Auer-Engel overall, Pier Guidi-Rovera endurance

SRO

Dec 1

The 6 Hours of Jeddah was title decider for Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup: ahead of the race, Ferrari works drivers Alessio Rovera and Alessandro Pier Guidi were second with a three-point deficit to the Aston Martin trio Mattia Drudi, Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen in the drivers championship; for the Teams cup, the top four were within 2 points from each other with AF Corse-Francorchamps Motors (Ferrari) leading 1 point ahead of Comtoyou Racing (Aston Martin) and Tresor Attempto Racing (Audi) and 2 points ahead Team WRT (BMW).

Pier Guidi - Rigon - Rovera clinch pole

Alessio Rovera, Davide Rigon and Alessandro Pier Guidi steering the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 started from pole position after each driver did set at least top 3 and homogenous (less than 0.081 sec. between the tree) lap time in each qualifying session (Q1: P2 in 1:59.432; Q2: P1 in 1:59.351 and Q3: P3 in 1:59.407).

Alessio Rovera, Davide Rigon and Alessandro Pier Guidi with #51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 clinch pole position. — **Alessio Rovera, Davide Rigon and Alessandro Pier Guidi** with **#51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3** clinch pole position.

The three drivers steered the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 to a combined lap of 1:59.396, outpacing the #163 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 by 0.181 seconds.

Ricardo Feller did set the fastest lap overall in 1:59.000 during Q3 with #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi which started from P3 while #7 Aston Martin qualified 18th and both Team WRT BMW qualified 23rd and 24th.

Rovera leading first 55 minutes

Alessio Rovera with #55 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 took an authority lead from start until 55th minute when Mapelli with #163 Lamborghini took him over. Disaster pit stop for AF Corse-Francorchamps Motors when Rovera couldn’t get in his box as Ferrari #52 was partially in its space; the #51 lost lots of seconds and went down the order seriously.

Alessio Rovera with #55 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 takes the lead. — 📷 © courtesy of GTWorldChEu. **Alessio Rovera** with #55 AF Corse **Ferrari** 296 GT3 takes the lead.

Team WRT get Rossi in P1

Courtesy of Team WRT wright timing for pitting and a bit of luck, Rossi lead the race with #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 — 📷 © courtesy of GTWorldChEu. Courtesy of **Team WRT** wright timing for pitting and a bit of luck, Rossi lead the race with #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 .

Courtesy of Team WRT wright timing for pitting and a bit of luck, Rossi (taking over from Martin) was leading the race with #46 Team WRT VMW M4 GT3 after the first wave of pit stops with Pepper (#163) in P2, Haase (Audi #99) in P3, Sorensen (Aston martin #7) in P18 and Rigon (#51 Ferrari) dropping in P19. Both Mercedes-AMG were 5th (Morad in #48) and 6th (Stolz in #2).

After a long FCY, safety car brought Rossi’s follower closer to his BMW. The pack of GT3s was released with 4 hours 17’ to go. As we were expecting, Rossi didn’t resist more than a lap to Pepper (#163 Lamborghini) while Charles Weerts (#32 Team WRT BMW) was closing a train of 9 cars increasing the gap with followers. Meanwhile Enrique Chaves with #34 Walkenhorst Aston Martin was 8th starting from the very back of the race.

Mercedes-AMG in the lead after second wave of pit stops

📷 © courtesy of GTWorldChEu. Mercedes-AMG #48 did pass BMW #46 in the pit

Lucas Auer with Mercedes-AMG #48 did pass Rossi (BMW #46) in the pit to take the lead of the race with the second wave of pit stops. Feller (Audi #99) and Perera (Lamborghini #163) were respectively second and third ahead of Rossi with 3hours 30’ to go. Thiim with #7 Aston martin was 13th, Davide Rigon with Ferrari #51, 15th.

Thrilling epilogue with #51 Ferrari clinching both endurance titles.

With 1,5 hour to go, Pier Guidi was running in ninth, four places shy of where the #51 Ferrari trio needed to be to secure the title as the #163 Grasser Lamborghini was second. Pier Guidi wad also due to serve a 30 second time penalty for track limit offences.

📷 © courtesy of GTWorldChEu. Pier Guidi with Ferrari #51 cross checkered flag in P3 ahead of Vanthoor in BMW #32

Luckily for the #51 AF Corse Ferrari, a new FCY enabled Pier Guidi to serve the penalty and pit with 45 minutes to go, emerging in sixth. As usual, the FCY was converted into a Safety Car which bunched up the pack ahead of him. He passed Raffaele Marciello’s #46 BMW, Nicki Thiim in #7 Aston Martin and #32 WRT of Dries Vanthoor, moving up into a third place from which AF Corse could secure the drivers’ and teams’ endurance titles.

It’s Alessandro Pier Guidi’s third drivers’ crown after winning championships in 2020 and 2021, while Rovera’s first title in GTWorldChEu. Rigon did misses out on the title as he missed the Monza round.

Alessandro Pier Guidi: “Today we were a bit fortunate at the end with the final Full Course Yellow, which allowed us to get back in contention for a result that was vital for winning the Endurance Cup standings. Finally, as luck hadn’t been on our side on several occasions this year. I’m truly delighted with this victory and proud of my third title in the Endurance Cup.”

Alessio Rovera: “I held my breath right up until the final lap, waiting for the chequered flag. We deserved this title: throughout the year, the 296 GT3 was fantastic, and both the team and we as drivers did an exceptional job.”

Davide Rigon: “Despite the challenging start to the race, we managed to stage a brilliant comeback, demonstrating the full potential of our car and the capability of the team. My thanks go to everyone, starting with my teammates Alessandro and Alessio. After the 24 Hours of Spa, we felt truly demoralised, but at Monza and here in Jeddah, we achieved something extraordinary, fighting to the very end for this victory.” Source: Ferrari Press Office

Auer and Engel winners and champions

Ahead of them, Frank Perera, Jordan Pepper and Marco Mapelli with #163 GRT Lamborghini Huracan were blocked behind lapped traffic, preventing Perera to attempt a pass over Engel for the race win and the title, finishing second.

Daniel Morad, Lucas Auer and Maro Engel took victory in the 6 Hours of Jeddah, with Lucas Auer and Maro Engel clinching the overall Fanatec GT Europe drivers’ champions after winning the Sprint Cup overall driver.

Maro Engel: "An unbelievable weekend. After the accident on Thursday, we thought our weekend was over. But then the guys did an incredible job. The race went perfectly. The fact that it was enough to win the overall title in the end is the icing on the cake. I am very happy and proud of what we have achieved with the Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER this year. Many thanks to everyone!"
Lucas Auer: "First place is an incredible result. The performance was top, the car was top and my team-mates Daniel and Maro also did a fantastic job. Thanks to the team, the mechanics and of course to Mercedes-AMG. It's a great end to this successful season. And the fact that we have also been rewarded with the overall drivers' championship is simply a wonderful feeling." Source: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport

📷 © courtesy of GTWorldChEu. Both Team WRT rounded the top five with Dries Vanthoor, Charles Weerts and Sheldon van der Linde (#32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3) finishing fourth, Marciello, Rossi and Martin fifth (#46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3).