Stolz and Engel send sparks flying to gain on title rivals
GT WORLD CHALLENGE EUROPE SPRINT CUP MAGNY-COURS (FRA) 12-13 SEPTEMBER ROUND 2/4
Not since 2011 had the GT World Challenge Europe visited Magnycours in the series’ former guise as the Blancpain Endurance Series. Therefore, there was a fair number of unknowns as the Sprint Cup resumed last weekend.
Nevertheless, the formbook seemed familiar as the Haupt Racing Team Mercedes combination of Luca Stolz and Maro Engel proved the best of the field across the weekend, taking a victory and third place to close in on the points lead.
The pair claimed pole position for Saturday’s night affair and duly drove a perfect race on their way to a first win of the season. Stolz started and, although he was chased by the Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini of Mikael Grenier, the Merc was never seriously challenged over the course of the one-hour encounter.
Indeed, the Lambo was heroic in the defence of its second place by the end as Grenier’s team-mate Norbert Siedler clung on wonderfully amid serious pressure from the WRT
Audi of Dries Vanthoor.
While the leading places remained unchanged, it had been a race full of close action, thanks in major part to Audi’s ace attacker Kelvin van der Linde. The South African was far from nervous about brushing door
panels, first with the Attempto R8 of Mattia Drudi and then the Sainteloc car of Christopher Haase, and seemed to revel in the late squabble.
Van der Linde passed Drudi for fifth but failed to overhaul Haase, who hung on admirably at the end before clocking a 20s penalty and dropping to ninth.
After failing to take the start in race one due to a puncture picked up on the formation lap, Sainteloc Audi pair Steven Palette and Simon Gachet were keen to make amends from pole in Sunday’s second race. They did so, but only after an error from Timur Boguslavskiy while leading in the second half of the race.
Gachet led either side of an early safety car following Jules Gounon’s spin at Grande Courbe, but lost out to the AKKA ASP Mercedes of Boguslavskiy and Raffaele Marciello at the stops. Boguslavskiy seemed to have the edge on Palette before understeering into the gravel, handing the French pair a home victory.