The Magny-Cours weekend of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS had HRT winning the Race 1 in dominant fashion with the No. 4 Mercedes AMG GT3 having Luca Stolz and Maro Engel in consistent form, which proved that Hubert Haupt’s decision to inherit Black Falcon’s entry was the right decision.
The race itself had its share of incidents, caused both by a dark circuit due to the late night start, and some ambitious maneuvers that saw at least one car at a time visiting the gravel trap.
In what was quite a messy start at the midfield with two cars being knocked out, the No. 4 HRT Mercedes took immediate advantage to keep the lead in place, and soon it became a personal affair between it and the No. 14 Emil Frey Lamborghini while the rest was in the chasing pack. A number of drivers were meeting the Turn 1 gravel trap as part of racing in the night, and this was shuffling the order.
With things getting quite physical the No. 52 AF Corse Ferrari eventually found the way to the gravel, which triggered the first Safety Car visit, with the No. 107 CMR Bentley becoming a victim by being spun after the green flag returned, retiring after the pit window by stopping on track.
Despite the best efforts of the No. 14 Emil Frey Lamborghini and the Audi-filled chasing pack behind, no one was exactly in position to threat the No. 4 HRT Mercedes, which won with authority and a notable 11 seconds gap.
GTWC Europe - Magny-Cours Race 1 results
The No. 2 Toksport Mercedes enjoyed a good run to the Silver Cup win while SKY Tempesta dominated the Pro-Am Cup with its pair of Ferraris, winning with the No. 92 and getting second with the No. 93.
The Race 2 will be held this Sunday (13) at 1:50 P.M local time.
PHOTO: SRO/Dirk Bogaerts
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