The #65 Teo Martin BMW team has taken victory in the second International GT Open race of the weekend.
After a dominant qualifying performance, Fran Rueda put in an impressive stint to hold off Thomas Jäger in the #19 Lechner Mercedes. Jäger was rarely more than a second from the back of Rueda’s M6 GT3, and the Teo Martin squad opted to pit the Spaniard early in the window to execute a successful overcut.
Once he received the car, and the pit window was closed, Rueda’s teammate Victor Bouveng found himself well clear of the rest of the field. Under no pressure, Bouveng circulated consistently and took the victory by almost nine seconds.
The battle for second overall was intense throughout the second phase of the race.
After the pitstops, the Lechner Mercedes, now in the hands of Mario Plachutta, found itself in fourth position. Marcelo Hahn (#16 Drivex Mercedes) was now in second, and everyone from third-placed Alexander West (#88 Garage 59 McLaren) down to sixth-placed Andrea Fontana (#23 Imperale Lamborghini) was within touching distance.
Mikkel Mac (#488 Spirit of Race Ferrari) became the first driver to navigate Hahn, after passing West a lap prior. Mac’s move left Hahn slightly off-line, and allowed Fontana to capitalise. The Imperale Lamborghini man sat around the outside of the second to last corner, which unsettled Hahn, on the inside, into a spin.
Mac saw some pressure from Fontana after the Italian escaped the queue, however, Mac would ultimately take second over Fontana. Norbert Siedler, who subbed for Mario Farnbacher in the #54 Lexus, took fourth ahead of Giovanni Venturini in the #1 Imperale Lamborghini. The latter two both passed Alexander West in the closing stages, enabling the first all-PRO overall top five of the season.
West held onto sixth overall and the PRO-AM victory, in spite of pressure from Mario Plachutta in the #19 Lechner Mercedes. Marcelo Hahn recovered from his spin to complete the PRO-AM podium.
António Coimbra (#99 Sports & You Mercedes) had to defend until the very last corner to take AM honours, ahead of Martin Konrad in the #74 MS Racing Mercedes.
Heading into GT Open’s two month summer hiatus, the overall points lead is now split between the Biagi/Venturini Imperale Lamborghini and the Ramos/Mac Spirit of Race Ferrari. With 60 points each, they are just two clear of Fran Rueda and Victor Bouveng, whose success catapults them to 58 points and third in the championship. The #54 Emil Frey Lexus sits in fourth on 51 points, after a non-finish in today’s race following a collision with the #51 Teo Martin BMW.
Marco Cioci and Piergiuseppe Perazzini (#8 AF Corse Ferrari) are now the leading PRO-AM championship, ahead of Rob Bell and Shaun Balfe, who had another difficult weekend in the #22 Balfe McLaren.
In AM, the #74 MS Racing Mercedes of Martin Konrad and Alexander Hrachowina lead by a single point. The #99 Sports & You Mercedes of Luis Silva and António Coimbra are second, partially thanks to their 100% points scoring record so far this season.
The International GT Open will return on the 2nd and 3rd of September at Silverstone.
