James Kell and Dean Macdonald returned to the top step of a GT Open podium in Sunday’s Red Bull Ring race for the first time since the Portimao season-opening weekend.
Indeed, just as at Race 1 at the Hungaroring, it was an all-British young drivers podium, with Tom Lebbon-Tom Emson in the Elite Motorsport Ferrari taking second ahead of Jayden Kelly-Josh Rattican, who rounded a 1-3 for the Greystone GT McLarens and impressed in their debut in the series.
Exactly like last year, Ernst Kirchmayr and Giacomo Altoè took pole and victory in Pro-Am, in the Ferrari 296 of Austria’s Baron Motorsport, ahead of Steve Jans-Aaron Walker (GetSpeed Mercedes) and Maksim Kizilov-Alexey Nesov in the Car Collection Porsche.
In Am, Gino Forgione and Michele Rugolo (AF Corse Ferrari) are back as lone leaders in the class after a seventh success, ahead of Mark Sansom-Marco Pulcini (Garage 59 McLaren) and Ameerh Naran (Vimana by GetSpeed Mercedes).
Levente Révész is back on top of the overall standings, having finished fifth with Max Götz in the Motopark Mercedes. He has a three-point lead (105 vs 102) on the Eastalent Racing Audi of Simon Reicher-Christopher Haase, who finished out of the points because of a puncture.
At the start, poleman Altoè kept the advantage, with White being passed for second by Macdonald and soon after by Mosca too. Nesov was fifth ahead of Emson, Aron, Bortolotti, Kelly and Haase, who was demoted from P2 to P11 on the grid for a track limit infringement.
Vos stopped on the very first lap with a technical issue while Kell and Dörrbecker had contact, with the McLaren remaining stuck in the gravel, which prompted the scrambling of the safety car, while Poulsen pitted briefly.
At the restart, things stayed stable, but on lap 9, Haase had to pit with the rear left tyre punctured after a slight contact with Walker.
In the lead, Altoè was closely challenged by Mosca, with Macdonald very close too. Only four seconds from the top, Nesov was fourth ahead of White, Aron, Bortolotti, Emson, Kelly and Révész, while Korzeniowski led in
Am ahead of Pulcini.
The pit stops started on lap 15, and while still out on track, Mosca took the lead from Altoè in turn 1 at the start of lap 17.
After all driver changes, James Kell led by a single second from Lebbon and Rattican, 5 on Kirchmayr, 9 on Petrov, 10 on Götz, then Ramirez, Bennett and Letlaka.
Sansom led in Am, while Müller suffered a spin. There was also an incident between Dörrbecker and Letlaka, for which the Mexican got a 10-second penalty.
As laps went by, the three young Brits in the lead, Kell, Lebbon and Rattican, were covered by less than one second, with Petrov an excellent fourth ahead of Götz, Kirchmayr, Bennett, Kizilov and Jans, while Rugolo passed Sansom for the lead in Am.
Positions, though, would not change much, except for Bennett taking fifth from Kirchmays, who won Pro-Am ahead of Jans and Kzilov. In Am, Rugolo passes Sansom, with Naran finishing third.
