Scherer Sport PHX Beats Herberth To 12H Monza Win
Scherer Sport PHX’s #1 Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II of Michael Doppelmayr, Pierre Kaffer and Elia Erhart pipped Herberth Motorsport’s #91 Porsche 911 GT3 R to victory in last weekend’s 24H Series 12H Monza.
The second half of the race on Sunday was a tight contest between the two GT3 cars. A late pit stop for the Bavarian team the day prior meant the pair, on different strategies, swapped the lead repeatedly during the final 5.5 hours of the race. In the end, Scherer Sport PHX sealed its first win since last year’s 12H Hockenheimring by less than 25 seconds.
In the closing stages however, it was still unclear whether Scherer Sport PHX, which pitted its Audi under Code 60 in the closing 45 minutes, could make it to the finish without a final splash-and-dash…
“Amazing. Amazing!” a delighted Elia Erhart exclaimed to radiolemans.com’s Paul Smith. “We lost maybe 30 seconds before the end of the race during a Code 60, which was not so good for us. But in the last 15 minutes, there was another Code 60, so we could refuel the last 15 litres, and that was enough to get us to the end. Thanks a lot to everyone – the whole team – and to Michael [Doppelmayr] and Pierre [Kaffer]. It’s been amazing!”
A third runner-up spot from four Creventic outings so far in 2023 propels Herberth Motorsport, winner of the inaugural 12H Monza in 2020, to within four points of the top of the 24H Series GT3 Teams’ standings.
The #21 HAAS RT Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II of Max Hofer, Mathieu Detry and Miika Panu was on course to take the final podium position with 25 minutes left on the clock. However, contact with the #15 BMW Italia Ceccato Racing BMW M4 GT3 out of Ascari dislodged bodywork at the Audi R8’s right-rear corner as Miika Panu rounded the Parabolica.
Unable to get into the pitlane, the Finnish driver was forced to complete another full lap before making his way to the pitbox. Though the damage was quickly repaired, the Antiguan team struggled to re-fire the Audi R8, which ultimately ground to a halt at Variante della Roggia mere moments after its return to the track. The Antiguan team was eventually classified 10th.
BMW Italia Ceccato Racing survived to finish 4th, but was handed a 30-second time penalty for the incident with Haas RT, with whom the Italian team had been battling for third overall throughout the event.
The late-race drama meant CP Racing’s #85 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Charles Putman, Charles Espenlaub, Joe Foster and Shane Lewis finished third and won the GT3-AM class. The team had been running second overall on Saturday before it lost time to a puncture. This marked the American team’s first overall top three finish since its win at last year’s 12-hour race in Kuwait.
E2P Racing’s #90 Porsche 991 GT3 R enjoyed its most successful 24H Series weekend yet with its Porsche 911 GT3 R, claiming the final spot on the GT3-AM podium and rounding out the overall top five. The result means the Spanish team, the reigning 991 Teams’ champion, has now moved to within two points of CP Racing in the GT3-AM Teams’ standings.
Despite racking up a number of time penalties for exceeding maximum refuelling allocation, the #8 Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 of Alessandro Cutrera, Marco Talarico, Marco Frezza /andDavid Fumanelli went the distance on its series debut to finish 7th behind Red Ant Racing’s #903 Porsche that won the 992 class.
Early pacesetter Neuhofer Rennsport had been closing the gap to Red Ant Racing during Martin Ragginger’s stint, but a left-rear puncture halted the German team’s progress with just over two hours of the race remaining. 2nd in-class though meant the German team secured the first 992-class podium of its maiden 24H Series season. Rabdan Motorsport by HRT Performance completed the Am podium.
In the GT4 class, Atlas BX Motorsports’ #403 Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Steven Cho, Roelof Bruins, Jongkyum Kim, Taekeun Yang and Donggi Noh dominated and won by five laps.
Next on the calendar for the 24H Series is a visit to the Circuito do Estoril for the first-ever 12H Estoril on 7-8 July, a weekend that will also feature an exploratory 6H ‘Qualifying’ Race.
Image courtesy of 24H Series
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