AF Corse and Winward triumph at Brands Hatch

The first weekend of GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup saw the Ferrari 296 GT3 being the favorite model at the narrow and twisty Brands Hatch circuit, but the No. 51 AF Corse entry of Alessio Rovera and Vincent Abril only got one win for the Maranello manufacturer, while the No. 48 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo of Lucas Auer and Maro Engel stopped the Italian party on British soil with the Race 2 win.
 
The surprise of the first race was a Gold Cup entry leading the way, and the No. 69 Emil Frey Ferrari stood in front as Thierry Vermeulen was protected by the No. 59 Garage 59 McLaren, as Marvin Kirchhöfer found a way past Alessio Rovera and his No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari, while the rest of the field was finding a place to settle in the narrow Brands Hatch circuit.
 
Kirchhöfer was fighting a lone battle as the top five had four Ferraris around his McLaren, but the order stood as it was despite the fact that the German was faster, and even the pit window didn’t help Garage 59’s cause as the No. 69 was just ahead. Once the No. 51 did its pit stop, it had leading position, and while Chris Lulham tried a daring move for the overall lead, Vincent Abril shut the door on him, opening the gap for Benjamin Goethe to overtake for second place overall.
 
The top eight was within visual distance, and while the gaps were close, this would also mean any failed challenge for position could make any car tumble down the order, so the remaining minutes of racing had basically a long high paced queue, which confirmed the victory for the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari and the Gold Cup win for the No. 69 Emil Frey Ferrari from third overall.
 
GTWC Europe - Brands Hatch Race 1 results
 
Way below the order, but still in the top 10, the No. 97 Rutronik Porsche took Silver Cup honors on track, but a post race penalty for a pit stop infringement handed the win to the No. 52 AF Corse Ferrari.
 

Race 2 had the No. 48 Winward Mercedes staying in the lead while the No. 69 Emil Frey Ferrari almost lost second place as Chris Lulham was caught napping at the start, though he recovered fast enough to block Sandy Mitchell and his No. 68 Barwell Lamborghini.
 
With the No. 19 GRT Lamborghini beached in the gravel, a long full course yellow period and the Safety Car were needed to clear the track, which eventually threw the field straight to the pit window, with the top two jumping immediatelly once it was open, but unlike the No. 48, which stayed in his frontrunner position, the No. 69 took a nose dive in the order as Emil Frey Racing was slow to release the Ferrari.
 
With the poor pitwork from Emil Frey Racing, the No.777 Al Manar BMW took the Gold Cup lead, while the No. 48 kept the top of the field once the pit cycle was over, with the No. 32 WRT BMW having a massive due to their pitwork while the No. 14 Emil Frey Ferrari was keeping the Swiss team in the fight for an overall win, in special as a second full course yellow was called due to the No. 97 Rutronik Porsche being taken out.
 
Right in the end of the race, Ben Green went wide and the No. 14 lost ground, which promoted the No. 96 Rutronik Porsche to third and the No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari to fourth, but none of them were able to catch the winning No. 48 Winward Mercedes and the second placed No. 32 WRT BMW.
 
GTWC Europe - Brands Hatch Race 2 results
 
The No. 777 Al Manar BMW also got into the overall top 10 to win the Gold Cup, while the No. 10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes barely won the battle with the No. 99 Attempto Audi for Silver Cup honors.
 
Auer and Engel (No. 48) lead the table with 22 points, while Abril and Rovera (No. 51) are tied with Goethe and Krichhöfer (No. 59) with 16.5 points and Kelvin van der Linde and Weerts (No. 32) appear in fourth with 15 points.
 
The series and its competitors now set sights for Zandvoort, as the Dutch circuit in the dunes will host the second double header of the Sprint Cup season on 17 and 18 May, right after the test days for the 24 Hours of Spa.
 
PHOTOS: SRO/JEP