Ralf Bohn, and Maciej Blazek. So, a good mix of cars are in that fight. Mercedes (two of them), Ferrari, Porsche, and McLaren. Bohn has had to do a reset after spinning earlier. Maciej Blazek has been under the radar as of late. Haupt is the leader in his division. The team boss, also driving. Player/manager like Michael Bartels used to do for the old Vita4One team.
We have 27 minutes before the first hour of the race is complete and from the first pit stop round. Haupt sharing the car with Florian Scholze and Arjun Maini. Alex Malykhin in the Porsche leads Pro-Am and he has done a lot of driving in the British GT Championship this year which is also an SRO sanctioned series for GT3 cars. Malykhin is merely in his second season of racing of any sort after running in 2021 in the British Porsche Cayman Sprint Challenge. Now he is in with the big boys going between British GT and GTWC Europe. You do not want to overdrive the car in sector three here at Barcelona or you will knacker your tires in a heartbeat. Be smooth, be precise, and be smart as a driver through the third sector.
Three of the four cars that started in Pro-Am Cup are still in the race after we documented Alexander West's retirement. Malykhin in the Porsche, Louis Machiels in one of the AF Corse Ferrari's, and the Mercedes of Ian Loggie. Loggie is sharing the #20 SPS Automotive Performance AMG GT3 with Valentin Pierburg and Dominik Baumann. Isaac Lopez, meanwhile, hit a bollard in the pit lane and crossed the green paint and speeding in the pit lane entry. So, he has copped three penalties in just a half hours' worth of driving! Man, oh man, when it's not your day it's not your day. That's going to smart. Poor old Isaac Lopez is going to have a king size ice cream headache just thinking about all of that.
It's one of those weekends where it just ain't working'. Charles Weerts wants by Maro Engel and in the meantime, Philip Eng has gone by Lucas Legeret as well. Still in the top ten behind Weerts are his fellow Audi drivers and competitors, Luca Ghiotto and Valentino Rossi. Once again, that sounds like an Italian race to me! Rossi is running well and will be set to hand the car over for the next stint to either Nico Muller or Fred Vervisch. We don't know which of his co-drivers it will be just yet. Weerts is at the tail end of the lead group of cars and is ahead of Ollie Wilkinson in the #38 Jota McLaren and Wilkinson in turn will be laser focused on getting past Ghiotto. Engel is also trapped behind Juncadella in traffic.
The battle in Pro-Am is still raging. Ferrari vs. Mercedes. Louis Machiels ahead of Ian Loggie. Loggie leads British GT and could be champion of the series by the finale at Donington Park. One of the other Mercedes' is up there as well, the Winward Racing car with Jens Liebhauser at the controls. Liebhauser of Germany sharing with Italian Matteo Ferrari (oh, the irony), and veteran Austrian, Lucas Auer. That being said I don't believe Matteo Ferrari is related to Enzo Ferrari or the car company. I very well could be wrong, but I cannot say for certain. The Barcelona track layout is easy for a driver to learn.
The variable with this track is how it changes over the course of the day, over the course of a race. The track conditions are always a variable. Loggie is giving it the stick and is catching the Ferrari. He is third in Pro-Am but way down in 41st overall. Two retirements mean we still have 46 cars running on track. Loggie is doing everything possible to pass Machiels who is defending a position. The track limits warnings are piling up, including for Giancarlo Fisichella. Machiels is gapping Loggie and is in hot pursuit of the Lamborghini in the hands of Nico Gomar. Gomar at the wheel of the #8 AGS Events Lamborghini Huracan GT3 that he shares with Mike Parisy and Loris Cabirou in an all-French driver trio.
Fisichella has moved up to 31st spot but is bottled up behind Chris Froggatt in the #93 Sky Tempesta Racing Mercedes, as we see a spin, look, out of turn two for Karrim Ojjeh. Ojjeh, the Saudi Arabian driver at the controls of the #10 Boutsen Racing Audi R8. That team owned by Formula 1 and sports car racing veteran driver Thierry Boutsen who has run in Formula 1 and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans before among other races. Ojjeh resumes in the race but will drop down the pile. Trouble for the #52 AF Corse Ferrari! Louis Machiels, the Belgian, has a tire puncture!
That is the Pro-Am championship leading car with a flat as a pancake left rear Pirelli P Zero. He has to be aware of how fast he's going before the tire oscillates and delaminates. The tire deflates and then overheats and breaks the bead between the tire and the wheel rim. Car #27, ten second penalty for speeding in the pit lane and violating the pit entry procedure. Ollie Wilkinson still under attack as we also see a scrap between Konsta Lappalainen and more. Benji Goethe is there and there's been more shuffling. Lappalainen monstering Goethe.
Phillip Eng went down the inside in the #98 Rowe Racing BMW M4 GT3 on Ollie Wilkinson in the #38 Jota McLaren. Wilkinson has gone through. Will the stewards be studying that one? Or was it truly a force majeur situation? Wilkinson gives the place back to Lucas Legeret as the Ferrari mercifully trundles to the pit lane to replace the flat tire. The order is shuffling in the middle of the pack as Machiels is going to be serviced. Christian Klien being pressured by Nicolai Kjaergaard in a battle of the McLaren's. Machiels gets the new tire and is back on track. The class result is what he is looking for.
The battle for sixth place is really heating up as Charles Weerts is reeling in Maro Engel inch by inch. In the last five minutes of the hour, roll the dice. Audi might go for their tires, fueling, and driver change a tad earlier to try and move up the order as Weerts is harried by Ghiotto. Nicolai Kjaergaard is really fighting for it against the two Mercedes' of Juncadella and Engel. Meanwhile, Alessandro Pier Guidi is lighting the afterburners as well. Pier Guidi is whistling off into the distance and so, Iron Lynx's strategy is hopefully to be the rabbit and everyone else is the pack of hounds chasing once Alessio Rovera gets into the car for his stint.
Pier Guidi and Rovera have been competing for Ferrari in a different championship for most of the year in 2022 but it seems that they are definitely plug and play when it comes to driving the GT3 spec 488 model and of course, Ferrari, on all fronts in GT racing, will have a new car set to debut next year in the form of the new 296 model. We have talked at length about that in several of the race reports you have read on the blog lately. Plus, they are readying their Hypercar program for next year as well. The sports car arm of Ferrari with their fingers in several pies at this time. Alessandro Pier Guidi has been able to drive as he wants to.
Jack Aitken remains in second place. Rovera may take the second stint and Antonio Fuoco in stint three. Juncadella is trapped behind these two pesky McLaren 720S GT3's as Christian Klien remains as (say it with me), the cork in ye olde bottle, and Nicolai Kjaergaard wants a bite of the cherry but cannot get it. This is really a game of follow my leader here as we are well into the meat and potatoes of this race. But this is not an enduro, so we don't get the giant cake slice at the end, just the small piece. Being trapped between Kjaergaard and Engel right now, is a real ice cream headache for Daniel Juncadella.
Cake and ice cream? OK. The food analogies are going way too far! Now, I'm hungry! Not. This is no time for eating, mate. We've got a motor race on our hands, and a good one at that! The McLaren's have had the speed advantage on the front straight all weekend. The Mercedes and Audi drivers have to be wondering how the McLaren boys have all this speed. BMW though have the fastest speed of anyone in terms of manufacturers. Neil Verhagen, the American driver for the BMW Junior Team is fastest of all in the VMAX speed trap on the circuit at 271 kilometers an hour, 169 and 3/8ths miles an hour.
Three more drivers run below that at 270 clicks (168 and three quarters miles an hour). Those are the Audi of Roald Goethe and the two McLaren's of Wilkinson and Blazek. A third McLaren is fifth fastest through the traps and it's Christian Klien at 269 kilometers an hour (168 miles an hour). So, the McLaren's are definitely having their own little party in the speed traps right now although the Audi and the BMW have gotten to the pinata sooner to try breaking it open and getting all the candy! Candy? Tut, tut, tut. Food analogies again, Sir. Maro Engel must pass Daniel Juncadella to break up the party and steal the McLaren's candy. This is not a scrum between Akkodis ASP and Team GetSpeed. Not in the least.
Nearly 45 minutes on the board. Engel is still pushing hard. The pit lane shall open in ten minutes or so. Charles Weerts is still making his presence known right behind Maro Engel. Weerts wants to pass and is as close as he's been in the last couple laps or so. Weerts has a Captain Cook but can't make it work. Weerts is the GTWC Europe Sprint champion for the third year in a row teaming in the hourlong races with Dries Vanthoor. Never fear. Yours truly hopes to have video coverage of those races on the blog soon, during the offseason. You will be able to see them. Trust me.
Juncadella must be losing patience with Engel harrying him and the Audi might be handling a tad better than the Mercedes. Charles Weerts is cutting a quicker lap but still can't make inroads. Engel is the meat in the sandwich going up the hill to turn ten. Engel runs deep into the turn but Weerts can do nothing about it. Engel has much less grip available while Weerts has the grip but cannot use it. Engel is the cork in the bottle for Weerts or maybe it is a screw top and he is using a defective bottle opener. The bottle opener just does not have enough leverage.
They dive into turn one starting another lap. Benjamin Goethe running 13th is doing all he can to keep Konsta Lappalainen behind him. Oliver Wilkinson runs ahead of these two. McLaren vs. Audi vs. Lamborghini and the Audi and the Lambo have the same motor of course, the 5.2-liter V10 naturally aspirated motor. We shall see Lamborghini go prototype racing in 2024 but for that endeavor they have chosen to build a V8 engine as opposed to a V10. Goethe sharing the Audi with Thomas Neubauer and Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer, so two Frenchmen and a Monegasque sharing that car as they have all year in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe, powered by AWS.
This is for second and third in class in the Silver Cup. Track position on the pit stop exchanges is the big deal insofar as pit strategy because as this race has worn on, and we are nearly an hour in, in another ten minutes, trying to gain track position on the road is easier said than done. It might be the nature of the Barcelona circuit, or it might be the rhythm this specific motor race is falling into as we see Lappalainen glued to the decklid of Goethe. Creativity and cleverness is called for as we approach pit stop time. That is for dead sure. Any teams who have wizard strategists on the box, working those calculators, play your ace in the hole, now.
