GTE Endurance Trophy | Jackson and Naran win from the back

There was no shortage of duels right from the start, with the Vortex 2.0 challenging Bouvet’s Ferrari, with the latter taking the lead with an inside attack, while behind them Penlou’s Porsche found itself in third position. Behind them, Jackson in the Mercedes started from the back to try to make a comeback, given the problem during qualifying that forced him to start from the back of the grid.

At the end of the first lap, Bouvet closes the first lap with a 3”8 advantage while the warning flag goes out for Mogica for an incorrect maneuver at Luco: the one who ended up in difficulty was Bernier’s Porsche due to the “shaky” front hood, even though he continued. From then on, there is an impressive forcing by the Ferrari driver, who after three laps has already taken a lead of over ten seconds, while from the back after five laps Jackson with the Mercedes was able to get back to fifth place lapping at a pace of 1’51”.

Despite the difficulties with the hood, among the Porsches Bernier continues to be the leader of the brand, but after twelve minutes of racing it is the rain that puts everyone on alert: even if it is modest, all the teams have prepared for a possible tire change. In front Bouvet with the Ferrari continued to lap at a pace of 1’49”, bringing his advantage to about 15 seconds, while on the tenth lap Jackson and the Mercedes pass the Vortex of Gomez at San Donato.

On the same lap, Pemant’s Porsche pitted to repair the car, which had been damaged by contact on the right front. Up front, the long-distance battle became increasingly heated, with Jackson stringing together fast laps, including a 1’49″334, until he ended up in Bouvet’s exhausts on lap 14, but just as the duel was in full swing, the Mercedes driver pitted for the driver change, leaving the wheel to Naran. Five laps later, another Porsche had problems, Vandewoestyne’s due to damage to the right rear, but after some interventions, the mechanics managed to send him back out on the track.

Up front, Bouvet continues to grind out fast laps, extending his lead over Naran’s Mercedes: on lap 32, the Ferrari driver comes back to refuel together with Naran. The former leaves it to Pagny, which puts Gomez’s Vortex in the lead, at least until the latter also comes in for his pit stop, thus giving Pagny the lead in the race ahead of Naran.

The situation remains stable, even in terms of weather, while Naran tries to catch up with Pagny, lapping at the same times. On lap 49, Naran’s Mercedes enters and leaves the wheel again to the Englishman Jackson, who after the pit stop struggles to overtake Gomez’s Vortex, who closes the door without any fear. After overtaking, Jackson starts hammering again, stopping the clock first at 1’48″904 and then 1’48″814.

On lap 56, Teire’s Porsche spins at Bucine and Yellow Flags in the third sector, prompting the entry of the Safety Car. Pagny pits with Jackson staying out and taking the lead. However, on lap 62, rain returns to the forefront, with the Safety Car coming out again following the spin of Gouverneur’s Vortex: everyone prepares to put on rain tyres in case the rain increases. After a few laps behind the safety car, the race resumes with Gomez in the lead, while Jackson is in second place, but he comes in for refuelling and a driver change, leaving room for Naran.

Thanks to the cars on the track, the track was gradually drying, but a light rain returned to wet the track, making the track particularly treacherous. Hallyday tries to push to recover the gap from Naran, which is twenty seconds on lap 80: a real tour de force that in the space of a few laps allowed him to halve the gap with his excellent laps. In fact, ten laps later, thanks to this pace, Hallyday was able to first get to Naran’s exhausts, and then make the overtaking that allowed him to take the lead of the race.

After overtaking, however, Hallyday comes in for refueling and a driver change, leaving room for Bouvet, while Naran continues before stopping just a few laps later. With just 34 minutes to go, the Ferrari driver turns at a pace that only Jackson can keep up with after the driver change, setting a new race record of 1’47″743.

Bouvet returns to the pits to “equalize” the pits and restarts. The finale is full of twists: the first three return to change tires, from slick to rain because of the return of rain. Gomez becomes the leader, but Jackson tries to attack first at Scarperia and then at Bucine, although a small mistake forces him to restart. After getting closer, Jackson in the slipstream tries to attack on the outside of San Donato and at Arrabbiata, but ends up wide again, which allowed Gomez to extend his lead again.

On the last lap Jackson tries to put pressure on Gomez again until, at Casanova, a masterful overtaking arrives that puts him in the lead right at the end. Under the checkered flag Jackson wins with a masterful race with the excellent Naran, while it is worth highlighting the excellent performance of Gomez. Third place for the Ferrari composed of the trio Bouvet-Hallyday-Pagny.

An incredible race, full of twists and turns, between dry and wet, even if it remains a shame not to have seen more cars in the UCS1 class. Among the Porsches, Chevalier wins ahead of Desmaele and Vandewoestyne. In UCS, Marion triumphs ahead of Lopes and Lipp, while, finally, in UCS4, Mogica wins over Waszczinki.