If you win at Imola, it seems you win in Austria
It was another win for TDS Racing who didn’t put a foot wrong but profited from further reliability woes for Murphy, the car having to be taken back to the awning due to failing to start after the first routine pitstop. Jota Sport also fell back after a 30 second stop-go penalty for pitlane speeding, the limiter not engaging properly. Panciatici put in a spirited effort to finish second after the Alpine had lost quite a lot of time on the leaders trying to come through from its eighth place starting position. Morand had another well-earned podium ahead of the recovering Jota car and Race Performance. Race Performance would have finished higher up, certainly second but possibly challenging for the lead, but for a coming together with the #53 Ram Racing Ferrari that saw them delayed at the side of the circuit.
That incident also delayed #53 but Montecalvo brought it home third in class, team-mates Griffin and Mowlem taking another ultimately uncontested win in #52. JMW had held onto the lead for the opening part of the race but slowed towards the end of Camathias’s first stint and fell back after that into third place. A spirited drive from Bertolini saw him pass #53 for second place. AF Corse’s #55 was fourth ahead of the Prospeed Porsche, Collard passing the all-Austrian #88 Porsche in the last 8 minutes. #77 was delayed by around three minutes at the first pitstop due to a problem with the seat belts and finished a disappointing eighth in class. Advantage RAM very strongly now in the championship.
GTC resolved itself when a rubbing tyre on #62 necessitated an extra stop, promoting #69 to the lead, the BMW coming home third after another steady run.
PC was won by Chatin and Hirsch again, the latter doing a great job of preserving Chatin’s strong lead. Verdonck brought #47 home second and Algarve scored a maiden podium after early problems for #4 whilst Ayari was at the wheel.
PS