Mercedes #2 and Audi #32 may hit the lane early doors because that will assist without getting trapped behind a slower car. Ricardo Feller should take over from Charles Weerts while Jules Gounon should take over #88. Ollie Wilkinson in the #38 Jota McLaren, the leaders clear him. Now they are working on the #26 Sainteloc Junior Team Audi R8 which was started in the race today by Nicolas Baert of Belgium and has either one of the two Frenchmen in it as his co-drivers. So, it is either Aurelien Panis or Cesar Gazeau currently driving. Christian Klien, the experienced Austrian, he may be experienced as a driver, but he is still the cork in the bottle. Honestly, someone please give me a bottle opener, stat!
Neil Verhagen in the BMW Junior Team BMW M4 GT3, car #50, he is 15th overall right now. He has the sister yellow and navy blue Akkodis ASP Mercedes #87, of Thomas Drouet, another Frenchman, squarely on his six. Catching is one thing and doggone it, passing is (to quote Monty Python), "something completely different." I mean, they can catch up, but when they've come out of the final turn, they just flat run out of steam pulling onto the front straightaway. I wonder why. People can pull away a tad but the Balance of Performance with these GT3 cars is so close that you just know they are going to have a piece of string between them and no one is going to be able to stretch that out. It is a piece of string, not a rubber band by any means.
Noted incident by the stewards in corner eight involving the #777 Mercedes AMG GT3. Ah yes. Good old triple seven is the Al Manar Racing by HRT Mercedes AMG GT3. Omani driver Al Faisal Al Zubair sharing with Zimbabwe's Axcil Jeffries, and Fabian Schiller of Germany, a rapid Mercedes factory driver in GT3 cars is the trio in that car. Juncadella, the speedy Spaniard, is coming to the end of his stint and has about 15 more minutes behind the wheel and in that time, he must split the McLaren's if he wants to keep #88 in the game. Christian Klien, 1:49.5, he is running a tad slower. He and Kjaergaard are slowing each other down.
Now, now. Hold the phone here, ladies and gentlemen. It's ringing. Hello? It's Race Control! We've just noticed another incident as two Porsche's play tag. Ralf Bohn for Herberth Motorsport vs. Giorgio Roda for Dinamic Motorsport. The German and the Italian (in the cases of the drivers and the teams alike). #911 tags #56, and #56 goes for a spin! Bohn shall have to visit the sin bin for sending poor old Roda on that merry-go-round ride. What goes up, must come down. Spinnin' wheel got to go 'round, in the words of Blood, Sweat, & Tears in their 1969 single, "Spinning Wheel".
An appropriate tune for a motor race. Klien, Kjaergaard, Juncadella, as poor old Ralf Bohn is muttering under his breath as he keeps going. Klien, Kjaergaard, Juncadella. Klien's pace is magnetizing the following cars, and he bails for the pit lane. He knows he needs to pit for service before these other chaps steamroll over the top of him. Maro Engel also in the pit lane and this is way early. We still have nine minutes before the first hour of racing is done and dusted and two more after that. Has the table been set for this championship run at Barcelona? Or are we going to expect to see more surprises before this one is over?
Stay with us to find out. In come the two cars in question. You can drive 65 minutes maximum in one stint. Christian Klien out of the car feeling he was struggling with tires. These are fresh Pirelli P Zeros going onto the car but they aren't new. They were probably quickly bedded in to knock off the release agent during Free Practice or one of the qualifying sessions for the race. There is also a pit stop at Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed. At JP Motorsport, will it be the Monegasque Vincent Abril, or the rapid Dane Dennis "The Menace" Lind getting into the car? I suspect it is Abril taking the middle stint.
Maro Engel in the lane and Ollie Wilkinson in the lane as well. Also taking service we have Neil Verhagen and Al Faisal al Zubair. Ralf Bohn has trundled his severely damaged Porsche into the pits too. We have heard from Race Director Alain Adam, one of the earlier incidents has been noted and I want to say it was that fracas between the Porsche's, the one between #911 and #56. 45 of the 48 starters still running as now, the #2 Mercedes is back on the track but he has to clear that Ferrari into corner number one and has to do it, now.
Ah! Darn it. He nearly gets his nose chopped off by the Ferrari as it scythes by into the first corner! Close shave! Engel was jolly lucky as he now has made the pass, and there's the difference, look, between fresh tires and tires that have been wearing down and being thoroughly used for nearly an hour, a good what, 53 minutes or so? Maro Engel has indeed leapfrogged Christian Klien's McLaren. More pit stop action as Daniel Juncadella and Charles Weerts are in. Two of the frontrunners stopping at the same moment. Valentino Rossi and Alessandro Pier Guidi are in the lane too. Iron Lynx did not need to bring the #71 Ferrari in but they have done so.
Pit exit for them will be more critical in many ways than the entry was. Where will they fall into place in the running order after the service is complete? Juncadella in the Akkodis ASP Mercedes is in and so is the #12 Audi for Tresor by Car Collection. Tire life and tire degradation and durability are another major factor in all of this as we see the #911 Porsche 911 GT3R head back to the track. Alessio Rover now at the controls of the #71 Iron Lynx Ferrari entry. Just as I thought, the radio call from Race Director Alain Adam states it plain as day. Incident between cars #56 and #911 under investigation. Check and mate. OK.
Away goes Jules Gounon now at the controls of #88. Gounon moves ahead of Steijn Schothorst. Mercedes #2 really got the rough end of the pineapple on that latest round of pit stops and the #32 Team WRT Audi also gains ground. That is rolling the dice in the lane. The #63 Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini is also in pit lane as Jack Aitken has completed his stint. Now he will hand the car presumably to the Spaniard Albert Costa, in his home race here in Barcelona. Nicolai Kjaergaard hits the lane in the McLaren too and so the order is jumbled. All the balls are hovering in the air at this moment.
My assumption it is Dean MacDonald, the Englishman, who may be taking over the McLaren at Garage 59. I would think they'd save Manuel Maldonado, the British domiciled Venezuelan, and brother of former Formula 1 driver, Pastor Maldonado, for the end of the motor race. Gounon slices and dices through traffic as the Audi gets hung up over the curbs. Steijn Schothorst is now moving away from Ricardo Feller, as the Swiss driver takes his stint aboard the #32 WRT Audi after Charles Weerts. So they are going in reverse order on the driver stints and will put Dries Vanthoor in the car for the end of the race, keeping their powder dry at this stage.
Oh boy. Trouble here, look, for the #54 Dinamic Motorsports Porsche! That was Alessio Picariello gettng it all crossed up through the final turn, in the car started by Klaus Bachler. Picariello, the Belgian of Italian heritage, he is in that car for the middle stint of the race. Here's your answer about Picariello's adventure. He is getting stymied by the #51 Iron Lynx Ferrari. He goes to the outside and is shown no respect by his adversary as ex-Formula 1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella, turned sports car ace for Ferrari, nudges poor old Picariello out of the way. Well, well, well. Picariello too, he was partially to blame for that shemozzle because he knew he'd run out of road.
John Watson, thanks mate. You just read my mind. When it rains it pours, even on a sunny and wonderful autumn day here in Spain. Jules Gounon doing all he can to clear Nicolai Kjaergaard with the Porsche on the outside! Oh! Oh! Oh! It's nearly three-wide! Gounon knew he was going to be the meat in that sandwich and immediately backed off or that would have calamity! They get past the Porsche and can't do the same with the McLaren. We say it in enduros all the time. Traffic giveth. Traffic taketh away. Steijn Schothorst in the GetSpeed Mercedes, he got the worst of that deal being blocked by the Allied Racing Porsche. That is of course the Malykhin/Guven entry, with only two drivers.
Alex Malykhin, like an FIA or SRO registered driver and Ayhacan Guven, from Turkey. Gounon gets trapped behind the McLaren and Ricardo Feller goes sailing by, timing his move to perfection. Feller reading the traffic and poking his nose in just at the right moment. Feller wants by the McLaren, but Manuel Maldonado slams the door in his face. It is one position, but Jules Gounon will be kicking himself for having to give it up. It will be hard to get it back as we have more pit stops and now, Manuel Maldonado squeezes around the beleaguered #56 Porsche and Schothorst tries and tries again. Steijn Schothorst and Luca Ghiotto both pass and now, Nico Muller gets roughed up as well.
Gounon in wide and Ricardo Feller makes his move. The #56 of Giorgio Roda has been put on the whirligig, again. Pit lane speeding investigation for the #77 Al Manar Racing Mercedes and the #112 JP Motorsports McLaren. Feller trying hard to pass the McLaren and he has the pace to make it work, but the opportunity is another matter entirely. Okie dokie then. Alessio Rovera, meanwhile, is up the road from this battle pack. Alessio Picariello still doing his best to move up and he is in hot pursuit of Albert Costa in the #63 Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini. The order is reshuffling itself as some of the takers on the pit stops are now moving forward.
Christian Klien, though, he got caught out and is definitely on the back foot. Fluid on the road as Albert Costa wants by the Iron Dames Ferrari. In replay, we see Nico Muller trying to race with and pass Giorgio Roda, and... yes. The two cars did make contact sending Roda spinning, and... boom, right into the wall. The stewards are going to study that one and it may produce penalties. We will keep you posted. Albert Costa now up to seventh place with Alessio Picariello I believe, right on his tail. One hour of racing in the bag. Two to go to finish out GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup 2022.
At this moment, it could be (thanks for the astute observation, Mr. Watson... elementary my dear Watson). Wait, say what? The Porsche has the legs over the Lambo presently. As these two blokes are squabbling the Iron Lynx Ferrari is motoring away. Good to see Alessio Picariello back driving in Europe as he has done a lot of sports car racing in Asia this year. Incident between cars #31, #7, and #77 at turn 15 at the start will be investigated after the race. Ooh! Thank you, Race Director Alain Adam, for the information, and so, we may have some spiciness still to come post-race here at Barcelona. This motor race may end, but there is still some post-race drama we shall keep you aprised of.
