Farfus and co win first GTWorldChEu Endurance race

SRO

Apr 7

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit Paul Ricard.

BMW, Lamborghini and Mercedes were the winning trifecta at Circuit Paul Ricard for the first GT World Challenge Europe Endurance race at Circuit Paul Ricard after first half leader Iron Lyn #63 Lamborghini Huracan was taken over by Dan Harper at mid-race placing Max Hesse in P1 for the rest of the race. Together with Augusto Farfus, they win their first GT World Challenge Europe Endurance race.

Augusto Farfus jumped fairly quick from P5 on the grid to P3 until the end of his stint. After the first round of pit stops, the then leading #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche 911 GT3 R was soon ordered to return to the pits as the car had rejoined the track with the earthing cable still attached, which had to be removed. This promoted Harper in the #998 BMW to second place. Dan Harper pressured Caldarelli for some ten minutes before passing the #63 Lamborghini at round 43 (mid-race). Together with Max Hesse who drove the last stint, they builded an advantage over the Iron Lynx entry of 13.519 seconds.

Augusto Farfus (#998 BMW M4 GT3, ROWE Racing, 1st place): “It is a great honour for me to share the car with these two amazing guys. This victory is for the entire team. We complemented each other very well. I had a good start and got to third place, Dan took the lead with his overtaking manoeuvre, and Max brought the victory home confidently in the last stint. I have been following the development of Dan and Max from the beginning and now share the car with real professionals.”

Dan Harper (#998 BMW M4 GT3, ROWE Racing, 1st place): “It's a very special feeling to win the season opener after we were second last year – just fantastic! A great way to start the year together with ROWE Racing, Augusto, and Max. Many thanks to BMW M Motorsport for this opportunity! We worked incredibly well together as a team, had no problems, and all three of us were happy with the driving feel in the car.”

Max Hesse (#998 BMW M4 GT3, ROWE Racing, 1st place): “That was a fantastic start. This season, 20 Pro cars and some of the best GT drivers in the world are competing against each other, and to win the first race with Augusto, Dan, and ROWE Racing is something very special for me. I will remember this day for a long time.” Source: BMW Group

Starting from pole position, Mirko Bortolotti maintained the lead throughout the opening stint despite three Safety Cars, several Full Course Yellow periods and intense pressure from the #22 Porsche in the first hour.
As the end of the first hour loomed, Bortolotti did set the fastest lap of the race before a well-timed Full Course Yellow brought most of the field into the pits for their first stops. The #63 car was handed over to Andrea Caldarelli who re-joined in second place behind #22 Porsche who was called back in pit. Caldarelli kept P1 until passed by #998 BMW. Matteo Cairoli took over from Caldarelli preserving P2 overall.

Mercedes-AMG works drivers Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller and Jules Gounon have always been in the forefront with #2 M-AMG Team GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO ending third overall, 18.696 seconds behind the winners.

Maxime Martin in #46 Team WRT BMW M GT3 executed brilliant manoeuvres from the start, securing P4 overall before handing over to Valentino Rossi who lost several positions ending his stint at P9. Raffaele Marciello reclaimed P4 ending 29.113 seconds behind the winners.

Raffaele Marciello (#46 BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Team WRT, 4th place): “Fourth place is a good result for us, bringing important points. But we can't be completely satisfied because if another team with the BMW M4 GT3 wins the race, we should be able to do that too. Congratulations to ROWE Racing! We will prepare very well for the next race.” Source: BMW Group

Rutronik Racing has finished round one of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS in fifth place as the best Porsche customer team. During the three-hour race on the Circuit Paul Ricard, Patric Niederhauser and the two former Porsche Juniors Julien Andlauer and Sven Müller advanced from 13th on the grid to fourth place. Shortly for the finish, however, they were narrowly beaten to the flag by a rival in the last lap ending just 0.212 seconds behind the #46 BMW.

Julien Andlauer (Rutronik Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 R #96): “As a team, we stood out with a good strategy today and our pit stops were absolutely flawless. This meant we could compensate for a lot because we certainly didn’t have the fastest 911 GT3 R in the field today – we were slightly off the pace in terms of performance this weekend. We have to take a good look at this now and, if possible, find solutions before the prologue to the 24 Hours of Spa at the end of May and for the race on the last weekend in June. We got the most out of it today, so I’m delighted to finish in the top five.” Source: Porsche

Christopher Haase, Ricardo Feller and Alex Aka came home in sixth with #99 Tresor Attempto Racing, ahead of

The #007 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Nicki Thiim, Marco Sorensen and Mattia Drudi end seventh.

The three drivers Klaus Bachler, Alex Malykhin and Joel Sturm made up eight places, ploughing from 16th at the start to finish eighth at the wheel of Pure Rxcing’s 911.

Alessio Rovera's exceptional stint saw him surge up the ranks, gaining six positions in the opening lap and securing a spot in the top five. Despite anticipating a challenging weekend from the onset of practice sessions, Davide Rigon and Alessandro Pier Guidi demonstrated unwavering commitment throughout the race. The #51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 finished ninth.

Frederic Vervisch, Dennis Olsen and Christopher Mies with the #64 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 secured a top ten finish. Quite a strong debut for the new Ford Mustang GT3.

Overall results are here

Farfus and co win first GTWorldChEu Endurance race

Non Pro Cup winners at Paul Ricard

Qualifying At Circuit Paul Ricard