Weekly Racing Roundup (10.2.23)

Piana, Schrey Charge to GT4 Europe Title

Gabriele Piana and Michael Schrey won the GT4 European Series powered by Rafa Racing Club Silver Cup title in the final round of the season at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

The Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport pairing steered their BMW M4 GT4 to the championship with a lights-to-flag victory in the second of two 60-minute races.

Piana and Schrey entered the title-deciding weekend with a comfortable 25-point cushion, although it came down to 16 points after the opening race in which they finished seventh and main challengers Robert Consani and Benjamin Lariche took a podium.

Josh Rattican and Tom Emson claimed victory in Race 1 sharing an Elite Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 that led from start to finish.

Consani managed to steer his Team Speedcar Audi R8 LMS GT4 past the Pro-Am leader just before an accident triggered a safety car with 10 minutes to go, but there wasn’t enough time for the race to be restarted and for Emson’s lead to be challenged.

The second race was also won by the pole-sitter as Piana and Schrey, who came back from 17th on the grid to score points in Race 1, dominated from the start.

Piana and second-placed Newbridge Motorsport McLaren driver Alex Denning established a nine-second buffer at the head of the field during the opening stint.

The Hofor by Bonk BMW remained ahead of the No. 78 McLaren after the driver swaps and the gap increased during the second half, as Schrey cleared away from Jack Mitchell to the tune of 14 seconds.

Consani and Lariche finished third after their title hopes were extinguished by a 15-second penalty for not serving an earlier five-second penalty for a short pit stop.

RESULTS: Race 1 / Race 2

Other Racing Action & News

***Jens Klingmann and Bruno Spengler maintained their five-point lead in the Italian GT Sprint Championship standings by matching their nearest rivals in the penultimate round of the season at Mugello. The BMW Italia Ceccato Racing pairing won the first race of the event before finishing second to VSR’s Mattia Michelotto and Edoardo Liberati. Race 1 / Race 2

***Charlie Fagg and Sam De Haan returned to the top of the International GT Open standings after their five-second penalty in Race 2 at Monza was overturned post-event. The ruling elevated the Optimum Motorsport duo from ninth to fourth and elevated them above Diego Menchaca in the standings with one round to go.

***Furthermore, AF Corse’s Nicola Marinangeli and Riccardo Agostini lost their Monza Race 2 win on the Monday after the race due to a three-second penalty for overtaking under yellow flags. It handed SPS Automotive Performance’s Reece Barr and Mikaeel Pitamber their first win of the season. Result (amended)

 ***Gonzalo de Andres and Tomas Pintos were crowned the inaugural McLaren Trophy Europe champions at the Barcelona season finale. The SMC Motorsport duo finished third in the opening race and took victory in Race 2 to finish 22 points clear of nearest rivals Mark Hopton and Euan Hankey. In the 570S Trophy class, Bradley Ellis and David Foster won the title by three points. Race 1 / Race 2

On this weekend: Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli, Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS (Indianapolis), NLS (Round 9)