Picariello 3/10ths of a second away from Costa. They are 7.8 seconds adrift though of Alessio Rovera presently. Picariello could conceivably move by, but the Lamborghini has the track position to keep it's current spot in the running order. Costa runs wide in turn three. Be aware of the track limits zones there, sunshine. Maybe Costa freed the car up to gain speed on corner exit. Or, it is possible his tires could be going away. You can get away with one slip up. But if you make a habit of it, to be sure the stewards and the Race Director, they will literally have your number. These chaps are currently in traffic with the #8 AGS Events Lamborghini up the road, Mike Parisy at the wheel of it, a man who has been competing off and on in SRO GTWC Europe since it's inception in the GT3 era anyway.
We have a couple more noted incidents as Race Director Alain Adam clicks the radio to inform everyone. So, if he mentions your team numbers, you'd best be on the lookout. Costa and Picariello are continuing their scrap, look, ahead of Sara Bovy. This battle is still for what is effectively second and third place on the road. No further inquiry necessary for the incident between the #46 and #56 cars in the pit lane. So that is the WRT/VR46 Audi and the second of the Dinamic Motorsports Porsche's off the hook. Picariello continues to push. Everything he has in his armory Albert Costa has an answer to. You have to know the Spaniard is a step ahead of the Belgian on this one at least currently.
Pit stop time for the #52 AF Corse Ferrari that had the deflating/delaminating tire earlier on and a driver change underway. Louis Machiels, the Belgian, hands the car to one of his Italian co-drivers. Will it be Stefano Constantini, or Andrea Bertolini? Sara Bovy brings the Iron Dames Ferrari in, and there, look, Ricardo Feller is pressing Manuel Maldonado for everything he's got. Feller is having a go pretty much every place possible, something other drivers in this race have not yet been able to do and we have seen also in DTM this year (another series running to GT3 regulations), that Feller is a gun driver. The Swiss ace is a real wheel man, and it shows here at Barcelona.
Mercedes #3 also in pit lane for tires, fuel, and a driver change. Two pink cars pitted next to each other. The #3 is the second GetSpeed car. This is the trio of Sebastien Baud of France, Canadian Jeff Kingsley, and Danish driver Valdemar Eriksen. Take the fuel bowser out of the fuel cap before dropping the car off the air jacks. Piece of cake. Pit stop complete. Ricardo Feller is right on Manuel Maldonado's tail. Maldonado squeezes Feller trying for the undercut into turn seven but cannot get far enough alongside. Feller's stint is just in the first stage. The Nico Muller and Giorgio Roda incident, not being dealt with. No need to.
Feller has really made a pig's breakfast out of all of this because he is being monstered by Jules Gounon in the #88 Akkodis ASP Mercedes. The McLaren has the #20 SPS Automotive Performance Mercedes ahead and everyone just fans out onto the front straightaway. I think it is either Ian Loggie or Valentin Pierburg in the #20 car. I am not sure Dominik Baumann is quite ready to step into that one yet. Maldonado, Feller, and Gounon, all three of them go by. Gounon, somehow or other has lost his straight-line pace even to other Mercedes AMG GT3's around him. Feller is once again using all opportunities he has at his disposal, superbly.
There is also a scrap simmering between Christopher Haase now at the controls of the #12 Audi Sport Team Car Collection car and Steijn Schothorst in the #2 Mercedes for AMG Team GetSpeed. Feller and Nico Muller as well take advantage of passing opportunities too. Feller is indeed running a proper motor race and he nips his way past the McLaren in a flash. Feller able to do what co-driver Charles Weerts couldn't. That may be a tad galling to Weerts. Feller has Florian Scholze's Mercedes as the next car on his shopping list. Scholze now at the wheel of the #5 Haupt Racing Team Mercedes that we saw team boss Hubert Haupt in earlier and that will be finished by Indian driver Arjun Maini.
We have not seen any sign yet (I don't think), a competitive sign, of the sister Haupt Racing Team Mercedes #4. That is the car shared by German Jannes Fittje, Aussie Jordan Love, and Swiss racer Alain Valente. #5 still leading in Gold Cup as we see Alessio Rovera really opening a gap to Albert Costa leading by nearly seven seconds on the road. He has 6.9 seconds in hand, officially. Costa is quicker. Is it his pace? Is it how the traffic falls? Alessio Picariello in the Porsche runs third. Fourth place to Ricardo Feller. Manuel Maldonado running fifth. Six through ten is Jules Gounon, Steijn Schothorst, Christopher Haase, Nico Muller, and Vincent Abril.
Haase is giving Steijn Schothorst a tough run for his money. It seems that the Audi R8 as a platform, as a car, is sticking better to the Barcelona circuit than a lot of the other GT3 cars in this race. They are all GT3 spec, but it is that old horses for courses situation where you will see certain cars excel on certain tracks and others less so. Here at Barcelona, this could indeed be an Audi circuit. Gounon knows he can get past Maldonado but now that he has seen Feller accomplish that, he also knows Feller is motoring away and thinks, man oh man, I have to get up there and challenge Feller! Feller in the meantime, he is in hot pursuit of Alessio Picariello. Picariello is 23 seconds ahead! That is a long way up the road and a lot of ground to cover over the next few laps.
Poor old Feller is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't presently. He is really going to have to pull something out of the hat before too long. 23 seconds is the gap and Feller will have to whittle that down to single number figures here in a wee while. Ricardo Feller is impressive with his traffic management but we can see that Jules Gounon is still closing in. The Mercedes is stuck ad it just does not have the pace losing oodles of time. The Ferrari cannot threaten either. Making a banzai move down the inside is worthless. There is a thin line between courage and stupidity. Ferrari #71 is now 1/3rd of a lap up on the #88 Mercedes. So Jules Gounon really is caught between a rock and a hard place.
We have seen wild things happen both here at Barcelona and we saw plenty of them at Hockenheim last time too. Maldonado bounds over the curbs, and I think, according to the Race Director Alain Adam's latest radio call, he might have a pit stop violation penalty in his future. It's Damocles sword being brandished again. Gounon was not in position to take advanage of an opportunity. Christoper Haase and Nico Muller are both motoring in their Audi's right now as Steijn Schothorst is closing on Jules Gounon. Gounon shadowing Maldonado as we are working the 38th lap of the race. 38 laps, 110 miles. Haase all over Steijn Schothorst who tries going defensive and almost holds off Haase. The Audi uses less road than the Mercedes does.
Gounon continues to challenge plunging down towards the kink at turn six. Muller, Haase, Schothorst. Steijn Schothorst, fending off the challenge from the Audi's means he cannot close up on the tail of Gounon at this moment. He has to focus on keeping the Audi's behind, so he does not lose two additional places on the road. In the meantime, Alessio Picariello is very close to catching and passing Albert Costa. These two, the Lamborghini and Porsche are still fighting hammer and tongs. Another incident penalty coming up from Race Director Alain Adam on the radio. No investigation necessary for the turn eight fracas between the #777 Mercedes for Al Manar Racing by HRT and the #11 Tresor by Car Collection Audi.
Albert Costa can consolidate his speed while Alessio Picariello is taking out chunks and that is going favorably towards the #54 Porsche as Costa cannot possibly let the Porsche by. Alessio Rovera now leads Albert Costa to the tune of 6.1 seconds. Comfortable, but he is not cruising. He's not whistling off into the distance by any stretch. The gap is shrinking, as we watch the lead battle in the Gold Cup. It is the #5 Haupt Racing Team Mercedes AMG GT3 in the hands of Florian Scholze, holding off the #83 Iron Dames Ferrari 488 GT3 with Michelle Gatting at the controls. So, this scrap is for the lead in Gold Cup and for 26th in the overall. Scholze has it and Gatting in 27th wants it.
The Iron Dames, if they win Gold Cup honors in the race then they win the class championship too. Gatting having a Captain Cook down the inside of Scholze. No move made. Gatting deciding discretion is the better part of valor presently. Miguel Molina has now taken over the #51 Iron Lynx Ferrari from Giancarlo Fisichella and he has now motored to 29th in the running order after starting next to last on the grid in 47th place. The Ferrari's are all having a good showing here in Barcelona as we continue to watch Gatting in hot pursuit of Scholze.
Catching is one thing, passing is another. The car you are following must cooperate especially through a tight curve like turn five. The Mercedes' are struggling with overall grip compared to the Audi's and Ferrari's, the mid-engine cars. If you do not attempt a pass no one is going to offer the opportunity. We look at the fastest trap speeds at corner nine in the Gold Cup division. Michelle Gatting fastest in the Ferrari at 152 kilometers per hour (95 miles an hour even). Cedric Sbirazzuoli, the Monegasque in another Ferrari in the #21 AF Corse car, is next at 150 kilometers an hour (93 and three quarters miles an hour). Lorenzo Ferrari in the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 third fastest at 149 clicks (93.125 miles an hour), Karim Ojjeh in the #10 Boutsen Racing Audi R8 fourth fastest at 148 clicks (92 and a half miles an hour), and fifth fastest in Gold Cup is Alfred Renauer now in the #911 Herberth Motorsports Porsche at 147 kilometers an hour (91.875 miles an hour).
Renauer seems to be making somewhat of a recovery for that team who were off the road and piled into the barrier big style earlier in the race. Gatting closing up on Scholze. She is positioned well. She is three car lengths behind the Mercedes. Will she show the nose into turn one? Not now. The Ferrari is definitely quicker than the Mercedes. The Porsche of Alfred Renauer, he is stuck in traffic and doing all he knows to catch up to the Gold Cup leaders. Penalty to be taken at the next pit stop for speeding in the lane and this is for the #77 car, the Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3.
That is the car of the British trio of Alex Macdowall, Jordan Witt, and James Dorlin. Michelle Gatting commits to the inside in turn four and shoots down the inside of the Mercedes of Florian Scholze. Gatting has the legs on Scholze. In tenth in class is the #7 Inception Racing McLaren. Ollie Milroy is doing everything possible to claw back time but that spin for Brendon Iribe when he copped a whack at the start of the race, has really put the Inception Racing boys on the back foot as we are fast approaching the midway point of the season finale here in Spain for GT World Challenge Europe. Barcelona Catalunya has been the action track today.
