As delayed as it was and with some differences in presentation, the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS season was opened with the traditional Endurance Cup round in Italy, though the venue was Imola instead of Monza. While a team consists of three drivers, WRT had to thank the late two of the No. 33 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo for the win, as mighty stints from Kelvin van der Linde and Mirko Bortolotti were crucial to outpace the likes of GPX Racing and AKKA-ASP.
Audi was strong all weekend as Attempto Racing proved with the pole of the No. 66 car, though the long run was commanded by the specialists led by Vincent Vosse, that also had the debut in the team of Mathieu Vaxiviere, who moved from R-Motorsport as they’ll return only in 2021.
The green flag was out and the No. 66 Attempto Audi was able to keep its lead away from the clutches of the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari and the No. 88 AKKA-ASP Mercedes. With 46 cars fighting for room from Tamburello onwards, not everyone would make it safely, so a few cars had their first visits to the gravel and grass, while other faced problems out of the mess, like the No. 3 K-PAX Bentley. The No. 51 was somehow acting as a barrier for the No. 66 as the circuit nature made passing quite the task.
The No. 15 Tech1 Lexus was the surprise in impressive form, leading the Silver Cup by a comfortable margin and being a constant threat in the overall top-10.
Incredibly the first yellow flag didn’t come from car to car contact, as the No. 44 SPS Mercedes found the barriers instead of grip out of Rivazza and was sent straight to the team garage. 10 minutes of neutralization and the race was back to green, with the No. 88 finding its way past the No. 51, leaving the Ferrari as bait for the No. 12 GPX Porsche. Later on, two more contacts, which eliminated the No. 87 AKKA-ASP Mercedes and the No. 107 CMR Bentley, bringing the yellow flag again, and with the No. 23 Imperiale Lamborghini also knocked out while on yellow, more neutralization time was needed.
As the caution was extended to pit window time, some teams opted for early stops, which shuffled the field and gave the lead to the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari. 20 minutes passed, the first hour was gone, and the No. 51 was leading a Ferrari 1-2 with the No. 72 from SMP Racing behind, though they had the threat of a charging Kelvin van der Linde in the No. 31 WRT Audi, who easily outpaced the cars in front to get the lead and disappear in front. Further down the field the No. 15 Tech1 Lexus was leading with authority the Silver Cup while the No. 10 Boutsen Ginion BMW was with a secure lead in the Pro-Am Cup, proving that the moves from the Am Cup were worth the effort.
While dealing with the Pro Cup pack around, the No. 15 lost a bit of time, which rose the hopes of the No. 159 Garage 59 Aston Martin to achieve first place in Silver Cup, though the slipstream of the group in front gave some sort of relief to the Lexus RC F GT3. Garage 59 was having better luck in the Pro-Am Cup, as a speeding penalty for the No. 10 Boutsen Ginion BMW handed the class lead to the No. 188 Aston Martin.
The No. 31 WRT Audi was in a comfortable overall lead until the early moments of the final hour as another yellow flag was called due to contact, and while bunching up the field for 10 minutes would give some hope for the No. 12 GPX Porsche, the backmarkers in front weren’t giving too much room to go forward, so Mathieu Jaminet was having to catch up Mirko Bortolotti again.
In the other classes, Garage 59 had total domination in Silver Cup and Pro-Am Cup with the Aston Martins No. 159 and 188, thanks to further penalties, which even caught the No. 15 Tech1 Lexus, though their fortunes changed in the Silver Cup as the No. 159 spun, opening the way for the No. 78 Barwell Lamborghini.
With the No. 60 59Racing McLaren stopped trackside, another full course yellow was called with 25 minutes to go, and the No. 31 WRT Audi had to deal again with the No. 12 GPX Porsche and the No. 88 AKKA-ASP Mercedes, now directly behind and with 12 minutes to go in the clock. With the No. 12 struggling for tire temperature, some distance was drawn between the first and the chasing pack, and with the No. 88 having to hold third place from the No. 32 WRT Audi, so the No. 12 GPX Porsche was safe in second while the No. 31 WRT Audi cruised to victory with a decent margin.
GT World Challenge Europe - Imola race results
The No. 78 Barwell Lamborghini went straight to the Silver Cup win, and Garage 59 could have fought for it with the No. 159 Aston Martin if it wasn’t the sister No. 188 car, which won the Pro-Am Cup, with these three finishing in the overall top-15, with the Silver Cup podium finishing in the top-20 and the Pro-Am Cup podium in the top-25.
The GT World Challenge Europe season resumes in Italy, now moving to Misano for the first Sprint Cup weekend, which will have three races on 7th, 8th and 9th August.
PHOTO - SRO/Patrick Hecq Photography
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