Akkodis ASP & PK Carsport Claim Valencia Wins
Race 1
Akkodis ASP Team’s new Pro-Am partnership of Jean-Luc Beaubelique and Ludovic Badey came out on top of a dramatic first Fanatec GT2 European Series race of the weekend in Spain, completely shaking up the podium order and points-paying positions in the penultimate round of the season.
The Mercedes-AMG GT2 duo managed to steer clear of the oil dropped around the circuit by the #5 Ebimotors Porsche – which resulted in a red flag stoppage just 10 minutes into the 50-minute encounter – going on to keep their cool in the hot and humid conditions to claim an historic victory on their first race as a Pro-Am pairing.
Class leaders heading into round five, Henry Hassid and Anthony Beltoise delivered a faultless performance to take second and extend their advantage to 12 points. Title rivals True Racing’s Nicolas Saelens and Stefan Rosina, and PK Carsport’s Peter Guelinckx and Stienes Longin, however, fell foul of the treacherously slippery conditions and had to fight back to finish fourth and fifth respectively.
With the Am pole sitter Mantas Janavicius forced to retire the Ebimotors Porsche, Klaus Angerhofer and Sehdi Sarmini seized the opportunity to take the #16 KTM’s third win this term, in turn promoting Angerhofer to the top of the Am standings.
The start for the first Fanatec GT2 race of the weekend was relatively calm compared to the drama that was to follow. Pole winner Hassid nailed his getaway and held the advantage unchallenged into turn one, but it was all to play for behind him as the PK Carsport Audi, the #87 Akkodis ASP Mercedes-AMG and #15 True Racing KTM jostled for position throughout the opening turns.
The #15 True Racing KTM emerged second at the end of the opening tour, but Beaubelique managed to overhaul Saelens two laps later. Guelinckx, meanwhile, was pushing hard to make up for a run wide into turn one and make his way up to fourth.
Just as the field was starting to settle in, Am class leader Janavicius’ Porsche began to dump fluid around the circuit, in turn triggering a number of cars to spin or take avoiding action. The subsequent red flag stoppage halted proceedings whilst the safety crews cleaned up.
When racing resumed, there was time for just one lap before the pit window opened, triggering a 20-minute sprint to the flag for the Pro drivers.
Being new to the Pro-Am category, the #87 had no success seconds to serve in the compulsory pitstops, leaving the Mercedes-AMG to claim a comfortable lead over Hassid – now aboard the #67 Audi. Although the French driver pushed hard to reduce the six-second deficit and catch his fellow countryman, Ludovic continued to the flag unchallenged.
The sister Akkodis ASP Team entry of Benjamin and Mauro Ricci also enjoyed a relatively calm race, bringing the #87 car home in third and sealing their third podium this term in the process.
With the podium positions all but decided, the order was anything but behind them. Longin was on a mission to recover the #1 Audi up the order after teammate, Guelinckx, was forced to take evasive action to avoid the stream of oil. Despite a brilliant defence from Mattia di Giusto, Longin managed to prize his way past the #88 LP Racing Audi for fifth with 10 minutes remaining.
Longin soon closed to within a few tenths of Rosina in the #15, but the MZR KTM of Reinhard Kofler stood in his way despite running a lap down following a mix-up on the pitstops. The Audi was finally released but with only 90 seconds remaining, the order remained unchanged.
The battle for the Am class honours was just as intense. Janavicius initially led the charge before his retirement, but not without RTR Projects’ Jan Krabec and the sister Porsche of Leonardo Gorini glued to his rear bumper.
Both cars then had to serve extra time in the pitstops by dint of their round four success. That unleashed Sarmini and the #16 True Racing KTM crew into the lead for a clear run to the flag. Krabec, meanwhile, managed to find a way past Gorini on the penultimate tour to take second.
Race 2
Peter Guelinckx and Stienes Longin claimed their fourth Pro-Am win of the season in race two at Circuit Ricardo Tormo Valencia this morning. The PK Carsport Audi duo came out on top of an incident-packed second outing in Spain, faultlessly navigating a red flag, safety car and slippery conditions to keep themselves firmly in the title fight heading into the final round of the season.