Brendon Iribe probably should have just decided not to fly from Road Atlanta to Barcelona as today's race has gone completely pear shaped for the Inception McLaren. Nico Muller is running ninth in the Pro class and ninth in the overall and we are about to hear what his co-driver, Valentino Rossi, the multiple MotoGP motorcycle champion known as "The Doctor" has to say. He is happy and enjoyed his stint. He gained two places at the start. He stayed with the veteran drivers and ran well on new and old Pirelli tires alike. He wants to take a nap but is really happy about his last stint of the 2022 season. He says his first year in car racing has been a good one. He will improve and learn as time goes on. He is learning endurance racing.
Last warning for track limits for car #10. Valentino Rossi will be back to race GT3 in 2023. It was an uninterrupted hour of racing for him. He kept pace and was definitely staying right with countryman Luca Ghiotto. We'll be halfway home in about ten minutes everybody. Alessio Rovera is being caught by Albert Costa as Manuel Maldonado slides the McLaren again and could open the door to a passing opportunity for Jules Gounon. This fight isn't over by any stretch of the imagination. It is still red hot. Gounon is stuck. He has nowhere to go and Jules makes a high risk, low percentage punt and it will not work!
He gets the door slammed in his face, flashing the lights saying, "let me by, goofball!" Alessio Rovera leading the motor race, he is cutting better individual sector times than either Costa in the Lamborghini or Picariello in the Porsche. Maybe traffic does have something to do with it in the grand scheme of things. In the background, look, it is the fight we were talking about. Porsche on top of Lamborghini. In the points, presently, Fuoco would still win the title if the race ended now over Juncadella, Gounon, and Marciello. Fuoco on 94 points and the trio at Akkodis ASP only on 87 points each.
The Ferrari was slicing through the slower cars. Gounon has made his move, and now, look, Steijn Schothorst is moving in and Manuel Maldonado wants a piece of the Dutchman! Schothorst blocking Maldonado, the Venezuelan driver, and Maldonado is not playing games. He will not roll over and play dead nor will he push the disappear button. I often say it but it is true. This is a motor race and not a spy movie. These GT3 cars are not super advanced spy cars with the availability of such trickery as road spikes, oil slicks (heaven forbid unless an engine goes bang), or smoke screens. Again, smoke screens would only apply if an engine were truly getting sick and chucking fluid all over the shop. Christopher Haase has now arrived on the scene!
He wants to make his move to the outside and pass Maldonado so he too can have a chance to make a move on Steijn Schothorst. Remember, to a racing driver, other cars are put on track only so they can be passed. Haase makes the move and has the drive past the McLaren to gain another spot. Easy peasy lemon squeezy there, look. Poor old Maldonado on the other hand... bish, bash bosh... three places lost in three turns. He will be ruing that and want to make more moves. That is for sure. The train of cars capitalize on your foolish mistake as a driver. Jules Gounon is now off the leash and he can go for it. Maldonado is side by side but Gounon has the track position.
Maldonado moves over to the left, going the long way around turn nine but he is on the dirty side of the road. Now, Maldonado is taking more pain because Nico Muller wants a bite of the cherry and wants to get past him. This is a real ice cream headache for Maldonado. Muller and Maldonado rattle over the curbs and you cannot give away tenths. Down they go to turn ten and Maldonado runs wide! Nico Muller is doing everything to find an opportunity here. Keep up the pressure. Muller is going to keep trying. We have Feller and Gounon up the road a bit and those two are starting to separate from each other as we speak. Ricardo Feller seems to be getting a wriggle on here and is making tracks.
Alessio Rovera may still be in the lead, but it sounds like Rovera is losing time to Gounon. Albert Costa too is dealing with traffic. The handling on that McLaren we are following from Muller's onboard camera looks like it is going away. Muller wants to go for eighth place and Maldonado is really ragged through the corner, but he is staying ahead. Maldonado misses the apex, but Muller just does not have the oomph to get past. The McLaren does not have the bite in the corner. Maldonado is not a dummy. He knows what is going on. Racing drivers know what their competitors are up to.
Maldonado is doing a masterful job of keeping Nico Muller at bay. Steijn Schothorst has in the meantime, flasjing the lights with Christopher Haase in tow. Stuart White, the South African, who we saw drive beautifully at Hockenheim, he spins the Lamborghini and resumes in the race. That is the #14 car for Emil Frey Racing. We saw Konsta Lappalainen take his stint in that car earlier and he and Stuart White of course are sharing the automobile with young Mick Wishofer of Austria who made his debut in GT World Challenge Europe at Hockenheim if my memory serves me correctly.
Audi #30 took a dive down the inside of poor old Stuart White, and he got the worst of it. Jean Baptiste Simmenauer at the wheel of the #30 Audi, running second in the Silver division. Schothorst and Haase continue their battle as Alessio Rovera leads Albert Costa now by 4.2 seconds. Christopher Haase, as we have followed other battles on the road, he remains glued to the decklid of Steijn Schothorst in the Mercedes. There are some parts here at Catalunya where you can find passing opportunities but not too many. That is because all these cars are so well equalized.
So, we have another pit lane penalty for one of the cars. Ten second penalty for speeding. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick... and the award goes to... Miguel Ramos. I got an award! No, you didn't. You just earned yourself a big, fat ten second penalty from the stewards. Cough, cough, cough, cough. Check this out. Albert Costa in just a second, he will have his hands full once again with Alessio Picariello. These two chaps have another back marker to clear, the #87 Akkodis ASP Mercedes AMG GT3 with Casper Stevenson at the wheel of it. Stevenson from England, sharing with Frenchman Thomas Drouet, and Italian, Tomaso Mosca.
Rovera has 48 laps in the book. 48 laps, 139 miles. Costa has been closing the gap on poor old Rovera. 6/10ths of a second, then 4/10ths of a second,a dn then... gasp... just a tenth of a second! Yoo hoo. Alessio! I'm right here, sunshine. At the same time Alessio Picariello is right on Costa's back door. Uh um. I'm here too. Notice me. Costa will be acutely aware that the German machine has more pace than does his raging bull. Oh no! A Porsche about to pass me? Impossible! Let's got to the pit lane and Jemma Scott as she is set to interview Costa's co-driver in the Lambo, Jack Aitken, who completed his stint earlier.
Aitken says the race is converging and it's tough. He believes he was doing well to hold off the Porsche and guesses Ferrari are saving the tires. Tire wear is high because of the heat, and the race is going well. He says "I am done so I can relax. I am trying to stop sweating but it isn't going well." The heat is indeed affecting tire degradation. Costa now 2.2 seconds behind Rovera as he is closing up on the back marker, and that of course is the aforementioned Casper Stevenson. Casper, a tip. You are about to be overtaken, sunshine, by the second-place car. Please let him play through. Thank you. Halfway through the motor race. An hour and a half elapsed and another hour and a half still on the board. The gap is now down to 3.2 seconds. So Costa pulls 3/10ths out.
The Ferrari was thought by Jack Aitken to be backing off. Is he saving tires? I think it is survival. Racing drivers will have different impressions than those of us who commentate on the races either live in the booth or from a blog like I do. So, it is best to listen to the drivers rather than listening to an old stiff like me chuntering on and on and on. Anyway, through turn five they go, don't hit the sausage curb. Through six and seven, and the leader is ahead. Costa is trying to tell Stevenson to move. More traffic ahead for the race leader too. You cannot avoid traffic in endurance sports car racing. It is the nature of the sport.
Costa is going to lose time through traffic, and he must be wondering how on earth he can shake Stevenson and get on with the job. Try to keep up with the flow of traffic! Easier said than done in a race car, folks. Stevenson lifts and coasts, and Costa goes by. Casper Stevenson knows he just has to give it up and let the faster cars through. Alessio Picariello hopes Stevenson gives him the same gift. Ferrari are looking peachy and could win three titles today for Overall, Gold, and Pro-Am. Now it's back to the Steijn Schothorst vs. Christopher Haase story. Haase will have a lunge to the outside of the Mercedes. How well will this work? They trade paint a little bit and Christopher Haase says "move over, grandma, I'm coming through!"
Haase goes to sixth place. That was good, clean racing. Haase has been working and working, chiseling away, and finally found the momentum into turn thre. Dropping down the hill, it s easy to get away. Alessio Rovera leads but while he gains time in one sector, he loses in another. Antonio Fuoco knows the team is pushing all the way and at the moment, the race pace is under control. There is that deceptive language from racing drivers. You must tell the press everything is under control and just peachy even if in reality you are jumping up and down with ants in your shoes trying to see what your co-driver can do in the remaining portion of his stint.
Fuoco was probably not aware that the gap reduced before he gets in for his stint with just over an hour to go yet. An hour and 25 minutes from the end of the season. Fuoco is now catching Picariello up, and so this is going to be manna from heaven for Albert Costa. Alessio Rovera is in a tough spot because he has two back markers up ahead squabbling in their own dice. The leader has to pass the #911 Herberth Motorsport Porsche with Alfred Renauer driving. On top of that, while looking in his mirrors, Renauer also has to deal with the #163 VSR Lamborghini Huracan GT3. This is the Vincenzo Sospiri Racing entry with Italian Andrea Cola driving. Cola, sharing with Belgian driver Baptiste Moulin and Norwegian driver Markus Paverud.
Then, the question remains will "Coca Cola", or maybe it is "Pepsi Cola" or "RC Cola", get out of the way? All apologies Andrea. Not ripping you for your last name, mate. It's just a friendly joke. Costa is catching Rovera in a big hurry. The gap has now dropped way down to 1.492 seconds. Whatever happened to waved blue flags? Are the marshals using blue flags to tell slower cars to go by? The cars have a lit flag system in the cockpit on the dashboard telling the drivers to obey flag signals, so the marshals' arms don't have to fall off waving the flags all the time around the circuit. Alessandro Pier Guidi pitted early, and they cannot bring the car in early with #71 so that Antonio Fuoco's mandatory 65-munute driving stint does not get cut short.
