Race 1
Erik Evans and Marco Signoretti won the opening GT4 European Series powered by RAFA Racing Club contest at Circuit Paul Ricard on Sunday morning, and in doing so sealed the first victory for the new Ford Mustang GT4.
The Ford Performance Junior Team drivers surged from sixth on the grid to win a thrilling opening race, and in doing so scored both the first victory for the Multimatic-developed Mustang in the GT4 European Series, and the first win for any form of Mustang in GT4 Europe since 2008.
Viny Beltramelli and Nicco Ferrarin claimed Pro-Am honours after a consistent performance in their JSB Compétition Porsche 718 Cayman, while Chazel Technologie Course BMW drivers Jean-Mathieu Leandri and Antoni De Barn celebrated a lights-to-flag success in Am.
SILVER:
An early pitstop in a quiet pitlane proved vital for Evans and Signoretti, as the Academy Motorsport drivers came out on top of a three-car battle for victory.
From sixth, Evans climbed to third by the time the pit window opened, and the American was the first to stop and hand to Canadian Signoretti. The undercut worked, with Signoretti benefitting from a clear out-lap and rejoining second. Hadrien David had put in a superb maiden GT4 stint in the #87 Matmut Évolution Toyota, stealing the lead from the pole-sitting Pro-Am W&S Motorsport Porsche driven by Hendrik Still just before the pit window opened.
David handed to Duran, who rejoined in the lead, but had Signoretti right behind. The Mustang found a gap at Turn 1 to sneak into the lead, and then held on despite pressure from Duran and the chasing Elite Motorsport McLaren of Josh Rattican and McKenzy Cresswell, which had climbed from seventh to join the fight.
Signoretti took the flag less than a second ahead of Duran, and although Cresswell was with them the car was dropped to fourth by a five-second penalty for Rattican overtaking off the circuit. That elevated Ricardo van der Ende and Benjamin Lessennes to the podium in the L’Espace Bienvenue BMW.
Lluc Ibañez and Alex Papadopulos (NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG) were fourth, with Benjamin Lariche and Robert Consani (Team Speedcar Audi) fifth.
PRO-AM:
Beltramelli and Ferrarin kept things clean to win Pro-Am, as a penalty hurt the pole-sitting #32 W&S Motorsport Porsche that had led much of the race.
Still had put the #32 on pole and led for most of the first half, but he was handed a five-second penalty at his pitstop for speeding before the start, which dropped co-driver Joachim Bolting to seventh.
That left JSB to succeed, with Beltramelli holding a place inside the top eight overall before handing to Ferrarin, who brought the car home comfortably clear. Brothers Hugo and Thibaut Mogica were second in their CMR Ginetta, ahead of Olivier Jouffret and Eric Tremoulet in the Vic’TEAM Mercedes-AMG.
AM:
After taking class pole, Leandri and De Barn scored their first victory as a pairing, controlling the race in the #317 BMW M4 GT4 Evo from Chazel Technologie Course.
Leandri was unshakable over the first half, handing across to De Barn to secure the win well clear of their closest opponents. Max Kronberg and Daniel Blickle were second for W&S Motorsport, with Julien Ripert and Philippe Thalamy just holding third ahead of Christoffer and Mikael Brunnhagen in the Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra.
Race 2
The final GT4 European Series powered by RAFA Racing Club contest of the weekend at Circuit Paul Ricard on Sunday produced two of the closest finishes in series history, with both Team Speedcar and W&S Motorsport securing wins by tiny margins.
Benjamin Lariche and Robert Consani claimed their first Silver win of the year after Lariche held off Hadrien David’s Matmut Évolution Toyota by just 0.076s in a drag race to the line. Hendrik Still and Joachim Bölting then went even closer, winning Pro-Am by just 0.002s against the Schubert Motorsport BMW at the flag.
The Am class result was never in doubt, with Jean-Mathieu Leandri and Antoni De Barn completing a perfect weekend with a second win.
SILVER:
Consani and Lariche made it five wins from the last six GT4 Europe races, but only just. Having won the last four rounds of 2024, the #3 Team Speedcar Audi was a strong bet for another starting from second. Consani survived some early chaos as cars tip-toed on slick tyres on a damp track, but then emerged out front before handing to Lariche with a 3.5sec lead.
Lariche rejoined ahead by the same margin, but his lead was gradually cut by the charging #87 Toyota. Jan Duran had kept the car in the top four before handing to David, who cut through the pack to chase the Audi in the closing laps. David got alongside in the final sector and he and Lariche went door-to-door over the closing corners, with Lariche just holding off the attack on the run to the line.
The twin Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport BMWs took third and fourth, with Yagiz Gedik and Pedro Ebrahim leading Gabriele Piana and Berkay Besler. Lluc Ibañez and Alex Papadopulos completed the top five in their NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG.
PRO-AM:
Pro-Am was even more tense, with the W&S Porsche and Schubert BMW playing out a photo finish at the line.
Such a result looked unlikely when Bölting was delayed by a hit and slipped out of the top five before the pit window, but the race turned once Still got into the car. He rejoined behind a four-car fight for the class victory and gradually picked his way through to lead entering the closing minutes. The top two were bunched when Still had to avoid a sliding car in the final turn, giving Victor Bouveng a run onto the pit straight. Bouveng edged ahead at first, but the traction of the Porsche put Still ahead by 0.002s at the line.
Gabriela Jilkova and Cindy Gudet took third for Matmut Évolution, mirroring their best result at the same track last season.
AM:
After their race one win, few would bet against Leandri and De Barn making it two in the Am class when starting from pole, and the pair duly delivered to cap a dream weekend.
Leandri ran clear of his rivals in the first stint, with De Barn finishing over 30 seconds ahead of the chasing NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG shared by Keith Gatehouse and Igor Sorokin. Schubert Motorsport celebrated a second podium thanks to Mats Olsson and Stefan Nilsson fighting to third in its #97 BMW.
The GT4 European Series powered by RAFA Racing Club next moves on to Zandvoort in the Netherlands across the weekend of May 16-18.
