Competitors in the GT4 European Series Southern Cup reached a mid-season landmark at Dijon-Prenois this weekend. This old-school track is very much appreciated by drivers for its steep hills and high-speed corners. Dijon-Prenois is also the fastest track of the season for the cup’s 30 contenders.
Race 1: First Championship Win in Pro-Am for the Martinet By Almeras Porsche Cayman
Pro-Am championship leader Gilles Vannelet took pole position on a wet track in the #30 CD Sport Porsche Cayman Clubsport MR (1:37.298) ahead of two other Porsches: the #4 Energy By ART driven by Alain Ferté (1:37.356) and the #18 Martinet By Almeras driven by Henry Hassid (1:37.464). Ferté had to start the race from the back of the grid, as his car’s ride height was too low. Fourth overall on the grid and pole man in the Am category was the astonishing Stéphane Tribaudini in the #111 CMR Ginetta G55.
The race took place on a damp track. At the green light, Niki Leutwiler in the #2 TFT Racing Porsche Cayman Clubsport MR was hit from behind, lost control and collided with the protective barriers at turn one. Luckily for the Swiss driver, his car returned to the track with only minor damages. All the other drivers took a prudent start. Vannelet lost the lead to Hassid in the first lap but regained it a lap later in the Parabolica. Moments later, Hassid was overtaken by Consani in the #8 Speed Car Ginetta G55. The Race Director called the #8 in the pits for a drive-through penalty (jump start). This infuriated Consani.
“I really don’t understand this decision.” he said. “I’m really not happy with it, and I’ll let them know that. We were on a wet track under dangerous conditions. I took some distance from the other cars for safety reasons, and I wasn’t the only one who did that. I don’t understand why I should be the only one penalized for it.”.
Meanwhile, Hassid lost another position to Tribaudini in the #111 Ginetta.“The grip conditions were quite tricky out there so we had our hands quite full,” said Hassid. “Everybody was trying to work the wheel to keep the car on the black stuff! That said, the Ginettas were nimbler than us through the corners. There was a lot of hard racing up and down the order but it always remained fair.”
Eighteen minutes into the race, the #27 IMSA Performance Porsche Cayman Clubsport MR driven by Jean-Luc Blanchemain went off track. This triggered a short safety car episode lasting seven minutes. At the restart, the teams observed their compulsory pit-stop. The #30, now driven by Mike Parisy, kept the lead ahead of the #18 driven by Steven Palette and the #3 Energy By Art McLaren 570 S driven by Simon Gachet. The latter managed to gain second position, as Parisy went off on two occasions at Courbe de Pouas / Turn 9 and later on at Turn 7. Unfortunately, Gachet had to take a drive-through penalty after overtaking a contender during the safety-car episode (he finished ninth in the race overall).
Steven Palette pulled a gap of 5 seconds and cruised to the finish line in first position ahead of Parisy.
“I explored the limits of my car and went over these a couple of times,” said Parisy. “After going off, I decided to play it safe and not risk everything. Despite the disappointment, this remains a very good result for us, championship wise.”
Robert Consani’s teammate Benjamin Lariche finished third in the #8 after fighting hard through traffic.
“When you have some experience, you know how to block out the distractions and penalties to keep your mind on your racing and performing at your very best,” said Lariche. “Obviously, it was frustrating to slide from P2 to P10 and have to do it all over again. It’s not the first time it’s happened to us this year but the silver lining is that we found our way back to the podium again.”
Tribaudini in the #111 Ginetta G55 was fifth overall and first in the Am category. It was a fantastic result for the amateur:
“I lost a couple of positions at the start and then it took me three, four laps to gauge how much grip there was on track because this was a first for me racing under the rain,” he said. “Once I felt comfortable, I found more pace. I struggled a bit after the Safety Car since the tyres were cold. Plus, I could see the other guys were closing in on me. The end of the race was quite tough but I am still delighted with winning the AM class and finishing fifth overall.”
Race 2: Stunning Victory for Am Driver Tribaudini in the #111 CMR Ginetta G55
Gregory Guilvert in the #69 Sainteloc Racing Porsche Cayman Clubsport MR set the fastest lap of the second qualifying session (1:34.367) ahead of two other Porsches: the #18 Martinet By Almeras driven by Steven Palette (1:34.395) and the #30 CD Sport driven by Mike Parisy (1:34.648). Fourth overall on the grid and pole man in the Am category was again Stéphane Tribaudini in the #111 CMR Ginetta G55.
Unlike Saturday’s race, the track was dry. Gachet in the #3 Energy by ART McLaren 570 S had an exceptional start, taking the lead at the first corner after starting in sixth position on the grid. Moments later, however, Guilvert, Palette and Julien Piguet in the #9 BMW Team France M4 Ekris easily took back the top three positions, maintaining them until the mid-race driver changes. Palette led during several laps, with Guibert following close behind. Shortly before taking his compulsory pit stop, Guibert eventually made a mistake in the parabolica, which cost him the lead. In the meantime, Piguet pitted too late and was given a drive-through penalty for this infringement.
Once all the cars made their pit stops, the #18, now driven by Henry Hassid, led with a comfortable gap of nearly 9 seconds over the #111 and almost 19 seconds over the #69. Unfortunately, the lead car suffered a slow puncture on the left rear tire a few minutes before the checkered flag and lost significant ground. Tribaudini ultimately won the race in the #111 Ginetta, ahead of Robert Consani in the #8 Speed Car Ginetta G55 and Frédéric Johais in the #9. Johais received a penalty after the checkered flag, as the car did not observe a minimum pit stop of 64 seconds. As a result, the #117 Street Art Racing Aston Martin Vantage shared by Eric Cayrolle and Amo Santamato fell into third place.
Gentleman driver Tribaudini is only in his second motorsport season. “I have no words,” he said. “I made sure to manage my tires from the beginning of the race onwards. I couldn’t chase the Porsches in the straights, but I was able catch up with them in the slow corners. After my pit stop, I was eighth ! I couldn’t imagine for a second that I could win that race.”
Round four of this year’s GT4 European Series Southern Cup will take place at Barcelona from September 30 to October 1, 2017.
