Dominik and Mario Farnbacher have taken the fourth International GT Open win in as many races for the Lexus RC-F GT3, winning Race 2 of the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.
After a wet qualifying session, it was dry for the start of the second race. The FF Corse team were forced to withdraw Johnny Mowlem and Ivor Dunbar due to the team being unable to source the parts required to repair its 488 following Mowlem’s off in Qualifying. The non-start promoted Mario Farnbacher’s Lexus to the front row of the grid alongside the pole-sitting #23 Imperale Lamborghini of Vito Postiglione.
Postiglione retained the lead for the entirety of the first stint, despite continuous pressure from Mario Farnbacher. As the mid-race pit window drew closer, Farnbacher came under pressure from Michael Meadows (#10 Jordan Racing Bentley), who had put in a supreme stint from sixth on the grid. Meadows made his way past Farnbacher, but made no further progress thanks to the defence of Postiglione.
As the pit window opened, Farnbacher made an early stop to hand over the Lexus to Dominik.
After thirty minutes of the race and – critically – six minutes of the pit window, rain arrived at Les Combes and Bruxelles. A majority of the field had already made their stops and continued on dry tyres, however, Postiglione and new second-placed man Marco Cioci (#8 AF Corse Ferrari) had not.
As the rain became ever-heavier at the back of the circuit, the pair of Italians left their mandatory pitstops until beyond the last moment, pitting after the window has officially closed. However, since they had only missed the window due to the worsening conditions, race control took no action.
While they were in the pits, the Safety Car was deployed due to a torrential downpour at the Bruxelles hairpin, which was the site of many errors for those still on slicks. Côme Ledogar skated across the gravel, making light contact with the barriers; the Frenchman escaped and continued.
The Safety Car stayed out until there were less than ten minutes to go, and the #23 Imperale Lamborghini, now driven by Andrea Fontana, was still in the lead ahead of Piergiuseppe Perazzini in the #8 AF Corse Ferrari. Michael Benham (#24 Garage 59 McLaren) was third overall and second in PRO-AM behind Perazzini.
Dominik Farnbacher (fourth), was the first of those who made a second stop to change onto wets. Soon, the Lexus driver dispatched both Benham and Perazzini, and later made his way up the inside of Fontana at La Source. The move temporarily backfired, allowing Perazzini to sneak past them both, but the German soon retook the lead. This would prove to be the final lead change of the race, with Farnbacher taking the win by six seconds over Perazzini, who took PRO-AM victory.
On the final lap, Fontana came under pressure from a charging Albert Costa in the #54 Emil Frey Lexus. The pair navigated the Campus s-bend while exchanging paint, and as they approached Stavelot, Fontana was spat into the wall and slid into the gravel.
Costa crossed the line third, but the Emil Frey Lexus was demoted to 14th courtesy of a 20 second penalty for the Fontana incident. Côme Ledogar recovered from his earlier off to complete the overall podium and claim the PRO-AM runners-up spot in the #88 McLaren. He was followed across the line by Garage 59 stablemate Michael Benham, who scored third in PRO-AM.
Jordan Witt took fifth overall and fourth in PRO-AM in the Bentley, while Rob Bell (#22 Balfe Motorsport McLaren) rounded out the overall top six. Fran Rueda (#65 Teo Martin BMW) crossed the line seventh, which was enough for second in the PRO class. The class podium was completed by the #1 Imperale Lamborghini of Thomas Biagi.
Alex Moiseev took the AM class victory in the #49 Kaspersky Motorsport Ferrari.
Thanks to a non-score for the Frommenwiler/Costa Lexus, the Farnbacher brothers leave Spa at the head of the championship once more.
