After taking pole earlier in the day, the WRT-run Belgium Audi R8 LMS was untouchable in the first GT Nations Cup race of the weekend in Bahrain this evening, two faultless stints under the floodlights from Mike den Tandt and Charles Weerts combining for a dominant win.
The winning margin was 24 seconds by the end of the race, though the duo held such a comfortable lead in part due to a Turn 1 incident at the start taking out contenders.
“The car was perfect I had some fun, and kept the tyres fresh for Charles,” said den Tandt.
“I just had to jump in and drive around, the team managed the first part of the race so well,” added Weerts.
In what was a messy start, the Thailand Ferrari of Piti Bhirombhakdi spun Chris Buncombe’s second place UK Ferrari round. That caused Buncombe to drop to last, and a subsequent colission between the Sweden McLaren of Alex West and the Denmark Ferrari of Johnny Laursen which forced the Ferrari to retire on the spot due to its front-end damage and a brief safety car period.
When the race went green, den Tandt pulled away up front, while Buncombe went on a charge, driving from 17th place to fourth during his stint, the Briton slaloming through the field to drag the team back into contention.
A strategy call from the crew, in which it started the race with fresh tyres after saving a set in Qualifying, proved crucial in helping Buncombe get back on terms with the front-runners.
The Thailand Ferrari meanwhile, dropped down to last after the team was handed a drive-through penalty for the incident.
Behind the Belgium Audi by the end of the race was the team Turkey Mercedes AMG GT3, Salih Yoluc keeping out of trouble and holding third in the first half of the race before handing over to Ayhancan Guven who emerged up to second place after the stop. The team benefited from the Mexico Ferrari – which was second before the pit window – having a slow stop and dropping out of the top 10, eventually to 15th as a result.
Guven held on to take second, despite joining the race just ahead of the UK Ferrari driven by Chris Froggatt, who collided with the Mercedes at Turn 1 trying to get by as it exited the pits.
Froggatt gradually fell away from Guven in the final half hour, and unfortunately, was unable to hold on to third. Instead, the Italy Ferrari took the final trophy-paying place, after Matteo Cressoni muscled his was past Froggatt in the final minutes.
Cressoni had a monster stint, climbing to fourth place shortly after the pit cycle, getting the better of the German Ferrari 488 GT3 of Nico Bastian, who eventually finished eighth behind the Russian Ferrari. Jim Pla also got past Bastian, following Cressoni through to put France into fifth.
The Argentina Lamborghini finished sixth, after a bizarre incident in the pits which saw Jose Manuel Balbiani accidentally crash into the back of the Hong Kong Nissan in the pits while trying to get out of the car – he admitted a mistake, leaving the car switched on and in first gear! He was suitably mortified post race!
It ruined the race for the KCMG-run Nissan, which finished ninth behind the German Ferrari, the commotion cost the team time and denied it a chance to gun for a podium in the closing stages.
The second FIA GT Nations Cup Qualifying Race is set to start tomorrow at 13:15 local time.
