David Jahn and Kevin Estre took a surprise win in Race 1 at Zandvoort after a quick pit stop vaulted the #17 Team75 Bernhard Porsche from fourth to first during the pit window. The victory marks the duo’s third of the season.
Finishing just behind the winners was the #29 Land Motorsport Audi – which won last time out at Red Bull Ring. Connor De Phillippi started the R8 LMS from pole position and held the lead throughout his stint, but watched from the pits as his teammate Chris Mies finished the race second, unable to mount a challenge on Estre during his stint.
By finishing second, the pair now find themselves tied for the lead in the race after the #77 Callaway Corvette of Jules Gounon and Daniel Keilwitz finished the race eighth.
Rounding out the top three was the Herberth Motorsport Porsche of Robert Renauer and Martin Ragginger which ran second for the first half of the race, but fell back to the final podium place after the Bernhard 911’s stop.
The green flag running in the race was interrupted by a pair of safety car periods for the Bonaldi Lamborghini of Patrick Kujala blowing its engine down the pit straight in the opening laps and the #69 Callaway Corvette of Patrick Assenheimer going off the track at Bocht 9 just before the pit window, getting stranded in the gravel as a result.
Finishing fourth in the race was the #36 Schutz Motorsport Porsche which was chased down by the second of the Land Motorsport Audis in the final laps of the race. Christopher Zanella was aboard the Porsche for the run to the flag and did well to fend of Christopher Hasse in the #28 Audi behind.
Just outside the top five was the first of the Bentleys in the race – the #8 Abt entry of Christopher Jons and Fabian Hamprecht which fell from fourth to sixth on the final lap of the race.
As was mentioned above, it was a costly race for the championship-leading #77 Callaway Corvette, which finished first of the C7 GT3s in the race, but down in eighth. The car ran seventh for the second half of the race right up until the penultimate lap when Jaap Van Laagen’s HB Racing Lamborghini muscled past to take the place off Daniel Keilwitz.
For a time it looked as if the #1 Zakspeed Mercedes would finish on the podium after running third for the first half of the race, but Luca Ludwig had a costly spin shortly after pitting which damaged the right-rear tyre and forced the team to pit the car a second time.
Race 2 starts tomorrow at 13:08 local time at Circuit Park Zandvoort.