Costa goes to the inside of the lapped cars, and we can see Alfred Renauer way to the outside! He is going to try swinging around Senore Cola there, look, but if he does he'll have a ton of gravel in his face as he goess off the road. So now, Costa has cleared both of those jokers and he is going to be pressing hard for at least 20 minutes. Picariello in traffic and the gap is 11/10ths of a second. 1:48.8 for Costa and 1:49.2 for Rovera. Costa has the headlights on, so his competitors know he is coming in a big hurry, and he means business. Move it, folks. I'm coing through! Costa is one of the fan favorites here in Spain if you are a Lamborghini fan.
Picariello working through traffic as we find Jules Gounon in fifth spot, but his lap times are not allowing him to reel in Ricardo Feller as Michelle Gatting continues lead in Gold Cup. A pit lane violation of some kind for the #91 Allied Racing Porsche mentioned by Alain Adam over the radio, but we cannot hear that too clearly because we are also anticipating hearing in the pit lane from Sara Bovy. Bovy says she wants to end the season without having any regrets. They gave it everything in qualifying and are still doing so. Sara Bovy says her pace was good during the stint. Michelle Gatting is driving now and Rahel Frey will finish the race.
Alessio Rovera is being monstered now by Albert Costa with traffic ahead. Costa is now only a short distance behind. Costa is so close. He is trying to force the Ferrari into a mistake with an hour and 20 minutes left on the board. Akkodis ASP could lunge if the Ferrari and Lamborghini come to blows. Costa doing all he knows to force Rovera into a mistake and you might see Jules Gounon try to pounce. Rovera is bottled up behind the Mercedes. This is going to be a fine kettle of fish for Rovera if anything goes wrong. Rovera has to go, now! He has to pull the pin and get away from Costa but he knows that he doesn't want to be a fool and drive up the tail of the Mercedes that is a lap down.
Another damned if you, damned if you don't situation playing out right here in front of our eyes, folks. This is bananas because Rovera has to make a move on the lapped car now or Costa is just going to say, "screw it" and tip the Ferrari around causing a melee. Costa is hoping for a tow to get around the Ferrari down the front straight. Rovera plunks the car right in the middle of the road and here comes Costa while Alessio Picariello, he is licking his chops because he has a ringside seat for all of this. Rovera on the outside through turns two and three! Florian Scholze is the cork in the bottle backing Rovera into Costa who in turn is being backed into Picariello.
All this is, is one mega traffic jam with one desperate driver bobbing, darting, weaving, and lunging to try and get by. Smartly, Florian Scholze lets the leaders by and quits driving a very wide Mercedes for a wee while. Costa has to attack and defend simultaneously. A racing driver's worst nightmare scenario. Costa is flashing the lights, getting impatient as Rovera is losing time. Costa will be on the moon if he doesn't get a chance to go by, bluing on the radio to the team who will have to settle him down. Are the track temperatures bothering the Ferrari? Are the tires on Rovera's car going away? I mean, there's a whole catalog of things that could be happening.
Costa is going to pull the pin here. He is swarming behind the Ferrari. Down to the chicane. Will the Ferrari get scrappy? Be careful bounding over the curbs. Costa does not want to tag the Ferrari. Alessio Picariello too, is gaining ground back in the Porsche. The top three are running in the 1:48 range. You can have small variations in tire sets and we wonder if that is what is going on with the Ferrari. Maybe the tires are going off sooner. Coming to the chicane the leaders have a lapped Lamborghini to work around and that is the #77 Barwell Motorsports Huracan GT3 currently in the hands of Jordan Witt. Costa losing ground to the race leader, but he can at least stay glued on Rovera's tail for a while longer.
Rovera is being more cautious, not forcing the issue, because he has a lot to lose. If Iron Lynx are second, Akkodis ASP would have to finish fifth. Iron Lynx wants to win the race to win the title. At this stage in the game after Costa has done the hard work to catch the Ferrari, it would be silly to try and back off at all. Costa has to force Rovera into a mistake. They drop down again through turn ten. It is an issue of grip between the two cars. Picariello making inroads, lagging back just a bit. Rovera up by 4/10ths of a second and this battle could become fractious in which case Picariello could have an opportunity.
Or, on the other hand, Rovera could skip away and poor old Costa would be backed up into the clutches of the Belgian driver. Iron Lynx anxious in the pit lane. Albert Costa has the headlights on full beam. That is pointless especially in the daytime. Costa is playing with Rovera's mind. Mirko Bortolotti will be the closer in the #163 Lambo for Emil Frey Racing and we have yet to see who will be the closer in the other two cars. Fuoco probably in the Ferrari and in the Dinamic Motorsports Porsche it should be the Italian, Matteo Cairoli. Costa takes a tight line into corner number five. Rovera is able to keep his lead.
Costa can claw back the gap into turns seven and eight. Rovera can take his own line entering the turn. Rovera is dictating the pace and allowing the Porsche to close on the Lamborghini, and we are entering the window of the final pit stops being imminent with 12 minutes to go before hour two is complete and the final racing hour commences. Costa has plateaued. He is stuck behind the Ferrari and has to watch so his oil and water temperatures are not peaking. He has to cool the brakes on the car and then he can push the reset button before the end of his stint before he has a go at it. Albert Costa is quicker than the Ferrari.
Uh oh. Another one of the Lamborghini's is out and it looks to be the Barwell Motorsport car! I think that is Jordan Witt who we were just talking about! The commentator's curse strikes again! The motor has gone bang on that Lambo. Downhill braking into the final turns means that is one of the toughest overtaking places in sector three here at Barcelona Catalunya. Jordan Witt has vacated the Lambo with the blown motor. However, if that car continues to sit there unattended by the marshals, we may have to call for a safety car scramble. This could put the cat among the pigeons. 60 laps complete. 174 miles. Rovera is really pushing to keep ahead of Costa. Jules Gounon runs fifth. If he stays there and the Ferrari wins, the Ferrari wins.
If Gounon and company finish fifth and the permutations put the Ferrari in second place, Iron Lynx will lose the championship to Akkodis ASP. Rovera is driving superbly. So, the stranded Lamborghini may or may not be a hazard but local yellows being waved in the middle sector. Costa still chasing with traffic ahead of the leaders through turn ten. Don't run wide on the uphill out of the corner. Mirko Bortolotti is ready. Pit stops imminent. Into the chicane, who bails for the pit lane? Neither one. They will do one more lap at the very least. Let's watch this. This is getting spicy!
Costa has to contain his exuberance, but he has driven a great second stint. We are going to see after the pit stops, another battle of the Italians. It will be Antonio Fuoco vs. Mirko Bortolotti. Costa still trying to pass Rovera, but it is not working. This upcoming stint should be the most important of Antonio Fuoco's career. Ricardo Feller is fourth but not making inroads on the leaders. No pitting this time. They will go another lap. The #11 Audi will have to serve a 15 second time penalty on the next pit stop for not observing the proper refueling time on their previous stop. Not a good deal for the Tresor by Car Collection entry of Hugo Valente, the Ftenchman, Dutchman Thierry Vermuellen, and Italian Lorenzo Patrese.
Lorenzo Patrese of course, the son of Formula 1 and sports car racing veteran for teams like Lancia, in Group C, and for Williams and Bennetton in Formula 1, Ricardo Patrese. Alain Valente wants by Michelle Gatting, but it won't work for the man who has been racing in both GT3 and GT4 Europe this weekend. The leaders bearing down on these back markers. This is intense stuff! Will Rovera be bold? Will Costa be bold? Jules Gounon dives for the pit lane out of traffic. Akkodis ASP are going to put Raffaele "Lelo" Marciello in, to see what he can do. We saw Marciello have an absolutely storming drive last weekend in the Indianapolis 8 Hours for another team to win the race if you were with us for that one.
If not, I urge you to go back and read the hourly reports or to even look at the Full Race Replay video just posted. You won't regret taking a chunk out of your day or out of a couple of days to watch that one. Believe you me. That one was good! Anyhow, back to the matters of this race at Barcelona. Manuel Maldonado has also come to the lane. Rovera commits to the inside. Some argy bargy, look, on the inside as Picariello is muscling Costa out of the way! Costa defending to the inside in turn 12. Did not see this coming! Poor old Picariello has the door firmly slammed in his face and has to get back in line. So, Costa in the meantime, clears Alain Valente.
65 minutes exactly left on the board. Time for a driver change. Picariello bails for the lane. Rovera balked by a lapped car inherits the lead and the margin is now down to 3/10ths of a second! Holy cow! Don't run to the fridge folks. This last hour is going to be hot! Side by side through turn one! The lead changes hands! Albert Costa through to P1! Raffaele Marciello has to stay a lap ahead of the Lamborghini. Mirko Bortolotti will get into a car that is the race leader. Marciello is on new Pirelli tires and will be able to pull away from the Ferrari in second with Alessio Rovera driving. Albert Costa will be extremely satisfied.
Matteo Cairoli is now back in the race and Costa is getting away. Costa should hit the lane this time by. Antonio Fuoco is going to go into the #71 Ferrari. Costa and Rovera both in the lane as Dean MacDonald in the #159 Garage 59 McLaren doing personal best lap times in sector one. Alessandro Pier Guidi still has the fastest lap of the motor race to this point. Fuoco and Bortolotti both jumping into their respective team's cars, and this is going to be a fight to the finish for the final 62 minutes. Mirko Bortolotti has won this year in a WRT Audi and for two different Lamborghini teams with GRT Grasser and with FFF.
Sticker tires onto the car. The Iron Lynx team removes a tear off from the windscreen on the Ferrari giving Antonio Fuoco a clear view. Costa is pumped after his stint! But now, Fuoco jumps ahead on the pit stop exchange! Albert Costa's work may have been in vain. Iron Lynx have now leapfrogged back ahead of Emil Frey Racing as Matteo Cairoli and the #54 Dinamic Motorsports Porsche team have now taken over the lead of the motor race in Barcelona headed for the final hour of the 2022 GT World Challenge Europe season! Have you ever? No, I've never! Iron Lynx were three seconds faster on their pit stop than the Emil Frey Lamborghini team.
