After inheriting the lead from the starting driver, Tom Lebbon brought the team's McLaren Artura to the finish line to complete the job.
The sprint victories at the start of the weekend were split between Jamie Day (Forsetti Motorsport) and newcomer Josef Knopp (W&S Motorsport).
Race 1
With Day leading Joel Mesch (Schnitzelalm Racing) by just three hundredths of a second in qualifying, this sprint was shaping up to be a serious duel between the Astons and Mercedes.
Unfortunately for the spectators, Saturday's battle did not materialize as Alex Denning, at the wheel of the second McLaren-Elite, slipped inside Mesch at the first corner, allowing Day to escape.
Mesch had not yet found a gap when Max Huber's exit at Turn 6 brought out the safety car on lap three. But during the neutralization, the stewards announced that Denning's start had not been entirely legal: he went off the line in the sprint phase and had to serve a drive-through after the restart on lap six.
At the end of the seventh, therefore, Mesch finally had the green light. Halfway through the race and with Day just two seconds behind, he began to dream, especially after reducing the lead by a couple of tenths on lap nine.
But when he crossed the finish line, his wishes literally went up in smoke. Victim of a technical failure, Mesch had to return to the pits and Day was thus able to take it easy and win with a 17 second advantage.
After almost an entire race glued to the rear of Mattis Pluschkell's Mercedes, Meakin took second place after managing to ambush the Mücke Motorsport car at the chicane with just one lap to go.
Alberto De Martin (NM Racing-Mercedes) was the leading driver in the Am category in what proved to be the only dry race of the weekend, while Michael Sander won the fight for the “Cayman Cup” class against his teammate. SR Racing-Porsche team, Willi Kühne.
Race 2
When the cars crossed the finish line for the start of the second sprint race on Sunday morning, intermittent rain was falling. From then on it rained more intensely, resulting in a wet and fun race, with new protagonists taking turns on some of the leading cars.
Mikey Porter briefly took the lead in Forsetti's Aston, but Marcel Marchewicz put Schnitzelalm's Mercedes into the lead at Turn 4, struggling to reach the finish line and working hard to maintain his lead as the rain began to intensify . On the second lap it was Knopp who gave chase, with Lebbon, Tom Emson (Elite-McLaren), Porter and Enrico Forderer (SR Motorsport-Porsche) vying for position.
Together with the rain, the show reached its peak halfway through the race. Knopp took the lead on lap eight, while Marchewicz responded by losing a couple of positions and going off the road at the 'Jorge Martinez' Curve. Mercedes restarted, but remained out of contention.
Knopp remained relatively calm until the checkered flag, while the McLarens and Porter engaged in a tense battle for the remainder of the race. However, it was more about near misses, slips and close encounters than outright moves, and the two finished in the same order as they did on the second lap.
Forderer mixed with them for a while, but moved into the role of observer over the course of the race as he secured the class victory.
Race 3
The hour-long endurance race was decidedly wet, especially at the start, when the weather could only be described as horrible.
Meakin was content to follow Day and Mesch throughout the opening stint. He spent much of his time watching the rear of the Mercedes, but he also made sure not to get drawn into a fight that would have cost them both time. Being within a couple of seconds of the leading Aston when the pit stop window opened proved crucial.
Meakin stayed out three laps longer than Day and Mesch, ensuring he set the fastest lap on the third of them, the 15th. The strategy worked perfectly, as Lebbon managed to exit the pits just ahead of Porter and Marchewicz.
However, Lebbon experienced a moment of apprehension when he returned to the track. “I thought he had spun at the first corner,” Meakin said. “I was ready to kill him!”
Things weren't that bad and luckily the Elite crew didn't have to deal with any internal issues! However, for the remaining 10 laps, the team experienced moments of tension.
While Marchewicz's threat evaporated when Schnitzelalm was punished with a Drive-Through for keeping his car too short at the pit stop, Porter didn't stop bothering Lebbon.
On lap 18 he managed to pass, but his joy only lasted a few corners as he crashed out at the 'Sito Pons' Curve; returning to action in his Aston, the challenge for victory was now a thing of the past.
Lebbon had regained the lead, but had to worry about Pluschkell with the pink Mercedes keeping the yellow McLaren in check. But Lebbon did not succumb to the pressure and pulled off a deserved victory over him and Mesch/Marchewicz.
Alexander Danzer and Knopp took the Pro/Am Class, while Max Huber drove Mercedes-NM Racing to victory in the Am class and Kuhne/Forderer took victory in their category.
#GT4WS #Jerez #land #conquest #Elite #Motorsport
