Race 1
NM Racing Team won the opening race at Circuit Paul Ricard as AGS Events drivers’ claimed the driver titles in the penultimate round of the 2020 season.
AGS Events secured the GT4 European Series Silver Cup, Am Cup and Teams’ title in today’s opening race at Circuit Paul Ricard, claiming a triple championship in its debut season in the championship. Valentin Hasse-Clot and Theo Nouet clinched the Silver Cup, while teammates Gilles Vannelet and Nicolas Gomar are the new Am Cup champions.
The one-hour race at the French track was won by the #15 NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG of Xavier Lloveras and Lluc Ibanez, which took the lead during the pit window. Ibanez had been following pole-sitter closely throughout the entire first stint, with the gap still only three-tenths of a second when the pit window opened. At the end of lap 12, Ibanez pulled in, with race leader Potty continuing for another lap.
A quick turnaround in the pits by NM Racing Team allowed Xavier Lloveras to pass the CMR Toyota of Timothé Buret at the pit exit and instead of having the chance to fight for the lead, Buret had to shift his focus to the V8 Racing Chevrolet of Thijmen Nabuurs, which had closed the gap and was now looking at options to pass. As Buret and Nabuurs battled for second place, Lloveras was able to pull away.
After 26 laps, Lloveras crossed the line to take NM Racing Team’s third win of the season. V8 Racing’s Nabuurs and Rappange matched their best result of the season by taking second, with CMR drivers Buret and Potty claiming their first podium finish together in the #66 Toyota.
Behind the top three, Valentin Hasse-Clot knew that finishing ahead of the #8 CMR Toyota would guarantee the #27 AGS Events crew the Silver Cup title and even though Hasse-Clot had to give up fourth place overall, he managed to keep Castelli behind and clinch the GT4 European Series Silver Cup. With only one race left, Hasse-Clot and Nouet have a 26-point lead over Castelli and Lémeret and cannot be overtaken anymore.
Jim Pla and Jean Luc Beaubelique claimed a class win on AKKA ASP Team’s debut in the GT4 European Series. A strong stint by Jim Pla resulted in the #87 Mercedes-AMG taking fourth overall. Second in class and eighth overall was the #12 Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 of Cem Bölükbasi and Yagiz Gedik. With the Turkish crew scoring maximum points, the Pro-Am Cup will be decided in tonight’s race. Olivier Jouffret and Eric Tremoulet completed the Pro-Am podium with their #64 Team Jouffruit by Vic’Team Mercedes-AMG.
Despite the Am Cup already decided before the start of the race, AGS Events’ Nicolas Gomar and Gilles Vannelet celebrated winning the Am Cup title with their sixth victory of the season. The #89 Aston Martin finished in tenth place overall, with Giuseppe Ghezzi and Andreas Mayrl taking second place in the class in the #76 Autorlando Sport Porsche. Completing the Am Cup podium was the third AGS Events entry of Fabien Baule and Jonathan Mareschal.
Lluc Ibanez, #15 NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG GT4: “Really good! We had a difficult start, but I could battle with the Toyota for first place. In the final part of my stint, I preferred to stay behind and beat them on strategy and we got P1”
Xavier Lloveras, #15 NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG: “We did a good job in the pits, as always. We gained one position, opened a bit of a gap and then with the fight between the Camaro and the Toyota we managed to open up an even bigger gap. In the end, I was struggling with the front tires, but still managed to stay in front and win the race!”
Jim Pla, #87 AKKA ASP Team Mercedes-AMG: “It is a pleasure to be here. The car is really good. We had a pole yesterday and today the stint was really good for me. I’m really happy!”
Valentin Hasse-Clot, #27 AGS Events Aston Martin: “It’s been a great season for us! Every race we had a good car, Theo did a good job. I’m just delighted! I would like to thank everyone for supporting us, because we had pretty good support this year, the team, Aston Martin. We’re pretty happy!”
Theo Nouet, #27 AGS Events Aston Martin: “Everyone did an amazing job. The car was amazing every race. A big thank you to Valentin!”
Race 2
NM Racing Team won the final race of the season at Circuit Paul Ricard, as Allied-Racing’s Jan Kasperlik and Bastian Buus clinched the Pro-Am Cup title.
Jim Pla had already shown his pace in the opening race and in qualifying and the AKKA ASP Team driver and led the field on the long run down to turn 1, with Thijmen Nabuurs and Xavier Lloveras second and third as the cars rounded the first corner on the opening lap.
The NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG initially lost two places to Pro-Am points leader Bastian Buus and Timothé Buret, but regained the positions when Buus was tapped into a spin at the final corner in his battle with the CMR Toyota. Five minutes after the incident, the #8 Toyota retired from the race.
Out in front, Valentin Hasse-Clot managed to overtake Xavier Lloveras to take second in class, but still behind the race leading AKKA ASP Team Mercedes-AMG and the V8 Racing Chevrolet Camaro. Lloveras managed to take back second in class, just before the #27 AGS Events Aston Martin suddenly slowed down. Hasse-Clot returned to the pits, but the French team was forced to retire the car.
Jim Pla and Thijmen Nabuurs were the last ones into the pits, with Pla leading by almost five seconds. Jean Luc Beaubelique came out of the pits ahead of Jop Rappange, but the young Dutchman quickly closed the gap and on lap 18 the V8 Racing Chevrolet Camaro took the lead.
With ten minutes remaining Rappange was still leading, but behind him, Lluc Ibanez was closing in fast. Unfortunately for the Dutch team, Rappange couldn’t keep the lead and just a handful of minutes from the end the #15 NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG overtook the Chevrolet Camaro into the final corner. From there on, Ibanez increased his lead and after 26 laps he claimed NM Racing Team’s second win of the weekend. V8 Racing claimed second, with the #66 CMR Toyota taking the final Silver Cup podium.
Jean Luc Beaubelique and Jim Pla claimed their second Pro-Am win of the day, with Jan Kasperlik and Bastian Buus taking second place. The second-place finish earned the Allied-Racing crew the Pro-Am Cup title, after the only remaining rival in the title fight, the #12 Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport BMW, retiring after 14 laps. The race win in the Am Cup went to AGS Events’ Nicolas Gomar and Gilles Vannelet, with Giuseppe Ghezzi and Andreas Mayrl taking second and Fatih Ayhan and Ibrahim Okyay taking third place.
Xavier Lloveras, #15 NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG: “It was a really, really difficult race. We were fighting for the vice-championship and we did it! It was a difficult first stint for me, but then Lluc did a fantastic job as always, overtaking the Camaro. We won!”
Lluc Ibanez, #15 NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG: “I fought with the Chevrolet and had the opportunity in the last corner, I pushed and I passed him and we won and took second in the championship!”
