The second race of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS at Zandvoort had a bit of everything to liven it up, daring moves, contact, pack racing, penalties, and after intense 60 minutes the No. 163 Emil Frey Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo came out on top with Giacomo Altoé and Albert Costa.
The ambient for Race 2 was way more predictable that what was in store for Race 1 earlier, with mild temperatures for the ambient and the track and dry asphalt being bathed by the sun in the Dutch dunes. Emil Frey Racing was locking the front row and at least the lead was with them at the start as the No. 31 WRT Audi got itself between the No. 14 and the No. 163 Lamborghinis.
The leading trio had the company of the No. 88 AKKA-ASP Mercedes, and the four-way battle was in fact attracting others to the pack, with at least six cars having the No. 14 Emil Frey Lamborghini in striking distance. The fight then turned into a series of desperate moves that brock the pack, and with the No. 31 WRT Audi failing to stay on track, Emil Frey had its 1-2 in hand, with the No. 163 Lamborghini even passing the No. 14 right after.
With the lead secure, Emil Frey opted to split pit strategies by sending the No. 14 Lamborghini first to maximize track time for the leading No. 163, and other cars behind followed the early pit tactic too. The final minutes of the pit window had a bit of rain but the teams pitting around that moment were still betting on slick tires as it wasn’t of a level that would keep rain tires in optimal condition. The No. 32 WRT Audi pitted as late as it could and the move worked to outpace the Emil Frey duo and take the lead.
Charles Weerts was doing a good job in holding Giacomo Altoé, but with 3 minutes to go the No. 32 WRT Audi received a penalty for a pit stop infringement, and with it applied after the race finish, it dropped to tenth place while the No. 163 Emil Frey Lamborghini conquered the race win.
GTWC Europe - Zandvoort Race 2 results
The No. 15 Tech1 Lexus finally had a dominant performance for the Silver Cup win, and the No. 93 Tempesta Ferrari completed the clean sweep with the Pro-Am Cup win.
Despite missing the Zandvoort weekend in favor of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, Luca Stolz and Maro Engel actually didn’t lose much in the overall table, falling to third with their 54 points while Dries Vanthoot and Charles Weerts top it with 58 points and Ryuichiro Tomita and Kelvin van der Linde follow them with 57.5 points.
After the Test Day for the 24 Hours of Spa, the final Sprint Cup weekend will be held at Barcelona, with a triple header on 9 to 11 October, being also the end of the triple header format as in 2021 the races go back to the regular double headers.
PHOTO: SRO/Patrick Hecq
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