While Guelinckx and Longin take points for the win, they finished third on track. It was yesterday’s race-winning #87 Akkodis ASP Mercedes-AMG of Jean Luc Beaubelique and Ludovic Badey that took the flag first, mere tenths of a second ahead of Henry Hassid’s LP Racing Audi. However, with pitstop compensation times added post-race due to the red flag interruption during the pitstop window, the PK Carsport Audi claimed the win.
As a result, Hassid and teammate Anthony Beltoise’s Pro-Am championship lead is cut down to just two points with one round left to run. Guelinckx and Longin move up to second spot while Nicolas Saelens and Stienes Longin drop to third, 15 points adrift of the Audi pair.
There was celebration too for Mantas Janavicius and Aurelijus Rusteika who took their first Am class win, somewhat making up for yesterday’s retirement in the Ebimotors Porsche. That victory was also not without drama after contact from the #15 True Racing KTM knocked Leonardo Gorini out of the top spot with 13 minutes remaining, while race one class victors Klaus Angerhofer and Sehdi Sarmini had to fight from the back of the grid following a spin on the formation lap.
The vital points for third help Angerhofer hold on to his newly-gained Am championship lead, with the True Racing charge lying just one point ahead of RTR Projects’ Jan Krabec. Gorini, meanwhile, holds on to third.
After the closest Pro Qualifying session in series history, hopes were high for a thrilling second encounter in Spain. However, more rain early on Sunday morning meant extremely slippery conditions greeted the GT2 field, making for a hectic second 50-minute race of the weekend.
Pole winner, Anthony Beltoise led the field clean away but bravest of the field was Ludovic Badey, who launched his Akkodis ASP Mercedes-AMG up the inside from the third row of the grid to challenge for second into turn one and then claim the lead into turn two.
Stienes Longin then briefly fancied a turn at the front before the #61 Akkodis ASP car also joined the party. Benjamin Ricci consequently took over the top spot before a run wide handed the lead back to Badey and the MZR KTM of Reinhard Kofler followed suit, triggering a ding-dong battle for second while the #87 made good its escape.
Shuffled back whilst the frantic first few laps unfolded and the field struggled to find grip, Longin managed to battle past title rival Stefan Rosina for fourth. That pushed the #15 KTM back into the clutches of the recovering Beltoise who lost out in the early stages, producing a thrilling battle for fifth heading towards the pitstop window.
Just as that opened, however, a spin at turn eight for Mattia di Giusto left the #88 in a unsafe position, leading to a red flag stoppage with 22 minutes left on the clock.
Racing resumed in the order prior to the pitstops but with the driver changes complete, meaning any compensation time gained through race one success would be applied post-race. More drama was added to an already complicated situation with both the #67 Audi and #911 Porsche picking up red flag procedure penalties.
Beaubelique, now in charge of the #87, led the field clean away at the restart with the #812 entry of Martin Koch in chase until a spin knocked the KTM down the order. Meanwhile, the battle raged between Guelinckx, now in charge of the #1 Audi, and Hassid, now in the #67 – the latter winning the position but still with a drive-through penalty to serve.
A short safety car period caused further interruption, closing up the field once again, as Saelens’s KTM and Am leader Gorini’s Porsche came together. Each ended up in the turn eight gravel trap with 13 minutes remaining.
Back to green flag racing with five minutes left on the clock, Hassid gave his all to try and overhaul the lead Mercedes-AMG but the ordered remained unchanged at the flag. With 10 seconds added to the #87 car’s race time and a 30-second penalty applied to the #67 for the outstanding drive-through penalty, the PK Carsport Audi emerged victories. The #87 would rank second and the #812 third.
With Gorini out of the picture, Janavicius was able to bring the Ebimotors Porsche home to its first victory of the season, an impressive fourth overall. A second place for race one winners, Angerhofer and Sarmini ensures the former retains his class lead, while title rival Jan Krabec had to settle for third following a late-race spin.
The Fanatec GT2 European Series title fights will come to a head in the season finale at Circuit Paul Ricard, 8-10 October.
Images courtesy of GT2 European Series
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