GTWC | Mercedes-Winward beats BMW-WRT in Race 2 at Mangy-Cours

Maro Engel and Lucas Auer were on target to take a priceless victory in Race 2 of the GT World Challenge Europe, keeping the PRO Class battle in the Sprint Cup wide open.

At Magny-Cours, chaos immediately ensued at the start, unleashed by Konsta Lappalainen, who, despite having lost his apex at the first corner, tried to resist being passed on the outside by Max Hofer, ending up hitting the #6 Audi and spinning with it.

In the chaos, Ivan Klymenko swerved to his left, ending up with his wheels in the grass and at the next ‘Estoril’ bend he lost control of his #26 Audi with which he was leading in the SILVER CUP, spinning and crashing into the barriers.

The Safety Car was on track for eight laps, while the Saintéloc driver’s R8 was removed, while Lappalainen brought the battered #14 Ferrari back to the Emil Frey Racing pits after repairs, and Hofer rejoined the track in 27th place.

Jules Gounon held on to the lead very well, taking advantage of the Pole Position, followed by Tom Gamble in the McLaren who behind began to feel the pressure of Engel and Charles Weerts with their respective Mercedes and BMW.

Meanwhile, there were some great duels for the Top 5 with Thierry Vermeulen putting his Ferrari ahead of Lorenzo Ferrari’s Audi on lap 9, while Gilles Magnus brought his Audi to seventh place, overtaking Eliseo Donno’s Ferrari.

On lap 14 the pit stop frenzy began and Boutsen VDS sent the #9 Mercedes back out on track with Maximilian Götz taking over from Gounon, hotly pursued by fellow brand driver Auer who took over Winward’s #48 AMG from Engel, and the #32 WRT BMW handed over from Weerts to Dries Vanthoor, while Benjamin Goethe slipped to fifth in the #159 McLaren after being passed by Lorenzo Patrese’s Audi.

Between laps 19 and 21, the race was decided with a thousand emotions: Auer attacked Götz forcefully at the ‘Adelaide’ hairpin and the two continued side by side for several meters, even exchanging a few wheel spins. Vanthoor tried to take advantage of this, but then wisely preferred to wait his turn.

#32 Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3: Dries Vanthoor, Charles Weerts

Photo by: SRO

Götz gave up, leaving the lead to Auer, so Vanthoor made his move on lap 21 – again at the hairpin – taking second place and trying to chase down Auer, who however made no mistakes and ultimately triumphed by 0.5 seconds ahead of the red M4.

Götz settled for an excellent third place together with Gounon, the #88 Audi of Ferrari/Patrese (Tresor Attempto Racing) crossed the finish line fourth and still winner in the GOLD CUP class, doing the double after Race 1 and deserving real applause.

Top 5 for the #159 McLaren of Garage 59 of the Gamble/Goethe duo, closely followed by the Audis of Feller/Aka (#99 Tresor Attempto Racing) and Legeret/Gachet (#111 CSA Racing), the latter second in the GOLD CUP class.

The best Ferrari in the end was the #69 of Emil Frey Racing that Altoè/Vermeulen took to the finish line in eighth place, with the #71 296 of Fleming/Donno behind giving AF Corse the win in the SILVER CUP class.

The #84 Audi of Haase/Reicher (Eastalent Racing) also climbs into the overall Top 10, ahead of the #25 of Evrard/Magnus (Saintéloc Racing) which completes the GOLD podium.

#88 Tresor Attempto Racing, Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II: Lorenzo Patrese, Lorenzo Ferrari

Photo by: SRO

Behind the R8 is the #10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes driven by Panis/Gazeau, second in the SILVER CUP, with third place going to the #30 WRT BMW driven by De Haan/Williams.

There was no shortage of penalties and the 10″ added to the #96 Porsche of Rutronik Racing for overtaking under the Safety Car meant that Muller/Niederhauser, who started from the back, lost a good 11th place in their comeback.

The same mistake cost the #78 Lamborghini of Mitchell/Collard (Barwell Motorsport) dearly, engaged in a long and fierce battle for the podium in the BRONZE CUP Class. While the Huracan slipped back, the triumph was celebrated by Marschall/Blattner with the #97 Porsche of Rutronik Racing, ahead of the #188 McLaren of Prette/Ramos (Garage 59) and the #911 BMW of Leung/Harper (Century Motorsport) at the end of splendid duels that enlivened the final laps.

A day to forget for Comtoyou Racing: Mattia Drudi reported gearbox problems on his #7 Aston Martin at the start, while the #12 and #21 Vantages did not take part in the race after the accident that knocked them out in Qualifying this morning.

#71 AF Corse, Ferrari 296 GT3: Eliseo Donno, Thomas Fleming

Photo by: SRO