Albert Costa gave it a great drive. Now then, Raffaele Marciello has just uncorked fastest lap of the race on his first flying lap out of the pit lane on tires that perhaps are stone cold but maybe they have now come up to temperature properly. I know the GT World Challenge America championship uses tire warmers, but I cannot be sure about the European championship honestly. The Porsche now leads the way. Fuoco is in secod place and now, Mirko Bortolotti is dropping back. The Lamborghini did end up following the Ferrari out of the pit lane.
So, Iron Lynx has turned it on after the pit stops and poor old Bortolotti has been stunned here. Will he be able to reel the Iron Lynx Ferrari back in? Matteo Cairoli remains ahead with Stuart White leading on the road. But Stuart White owes us a pit stop yet. Matteo Cairoli is the one to watch. One hour to go in the championship decider for SRO GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup here at Barcelona. Fuoco is the man in second place. Stay tuned, folks. This one will be a barnburner to the bitter end. Refueling at Ferrari went awry and so they lost a few seconds on the pit stops. Mirko Bortolotti sliding through turns seven and eight on a fresh set of boots. Goodness knows why.
Bortolotti is indeed pushing as the Porsche scythes through the traffic. Raffaele Marciello holds fastest lap for now but the Ferrari sets fastest first sector time. Bortolotti will have a bunch of work to do. Albert Costa says he has struggled a lot to show his real potential and today he had the opportunity to show what he can do and is very happy about being in second place. It is a personal achievement for him as a stint. He knew he was coming into the pit lane and he managed everything and wanted to do consistent laps. That is what he accomplished. His delight tempered by how they lost a spot. Both the Lamborghini and the Ferrari dropped behind the Porsche.
Mirko Bortolotti's Lamborghini is not as planted in the rear as the Ferrari is. Car #4 is being investigated for pit lane speed and a violation of that protocol. That is the HRT entry for Janus Fittje, Jordan Love, and Alain Valente. I suspect Valente, the Swiss driver, is taking that car to the checkers but he will have to serve the penalty. Oh dear. Another points as they run scenario. I know. I don't like doing these. But we have to see where things stand within the race's final hour. Here's the table.
1. Antonio Fuoco ITA. 84
2. Daniel Juncadella ESP. 83
3. Jules Gounon FRA. 83
4. Raffaele Marciello CHE. 83
5. Davide Rigon ITA. 68
6. Daniel Serra BRA. 68
7. Klaus Bachler AUT. 54
8. Luca Stolz GER. 49
If things stay as they are, Fuoco would win the title by a single point. But with final pit stops necessary, the order is still shuffling. So we cannot call it as it is yet. Two cars still owe us pit stops. Stuart White in second place in the #14 Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini as well as Lorenzo Patrese in sixth aboard the Tresor by Car Collection Audi #11. Henrique Chaves in the #188 McLaren has gone fastest overall in sector two way down in 44th spot. Raffaele Marciello has set fastest sector time in sector two. Raffaele Marciello is on a mission on his new Pirelli tires.
Lorenzo Patrese has his hands full with trying to pass Arjun Maini in the #5 HRT Mercedes. Mattia Drudi is now in #12. Alex Malykhin leads the Pro-Am class as Raffaele Marciello will be bound to move up a couple places. Give your third stint driver the best opportunity to go for the win. He is going to challenge the #71 Ferrari in second and is eating into Bortolotti's lead. What is the deal with the Ferrari? Alessio Rovera had a difficult stint, and he says the stint was hard and he did not have the pace. Everything went fine in Free Practice and qualifying which is a mystery. Antonio Fuoco will do everything he can to move up.
The pit work at Iron Lynx worked well and they are still chasing down the Porsche too, the Dinamic Motorsports #54. Raffaele Marciello has been in the same boat. Dries Vanthoor and Raffaele Marciello are going to move up places when the pit stop order shakes out. If Fuoco is second and the Mercedes is fifth, the Akkodis ASP Mercedes team will be champions. The gap between the Porsche and the Ferrari was 3.9 seconds the lap before and is now 3.7 seconds. So, 2/10ths of a second difference there. Antonio Fuoco is driving a well-balanced race car with new boots on it.
He is 3.7 seconds down on Matteo Cairoli as Stuart White pits. He was in the lead of the Silver category and we also see a pit stop for Ollie Milroy, the driver in charge of taking the #7 Inception Racing McLaren to the flag. Milroy is leading in Gold Cup. We're going to cycle into a proper order in the final 50 minutes. Dinamic Motorsports have made a brilliant strategy call to inherit the race lead with Matteo Cairoli. But can Cairoli stay out in front? For Raffaele Marciello, his most recent pit stop was 1:14 and that is five seconds slower than the stops we saw from the leaders.
Hence the reason why they've dropped behind Dries Vanthoor. Marciello has work to do to catch the Audi in fifth spot and then try making a pass. The plot thickens here at Barcelona as we head towards the conclusion of the championship decider for 2022 in GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. Nicklas Nielsen in the #51 Iron Lynx Ferrari, taking the car home. He is 22nd overall. It has not been a good day for the second half of the Iron Lynx garage. Cairoli leads Fuoco by three and a half seconds and on the previous lap, Fuoco was timed fractionally quicker than Cairoli. It is an all-Italian race for the win here apparently. 45 of the 48 starters are still running. Three cars out, which is really low attrition rate and that's what we like to see. High attrition is not good.
Matteo Cairoli is on Nicklas Nielsen's tail. Cairoli would like to think this battle between the two drivers, they have to be team players. There is enough in hand for Mercedes to take the cup presently. Here's the points standings, again.
1. Jules Gounon FRA. 89
2. Daniel Juncadella ESP. 89
3. Raffaele Marciello CHE. 89
4. Antonio Fuoco ITA. 87
5. Davide Rigon ITA. 68
6. Daniel Serra BRA. 68
7. Klaus Bachler AUT. 54
8. Luca Stolz GER. 50
Iron Lynx has to win if they want to take the championship. Fuoco is pressing so darn hard to get back to Cairoli and that is exactly why. The Ferrari is indeed directly ahead of the lead Porsche as Raffaele Marciello's Merecedes is fine into turn ten. His most recent lap was a 1:47.1. The pace of the Mercedes is not as quick as the Ferrari or perhaps the Porsche. Cairoli flashing the lights to the lapped traffic saying, "let me through!" Nicklas Nielsen is doing likewise as he too has traffic ahead. 3/10ths lost for Cairoli in sector one. Cairoli's co-driver Klaus Bachler watches intently and is wondering why the Ferrari is slowing them down and wants to see a blue flag for the #51.
Dinamic Motorsports want to win this race. They have had a tough year in 2022 and had two DNF's at Paul Ricard and Spa. They had a podium finish at Hockenheim. Five second penalty added to final race time for causing a collision for the #56 and that is the #911 Herberth Motorsports Porsche tangling with the sister #56 Dinamic Motorsports Porsche and now, the #51 still is balking the leader. These penalties are going to really add up. #51 is doing what it is supposed to. Now, the Porsche can pass, and he has more traffic ahead. Fuoco is allowed to pass the sister car, and... zap. He's done his job and and wasn't weaving.
Oh no! Problems for another Iron Lynx Ferrari! This is the Iron Dames #85 entry crawling to a halt with Rahel Frey behind the wheel. She is trying to rejoin the mtoor race. The Iron Dames pit crew cannot believe it. Sara Bovy and Michelle Gatting must be crushed. The engineers looking at the data. It looked like the car was in limp home mode. Rahel Frey did well to get off the racing line. Oil pressure, fuel pressure, hydraulics, any of those things could have been the trouble. It is in a marginal spot, the car is. It is too close to the edge of the road. They need a local yellow to get a snatch vehicle, stopped at turn four.
Robert Renauer now assumes the Gold Cup class lead with the damaged #911 Porsche that has the sword of Damocles hanging over it because of a five second time penalty added to the end of the race and their official race time no matter where they finish in the overall standings. Iron Dames know they are losing time and laps. Full Course Yellow in sector two. If things stay as they are, this is our first interruption of the race, and we might see Brendon Iribe, Ollie Milroy, and Fred Schandorff win the Gold Cup title. Fuoco will close on Cairoli. The theory is that the Iron Dames Ferrari had a gearbox issue.
Valdemar Eriksen is now at the wheel of the #3 pink GetSpeed Mercedes AMG GT3. Somehow, he was injured on the grid before the race. He spent the bulk of the opening half hour of this race in the medical center having treatment for lacerations to his head. So, did he take a hard spill on the grid and clunk his head on the pavement? Presumably he had not put his helmet on yet and may have still been in his civvies. He wouldn't have been suited and booted right at the start because he was not the starting driver in the car, having had his co-drivers Sebastien Baud of France and Canadian Jeff Kingsley do stints before him. Now here is an interesting theory from our mate John Watson. He tripped over a straw and then got kicked in the head by a hen.
Oh man! Do I believe that? I'm so sure Watty. That's funny! How do you clunk your head on the grid? Maybe he tripped on a jack or something. Hopefully he will be OK. He is clearly just driving through it. Hopefully it isn't too painful. You've heard us refer to ice cream headaches. Valdemar Eriksen will have had a king size headache after that tumble. The Iron Dames Ferrari is being recovered and the safety car will be dispatched to up the pace and get more heat into the Pirelli P Zero tires. The pit ceew are studying data at Iron Lynx. They are having trouble. The girls are totally distraught!
They won Spa of course and looked wonderful all weekend. I have to say I feel for Sara Bovy, Michelle Gatting, and Rahel Frey, because all their hard work may be for naught. It is a crying shame. The #71 Ferrari is still second, and they won't have enough points to take the championship unless they make their move. It shall depend on how long the safety car will be deployed for and then, just maybe, Raffaele Marciello will smell blood in the water and pounce. Raffaele Marciello will be going after the top running Audi which is the #32 WRT car of Dries Vanthoor. The Belgian is running fourth. We are going to see Fuoco right on Cairoli's six before long.
