The first 2018 race of the Blancpain GT Endurance Cup was as tense and exciting as always, and in the middle of the plethora of lead changes, WRT prevailed with the No. 1 Audi of Dries Vanthoor, Christopher Mies and Alex Riberas, the first win for the Belgian outfit at Monza since the creation of the series in 2011.
Drama came instantly for the No. 22 RJN Nissan as the new for 2018 car stalled at the formation lap and was brought to the pits, coming back to track with a huge disadvantage to the competition.
At the green flag signal all but one of the 53 cars went past the first chicane without problems and the No. 72 SMP Ferrari held its way as the overall leader with the No. 54 Emil Frey Jaguar in second and being also the leader of the Silver Cup class. Despite the moderate bumping as the cars were fighting for track space and positions, no major crashes were seen.
The No. 54 Emil Frey Jaguar was already losing ground in the lead battle during the first hour, but it was near the end of it that they had more to worry about as Alex Fontana was caught napping after a brief Full Course Yellow and Maro Engel in the No. 4 Black Falcon Mercedes took second place, opening the gap as quickly as possible with the help of the backmarkers and pushing to catch the No. 72 SMP Ferrari.
After the first round of pit stops, the gap just got closer and the No. 4 had the No. 72 locked on target, but the lack of space and similar pace was making the overtake a difficult task. A high number of penalties were addressed that time, and the No. 4 was victim too as the car received a drive through penalty for speeding under yellow flag condition, dropping it to 10th place and promoting the No. 54 to second again.
Approaching quickly in third was the No. 43 Strakka Mercedes, which took quick action to jump to second as again the No. 54 had a slow restart from a brief yellow, and thanks to an outstanding charge charge from Maximilian Buhk, the No. 43 found also a way past the No. 72 near the end of the second hour.
The final hour had a totally different picture from the start, as the No. 43 Strakka Mercedes was leading the No. 1 WRT Audi and the No. 63 GRT Lamborghini, with the No. 4 Black Falcon Mercedes and the No. 54 Emil Frey Jaguar completing the overall top 5. Also, the No. 72 SMP Ferrari retired with 45 minutes to go as issues plagued the Italian machine.
The No. 1 was quick to reach the No. 43, and in a series of penalties being issued for the two cars the Audi got the lead. Although there was some resistance from the No. 43, it was clear that the No. 1 had better pace, as it was also the case with the No. 4 trying to go past the No. 63.
In the final minutes the No. 1 and the No. 43 were practically settled in first and second, while the 3rd place battle was intense, and after 20 minutes trying to find room, the No. 4 overtook the No. 63, leaving the rest to Mikael Grenier in the No. 54 Emil Frey Jaguar, who tried his way but settled for 5th as the No. 54 had the Silver Cup win guaranteed.
The action settled only in the final 5 minutes, with the No. 1 WRT Audi just having to cruise to the finish as the No. 43 Strakka Mercedes was left behind, and behind them the No. 4 Black Falcon Mercedes completed the podium.
The No. 333 Rinaldi Ferrari made a faultless race to the Pro-Am Cup win while the Am Cup was won by the No. 89 AKKA-ASP Mercedes, being brought to the finish by Fabien Barthez in his return to GT racing.
The Endurance Cup returns only May 20th at Silverstone, but the GT Series stops at Brands Hatch for the second Sprint Cup win of the season on May 6th.
PHOTO: WRT
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