GTWorldChEu at Paul Ricard: Race
One-two finish for Mercedes-AMG
Raffaele Marciello, Jules Gounon and Timur Boguslavskiy with the Akkodis ASP Team #88 Mercedes-AMG GT3 won the Circuit Paul Ricard 1000 km after leading the opening stint, then slipping back to fifth over the next few hours.
📷 © SRO at Circuit Paul Ricard 2023: #88 Akkodis ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3.
The #88 crew of Raffaele Marciello, Jules Gounon and Timur Boguslavskiy, however, never fell out of contention, paving the way for a decisive Marciello masterclass.
The Swiss driver moved from fifth to first during the penultimate stint, charging past a Mercedes-AMG, an Audi and a pair of BMWs to retake the lead. He was unchallenged throughout the final hour, ultimately winning by just under 10 seconds. This was a perfect response from the Akkodis ASP team after a disappointing start to its Fanatec GT Europe Endurance Cup title defence at Monza.
Source: SRO
Maro Engel, Fabian Schiller and Luca Stolz with the #777 Mercedes-AMG Team AlManar squad came home second having started in the same position, the Circuit Paul Ricard 1000 km.
📷 © SRO at Circuit Paul Ricard 2023: #777 Almanar Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Philipp Eng, Marco Wittmann and Nick Yelloly with the #98 ROWE Racing BMW finished third having led from the three-hour mark until Marciello passed Nick Yelloly with a little over an hour to run. The M4 began to come alive after the opening stint, but its pace dropped off as darkness fell. Nevertheless, the German squad leaves Circuit Paul Ricard on top of the Endurance Cup standings.
📷 © SRO at Circuit Paul Ricard 2023: #98 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3.
Saintéloc Junior Team was classified fourth, though the French outfit celebrated a podium before a five-second penalty for track limits cost them a spot. As such the #25 Audi of Chris Mies, Simon Gachet and Patric Niederhauser matched the result that it scored last time out at Monza.
📷 © SRO at Circuit Paul Ricard 2023: #25 Saintéloc Junior Team Audi.
Ferrari showed promising pace with its new 296 GT3. The #71 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors crew of Fuoco/Rigon/Serra were fifth, while the sister #51 of Rovera/Nielsen/Shwartzman came home in seventh.
📷 © SRO at Circuit Paul Ricard 2023: #71 AF Corse - Francorchamps Motors Ferrari 296 GT3.
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