Mirko Bortolotti is still third but he has been losing heaps of time and as I mentioned, Dries Vanthoor is fourth now. Sidebar, and that is I have been noticing the national flags of the drivers on the side of the results totem on the lefthand side of the screen. A great touch by SRO. Other championships of the world in sports cars or other forms of racing, have your graphics departments, take note. Raffaele Marciello is only now trundling onto the pit straightaway at these reduced speeds under Full Course Yellow. There is lots of traffic and poor old Marciello is 19 seconds in-arrears of Dries Vanthoor, for perspective.
It is a big ask because there are four or five lapped automobiles between the two of them. We have gone to safety car conditions and the pace quickens. The safety car allows the race cars to pick up speed before they are turned loose under the green flag. Gaps will come down and now the safety car tries blenidng in ahead of the leader and does so. We will be back underway soon. Matteo Cairoli has had good pace all day long. Nicklas Nielsen is rear gunner for Antonio Fuoco. Cairoli knows he has a pack of hungry wolves behind him. Mirko Bortolotti did not have an impressive beginning to the third stint of this race and we'll have to see where he comes out in all of this, as we get ready for the last blast of the year. Less than 35 minutes to go in the race, and the season in GTWC Europe 2022.
Get ready and stay ready, folks. This is going to be a humdinger to the bitter end. This could be a three-way co-championship in Gold for Inception Racing McLaren if they keep it on the blacktop. Here are the Gold Cup points.
1. Ollie Milroy GBR. 96
2. Fredrik Schandorff DNK. 96
3. Brendon Iribe USA 96
4. Robert Renauer GER. 87
5. Ralf Bohn GER. 87
6. Alfred Renauer GER. 87
7. Rahel Frey CHE. 77
8. Sara Bovy BEL. 77
Inception Racing are on target for all three of their drivers to win and share a championship. Schandorff is close by. We will go racing this time by. Safety car in this lap. Just over half an hour of racing to decide this race and the 2022 season. Antonio Fuoco is going to push like mad and Matteo Cairoli will have to defend and have all his ducks in a row. But his advantage is that he can control the restart. If Fuoco wins and the Akkodis ASP Mercedes of Marciello does not gain places before the end, that will be enough for Iron Lynx and Ferrari to be champions this year.
If Ferrari loses and the Mercedes just stays where it is, the Mercedes and Akkodis ASP are the champs. Pretty easy to understand. In sixth place in the overall is the #46 WRT/VR46 Audi R8 that we have not seen since Valentino Rossi finished his driving stint earlier today. Valentino Rossi, Frederic Vervisch, and Nico Muller have done a fine job. Nico Muller had an incident with a Porsche but that was no harm no foul. Next up is Patric Niederhauser followed by Luca Stolz, Nick Yelloly, and Dean MacDonald in the McLaren. So, we have another Mercedes AMG GT3, a BMW M4 GT3, and a McLaren going after the back portion of the top ten before the race ends.
Dean MacDonald had fastest lap in qualifying this morning. Safety car lights off. It will be Cairoli vs. Fuoco for the lead. Two Italian's scrapping for it. Cairoli decides the pace. Green flag. Cairoli punches it and begins pulling away. Fuoco not staying with him. 6/10ths of a second. 79 laps now complete, 233 miles. Visibly we can tell Cairoli has the advantage over Fuoco at this moment. Cairoli should be able to build the gap and Fuoco is going to have to hustle. Karim Ojjeh, drive through penalty for the #10 Boutsen Racing Audi with one too many track limits offenses. Adam Eteki, the Frenchman, at the controls. Trouble now too for the Inception Racing McLaren as he is being overtaken left, right, and center by other cars.
It is true. Schandorff has a problem with the car and it is indeed slow. He'll have to bring it straight to pit lane. There is no question. It could be he is stuck in gear, weaving around. He's stuck in second gear and there's a puncture on the left rear. OK. He has a left rear puncture. Well, well, well. That is the symptom of restarts. Safety cars breed accidents and more safety cars. Herberth Motorsports can get a lucky dog on that one. Cairoli continues pulling away and there is nothing Antonio Fuoco can do about it. Mirko Bortolotti in the Emil Frey Lamborghini is buried down the order as well and he has a completely different race car compared to the one in the brilliant stint we saw from Albert Costa.
No big surprise studying driver consistency to see that Marciello, Fuoco, and Cairoli are the blokes with the most consisten lap times followed by Dries Vanthoor and Mirko Bortolotti. Be flat out, smooth, and consistent lap after lap after lap. That is the expectation. Fuoco has a better average than Cairoli and poor old Fuoco has no answer to Cairoli in the Porsche. Porsche has kept a general design of the 911 for nearly six decades and the car has been developed constantly in that time. Bortolotti seems to be losing time to Fuoco and the puncture for Inception Racing according to our trusty pit reporter, Jemma Scott, came due to debris on the road.
That car languishes now in 37th overall and in the meantime, Fuoco is dropping away from Cairoli who appears to be on a Sunday drive. But there's still 26 minutes left on the board. Anything can and probably will happen. In Gold Cup competition, Frederic Schandorff has fallen to eighth in class. So Herberth Motorsports, in spite of their own troubles throughout the race, they are beginning to creep up the order bit by bit here. Do not count out the veteran Porsche campaigners for a possible trophy in Gold Cup. We had seen them dominate in the Creventic 24 Hour Series for GT3 cars, GT4 cars and TCR cars, for a couple of years. That championship has been less than stellar for them in 2022. However, they seem to be coming to the fore in the Gold Cup ranks of SRO GT World Challenge Europe.
Dries Vanthoor is closing up on Mirko Bortlotti for third. Audi #32 is on the move. We look back at Fredric Schandorff's troubles and he had the tire go down at the exit of turn eight. Everyone was around him and he had no place to avoid being completely swamped. Akkodis ASP and Marciello, has Fred Vervisch coming in a hurry. Milroy, Schandorff, and Iribe could take Gold Cup by a point and Fred Vervisch is catching up to Raffaele Marciello really quickly. Will other Mercedes drivers help him? That is a good question. Marciello will not be able to make a pass on the back markers. Vervisch is sixth in the overall.
Down the one-kilometer front straightaway, the Balance of Performance evens things out between the cars. If Raffaele Marciello loses a place to Fred Vervisch, they will tie on points. If the Ferrari is second, they will have equal numbers of second places and the same is for third. Marciello cannot let Vervisch past. Marciello wants to get through the traffic ASAP and Vervisch really has a head of steam here, look. Vervisch not yet in a position to overtake. But, here he comes! Traffic in the way and this will give an opportunity to the Belgian driver.
Then again, both the Porsche and the Mercedes are holding him up and you can see from the onboard camera that he is getting impatient. Oh no! There's contact between the lapped cars. That's the #87 Akkodis ASP Mercedes, the sister car not fighting for a title, and the poor old #911 Herberth Motorsports Porsche! Boy oh boy. You have to wonder if those guys should have stuck with the 24-Hour Series? Then again, as we've said, they have had troubles in both championships this year. #87 took him by surprise. Let me tell you, you could've written a script for it. Act 1 Scene 1, the spinout! That Porsche has had a seesaw race, and now has square Pirelli P Zero tires to boot.
Vervisch is now running 2.3 seconds behind Marciello. What shall this yield? Marciello is still 8.1 seconds down the road from Raffaele Marciello. Dear oh dear. This is not done yet, folks. These final 20 minutes of the 2022 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup... man, oh man, the fuse is lit. Luca Stolz has made himself scarce during this portion of the race down in eighth spot aboard the #2 AMG Team GetSpeed Mercedes. Lucas Auer has bodywork damage on the #57 Mercedes. But, he is the new Gold Cup leader putting Winward Racing out in front.
We have seen them in a number of GT3 championships this year. They have programs in IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, the DTM, and also in SRO Europe and SRO America. So, they are a busy team with their fingers in many pies. Auer of course sharing with Lorenzo Ferrari and Jens Liebhauser. There is a real case of follow my leader with this pack of cars in the middle of the field. There is left side bodywork damage on #57. Cairoli now leads Fuoco by 1.9 seconds with less than 20 minutes to run in the race here at Barcelona and in the 2022 season before this chapter of the history book is written.
Mercedes have the edge assuming they stay ahead of Fred Vervisch. Fuoco bounding over the curbs and the gap is fractionally extending. This isn't over yet. Fuoco is taking time out of Cairoli but not too much. 85 laps completed. 247 miles in the bag. Mirko Bortolotti falling away and Dries Vanthoor too, in the Audi, has plateaued. Incident between cars #911 and #87 in turn 14, noted. That was the one we just described to you a wee while ago. As for Raffaele Marciello, he is out of the traffic and is making good his escape over Fred Vervisch. Vervisch is being held up slightly, look, by Audi #11.
That was a clean overtake though on Vervisch's part. He was 3.2 seconds behind Marciello as they begin lap 86. Vervisch is beginning to catch up after being stuck in traffic. Sixth spot in the overall is Vervisch. Patric Niederhauser is next up in seventh and of course he and Saintleoc Racing won at Hockenheim back in September in the most recent round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. Niederhauser is the closer in the car he is sharing with Christopher Mies and Lucas Legeret. We haven't called their number all that much in this race today.
1.7 seconds is the lead gap between Fuoco and Cairoli. Marciello retains fifth place and so Akkodis ASP can still win the title. In Silver, the #159 Garage 59 car was ahead of the Silver class but Dean MacDonald has been passed by Marvin Kirchhofer in the #38 Jota McLaren that he shares with the British drivers Rob Bell and Oliver Wilkinson. That is another car that has had a relatively quiet event today we have just not called their number very frequently.
Vervisch seems to be falling away from Marciello. Another car we have kind of seen falling off the radar is the #111 JP Motorsports McLaren in the hands of Dennis "The Menace" Lind sharing with Christian Klien and Vincent Abril. This performance by the #46 Audi, the trio of drivers will be happy with that, Fred Vervisch, Nico Muller, and especially, Valentino Rossi in his first season of full-on, full metal car racing after two decades as a multiple champion on two wheels, and an absolute legend in the Grand Prix motorcycle world. It is good to end the season on a strong note.
