GT Open, Barcelona - Race Two Reports
Both Titles Decided In Dramatic Fashion Alvaro Barba and Pierre Kaffer (AF Corse) are the new Champions of the International GT Open, after finishing fifth in Sunday’s Super GT Race 2 in Barcelona, while Enrico Toccacelo-Raffaele Giammaria (EdilCris) finished seventh. With a faultless and cautious race, the German-Spanish pair of AF Corse finally landed the title after dominating the early season, but having suffered some set-backs in recent months. Sunday’s race saw a sensational win for the Autorlando Porsche of Richard Lietz and Gianluca Roda, after a close duel with the JMB Ferrari of Collard-Lunardi and with the RCA Ferrari of Cerqueda-Vives in third. Roda-Lietz took second in the championship, ahead of Toccacelo-Giammaria and Narac-Pilet (IMSA), who finished ninth in the final race. The big surprise came in the GTS race, as the championship leader Jean-Philippe Dayraut (Luxury) lost the title even before the race started; his Ferrari refusing to leave the grid. This cleared the way for Marco Frezza (Kessel Racing), who, together with Niki Cadei, finished second on the road, but took maximum points as a result of the race winning Novadriver Audi R8 of Cesar Campaniço and João Figuereido not being eligible for championship points. Super GT Race At the start, poleman Parente was passed forcibly by the Porsches of Lietz and Pilet, with Broniszewski fourth ahead of Giammaria. The battle was fierce and soon Parente and Giammaria passed the Kessel Ferrari and the IMSA Porsche to take second and third behind Lietz. At that moment, Kaffer was ninth. Broniszewski and Christodolou had contact on lap five, with the Pole spinning and stalling in the gravel. Alexander Talkanitsa also spun, leaving his car in a dangerous position and forcing the safety-car out for three laps. On the ninth lap, Parente passed Lietz, who immediately retook the place, while Giammaria was right behind and poised to grab any opportunity. On lap 13, Parente tried a new attack on Lietz at the same place, this time succeeding. The driver changes were soon in full swing and, after the handicaps, Roda led by eight seconds from Collard; then Wiser, Cerqueda, Barba, Piquet, Narac, Mullen (who got a drive-through for speeding in the pit lane), Toccacelo and Griffin. On lap 20, Toccacelo took seventh position, but was passed by Griffin soon after. At the top, Collard closed on Roda, but the Italian managed to resist and held on to win by the slimmest of margins, while Cerqueda passed Wiser for third. Álvaro Barba finished the race in fifth place and secured the Championship for himself and Pierre Kaffer. GTS Race The GTS race started with major drama: the championship leading car, with Ortelli at the wheel, blocked the right-hand side of the grid with a mechanical problem (as did the RPM Ford of Alex Mortimer), while in the second corner of the first lap, a multiple accident took out the Ferrari of Livio and the Porsches of Loeb and Spirgi. And that wasn’t the end of it: the second Luxury Ferrari of Fred Makowiecki losing the lead and then being forced into retirement by mechanical problems. Armindo, in the Porsche Attempto, led from the Audi of Campaniço, but Cadei, third, was the one scoring most points and at that moment the virtual champion was his team-mate Frezza. After the driver change, the Audi of Figuereido took the lead and kept it until the end, ahead of Frezza and the quick Vulkan Viper of Bruck. Standings Overall: 1. Barba-Kaffer, 198; 2. Lietz-Roda, 193; 3. Giammaria-Toccacelo, 191; 4. Narac-Pilet, 181; 4.; 5. Mullen, 130 GTS: 1. Frezza, 86; 2. Dayraut, 84; 3. Livio-Bontempelli, 72; 4. Ortelli, 66; 5. Couceiro, 62 Team Super GT: 1. AF Corse, 99; 2. EdilCris, 84; 3. Autorlando Sport, 82; 4. IMSA Performance, 78; 5. CRS Racing, 54 Team GTS: 1. Kessel Racing, 180; 2. Luxury Racing, 82; 3. RPM and Autorlando Sport, 46; 5. Villois, 38 |
