RACE 1
Race 1 on Saturday afternoon was canceled due to heavy rain which thwarted two attempts to start the race. But after five laps completed behind the safety car, the result was decided and half points awarded.
Härtling and Heyer (SR Motorsport) therefore became 2024 Champions under strange circumstances.
Qualifying had been canceled earlier in the day, so the starting grid formed with times from the test sessions prior to the weekend.
Piotr Wira started from pole position in the Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo of the Goodspeed Racing Team, after starting under the safety car. But hopes of actually starting were dashed when Martin Kacsmarski – winner of a sprint race at MotorLand Aragón a week earlier – crashed his PTT Racing Mercedes into the gravel during the second safety car lap.
The drivers returned to the pits and then made a second attempt to restart; but the incessant rain forced the organizers to display the red flags once again and cancel everything, with Wira the winner. Härtling was second behind the safety car, and the points taken secured him the title.
“It's a bit of a strange feeling after today, because we didn't do anything – said the Champion – But it's half points, so it's enough. Later we'll realize that it's been a long winter with many races.”
“My partner was always a rocket, the fastest every weekend, and for me, being an old man, it was incredible to see. In a few hours we'll understand, but at the moment it's a bit strange.”
Härtling adds: “It's an incredible feeling to become Champion because it's the first time for me in a GT3 and with Kenneth we were a great couple. I'm very happy. Today was a bit strange, but I'm grateful to the Schnitzelalm team. Tomorrow we will try to win the two matches.”
RACE 2
A starting grid shaped by mixed conditions practice times left some of the protagonists behind in the second dry sprint race on Sunday morning. But Wiebelhaus (Haupt Racing) wasted no time and took the lead, taking the inside line from third position into the first corner. The 17-year-old then simply took off.
Härtling returned to the SR Motorsport Mercedes and was in second position, until a problem forced him to slow down at the end of the pit straight, before returning the car to the pits. Eventually the team sent him back out, but the problem with Mercedes continued.
Wiebelhaus had a 13″ lead over 2023 champion Johannes Kapfinger (Porsche 992 GT3 R – Joos Sportwenzialechnik), but his huge advantage was canceled out by a safety car. The “winner” of Race 1, Wira, got stuck in the sand together with the Ferrari 296 GT3 of Rinaldi Racing driven by Pierre Ehret.
The race restarted with 4' left in the scheduled 30 minutes, and Wiebelhaus once again took off, while his teammate, Kwanda Mokoena, who moved up from 14th position, overtook Kapfinger, who then came under pressure from the Mercedes-Schnitzelalm by Luca Arnold.
But the race was abruptly interrupted by a bad accident at turn 9 for the Ferrari 488 Challenge of Talal Shair (AF Corse), who fortunately escaped unscathed, however leaving debris scattered on the track.
“The pace was quite good and the start was also excellent – said Wiebelhaus after his sixth victory of the season – I decided to go into turn 1 and it worked quite well, then to push a little.”
“Halfway through the race I tried to manage the gap, then there was the safety car. The restart was also good, before the red flag. The important thing is that the driver is well.”
Mokoena finished second: “It was a lot of fun. There was some standing water in Turn 1, so I was able to capitalize on my battle with Kapfinger and saw an opportunity in Turn 3. At the start I felt that the The track wasn't as good as Friday, but I made the most of it.”
“There was a lot of action in the first laps, so I decided to stay calm and then, when there was room to push, I took advantage of it.”
Amaury Bonduel took fifth place overall in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Class, narrowly ahead of Simon Birch's KTM X-Bow GT2. Dieter Svepes won the Racar Porsche Cup class in eighth place overall, while John Dhillon was the best of the participants in the Ferrari Challenge.
RACE 3
The 55' endurance race which took place on Sunday afternoon was neutralized from the first lap when the Ferrari 488 Challenge of Mertel Motorsport driven by Tommaso Lovati and the Ferrari 296 GT3 of Stefano Marazzi (Rossocorsa Racing) collided, with Marcel Van Berlo (Plusline Racing Team) who earned a drive-through penalty for causing the accident.
Wiebelhaus and teammate Mokoena successfully fended off first-corner attacks from Bonduel's Lamborghini and Michael Kapfinger's Porsche to take the lead, resuming the race on lap six.
From then on, the race proceeded without further interruption, with Wiebelhaus comfortably taking his seventh win from nine by leading Mokoena by an impressive 18.585s, while twins Johannes and Michael Kapfinger chased Haupt's second Mercedes just 1.8 seconds behind their Porsche.
After the race, however, Mokoena received a penalty for crossing the white pit exit line, which demoted him to fifth overall, promoting the Kapfinger brothers to second.
Härtling completed the first stint for SR Motorsport before passing the baton to Heyer, but it was not a happy ending for the champions. Daan Arrow in the Goodspeed Mercedes caught Heyer in the closing stages and took third place from him after Mokoena's penalty, with a dive to the inside at turn 10.
Bonduel took another victory among the Lamborghini Super Trofeo cars finishing sixth overall, while Hubert Darmetko shared his Porsche-PTT Racing with Mateusz Lisowski to win the GT3 Cup Class.
Dhillon, paired with experienced Ferrari driver Matt Griffin, once again won the 488 Challenge category, while a familiar name appeared in the JVO Racing car. Former F1 driver Timo Glock took second place in the category with Frank Kewitz.
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