Several classes tripping over each other to try and catch cars ahead of them. Kirchhofer is catching Nick Yelloly hand over fist in the #98 Rowe Racing BMW M4 GT3. Thomas Neubauer is catching Dean MacDonald in the Silver class. Garage 59 McLaren #159 vs. Team WRT Audi #30. The Brit leading the Frenchman. Neubauer of course sharing the #30 car with Jean Baptiste Simmenauer and Benji Goethe. Dean MacDonald just barely hanging on, look, and he is going to wedge the Mad Panda Motorsports Mercedes between he and Neubauer. Mad Panda another team we have not talked about today, quite surprisingly. That is the car being shared by Ezequiel Perez Companc, the ebullient Argentinian team boss, driving alongside Sean Walkinshaw for this race in a duo instead of a trio.
Perez-Companc steps aside to let the other two by, the McLaren and the Audi. Thomas Neubauer closing in on Dean MacDonald and the Audi sure has the better momentum. It is so hard to make a pass though. Recall how Albert Costa caught up and couldn't pass in the middle stint. Neubauer crawling all over Dean MacDonald. Bortolotti falling back from the leaders. Jules Gounon probably does not know where to look and should be champion. He was lucky because he could not finish the lap before the tire went totally flat. He does not want to watch nor does co-driver Daniel Juncadella who is having a massage.
Raffaele Marciello is taking it home. Be consistent and stay out of trouble. The Akkodis ASP Mercedes lost five seconds on a pit stop today. Nick Yelloly is trying to pass ahead of Marvin Kirchhofer. Thomas Neubauer falling away from Dean MacDonald. Less than 12 minutes to go. Dean MacDonald is closing in a hurry. In the Gold Cup there are more new leaders as Lucas Auer now runs ahead of Arjun Maini. So, we can see that there is a battle afoot in Gold Cup between two Mercedes AMG GT3's for Winward Racing as well as Haupt Racing Team. Third in Gold Cup is Austrian Norbert Siedler who started caboose on the field for the entire grid.
Siedler is the third pilot in sister #112 JP Motorsport McLaren. So that was the final starter on the grid as the Austrian is sharing with his co-drivers that have already taken stints today, Polish drivers Maciej Blzaek and Patryk Krupinski. Kirchhofer is closing in on Nick Yelloly. Yelloly wants by Arjun Maini. 91 laps complete, 268 miles. Just over ten minutes to run in the race and in the 2022 season. Nick Yelloly cannot find a way around the Mercedes for some reason, and this is getting spicy between two Mercedes', make that three. Lucas Auer wants by Jannes Fittje, and Arjun Maini wants to put up a fight as well.
So, these are both of the Haupt Racing Team entries clashing for position with the Winward Benz ahead. Maini goes to the outside while Nick Yelloly keeps a watching brief but is minding his own house in this case. Yelloly will move by. He is on a completely different lap and so this is battle of lapped traffic, of back markers. Maini knows he will get mugged by the sister Mercedes if he lets the BMW escape. Marvin Kirchhofer too, he is keeping his eyes peeled. These three scrapping Mercedes' are not worried about the other scrap going on directly behind them. Lucas Auer defending with everything he has over Arjun Maini.
Through turn 16 and Lucas Auer might be in the clear. 1.6 seconds from first to second and seven seconds behind is the Lamborghini for the final step on the podium. Marciello eight seconds down on Vanthoor and Dennis Lind is catching Thomas Neubauer for 12th. Everyone else is getting stuck because of the aforementioned Mercedes Benz battle. Like all the McLaren teams, throughout 2022, JP Motorsports have made good progress with the 720S GT3. Matteo Cairoli, with seven and a half minutes left on the clock should squeeze out four more laps before the race is over and the 2022 season comes to a close.
The lead is a second and a half. Same old story. Get to the tail of the leader but passing is totally different. Dries Vanthoor though could indeed pass Mirko Bortolotti in the farewell of the Audi and WRT relationship as they will go in a totally different direction in the future. Catching is one thing and passing is totally different. Believe you me, Mirko Bortolotti won't be giving an open invitation to Vanthoor. Now, in the Gold Cup Mercedes scrum things are about to change, look. Arjun Maini has a head of steam and is going to go by Lucas Auer! This will be a fight to the finish for dead sure. Nick Yelloly has Marvin Kirchhofer all over him, but Kirchhofer knows discretion is the better part of valor.
Thomas Neubauer, the Silver Cup champion, passes Dean MacDonald in the McLaren. He has already locked up the class championship and could close out the season with a class victory here in Spain. Dennis Lind at the wheel of his Pro class McLaren is also right there. Five minutes remaining in the race and the season. 93 laps, 270 miles complete. Arjun Maini now stuck behind Janus Fittje in the Silver rated Mercedes #4 on the same team at Haupt Racing Team. Matteo Cairoli leads the motor race by 1.6 seconds.
More side-by-side stuff. Before we get to that battle, a look at points as they run in the Silver division.
1. Benji Goethe DNK. 125
2. Thomas Neubauer FRA. 125
3. Jean Baptiste Simmenauer FRA. 125
4. Nicholas Scholl AUT. 76
5. Alex Aka GER. 76
6. Marius Zug GER. 76
7. Stuart White ZAF 73
8. Konsta Lappalainen FIN. 73
Nick Yelloly makes his move on the Mercedes and goes by. Marvin Kirchhofer slides past as well and now, he is right on the back door of Yelloly in the BMW. Matteo Cairoli's lead has shrunk to 1.2 seconds. The points haven't really changed for the overall championship outlook. Here is what we have as the race is very close to the end now.
1. Jules Gounon FRA. 89
2. Daniel Juncadella ESP. 89
3. Raffaele Marciello CHE. 89
4. Antonio Fuoco ITA. 87
5. Davide Rigon ITA. 68
6. Daniel Serra BRA. 68
7. Klaus Bachler AUT. 54
8. Luca Stolz GER. 53
The Dinamic Porsche is leading this evening thanks to Cairoli. Dennis Lind, for the second race in a row has a late race drama. He did so at Hockenheim as well. Marciello and company might just win the championship and we will know in less than two and a half minutes. There is a brake or suspension, or wheel issue on the McLaren, sadly. JP Motorsports will end the 2022 season on a sour note. Two laps to go. In 13th is Dan Harper's #50 BMW M4 GT3. If he finishes which he will, in 13th place, it will be the only car in the field to have run every single lap of the season, Dan Harper, sharing with BMW Junior Team teammates Max Hesse and Neil Verhagen. Congratulations, boys!
Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon have come out to the pit wall to watch. 90 seconds left in the season. This is it. Cairoli now leading Fuoco by 1.3 seconds. There will be one lap to go next time by. Dinamic Motorsport should very well win this race in Barcelona. Alessio Picariello will win his first GTWC Europe race win. They put the car in clear air on new tires and Fuoco goes off the road in the chicane. He is closing in. Will the Porsche be victorious? Will the Ferrari make a last gasp move? This is getting intense. Stranger things have happened. The gap is down but Cairoli won't give it up.
They will be together right at the end. Cairoli's tires are busted. But Fuoco is going to go for it because he wants a title. The gap is 6/10ths of a second. Porsche should win on the road and Mercedes will win the title. Matteo Cairoli and co,pany are going to be winners! Dinamic Motorsports wins it! Ferrari second. Fuoco, Rovera, and Pier Guidi get second. Akkodis ASP, Mercedes and their drivers, Daniel Jucandella, Jules Gounon, and Raffaele Marciello are champions! But, look, the drama is not over! Lucas Auer punts Arjun Maini out of the way, and... crunch! He plows backwards into the barriers! Right at the end of the motor race!
A disappointing move. That Gold Cup win will be disputed. Arjun Maini has to be steaming! In the Gold Cup, Brendon Iribe, Ollie Milroy, and Fred Schandorff are class champions. The Auer and Maini incident will be looked at by the stewards. Maini ahead, Auer right with him, turning Maini towards the barrier. Gounon is very happy! They'll take a fifth spot. The incident is under investigation by the stewards as the Mercedes is still buried in the tire wall. The top three are Dinamic Motorsport, Iron Lynx, and Emil Frey Racing. Photos taken and it's champagne time! The Porsche drivers really enjoying it. Cue the dance music, please.
So, here are your winners and your champions for the season.
Race Winners in Barcelona.
Overall/Pro: #54 Bachler/Cairoli/Piccariello Dinamic Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3R
Silver: #30 Simmenauer/Goethe/Neubauer ROFGO Racing with Team WRT Audi R8 LMS
Evo II.
Pro/Am: #20 Baumann/Loggie/Pierburg SPS Automotive Performance Mercedes AMG
GT3
Gold: #57 Auer/Ferrari/Liebhauser Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3*
*The probable Gold Cup winner is tentative and provisional at best. We shall let you know the outcome as Winward Racing are meeting with the stewards as we speak and as the podium is going on.
Champions:
Drivers:
Pro: #88 Raffaele Marciello, Dani Juncadella, & Jules Gounon Akkodis ASP Mercedes AMG GT3
Silver: #30 Thomas Neubauer, Benjamin Goethe, & Jean Baptiste Simmenauer ROFGO Racing with Team WRT Audi R8 LMS Evo II.
Gold: #7 Ollie Milroy, Frederik Schandorff, & Brendon Iribe Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3
Pro-Am: #52 Louis Machiels, Andrea Bertolini, & Stefano Constantini AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020
Teams:
Gold Cup: #7 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3
Pro Am Cup: #52 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020
Silver Cup: #30 ROFGO Racing with Team WRT Audi R8 LMS EVO II.
Overall & Endurance Pro Cup: #88 Akkodis ASP Mercedes AMG GT3
It is just the winners for the championship podiums. There are tons of champagne all over. That will be quite the mess to clean up. Drink it up and enjoy it. Don't spray too much of it all over the place. Someone better grab a mop. There's plenty more champagne to be sprayed. Raffaele Marciello is the overall champion! Congratulations! An incredible season of racing it has been once more in 2022 in SRO Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe. Thanks for your company. It has been a true joy bringing the championship to you this year in 2022 and we'll see you again next year for more GTWC Europe Endurance Cup action in 2023. For now, adios, and so long, from Barcelona Catalunya in Montmelo, Spain. Goodbye, everybody.
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