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Racing Roundup

Weekly Racing Roundup (10.3.22)

Title deciders in Lamborghini ST Europe and GT4 Europe, plus Super GT action and more…

Photo: Lamborghini

Super Trofeo Europe Champions Decided in Spain

Loris Spinelli and Max Weering clinched the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe title at the penultimate round of the season, confirming what had seemed an inevitable achievement for the championship’s dominant driver pairing this year.

The Bonaldi Motorsport duo wrapped up the Pro category crown by winning the opening race of the weekend at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

The victory came after Amaury Bonduel was handed a 30-second converted drive-through penalty for his mandatory pit stop being 21 seconds shorter than the minimum allotted time, promoting Spinelli and Weering to the top of the classification.

Spinelli produced a trademark opening stint, building a five-second gap over Martin Kodric after an early safety car.

Weering took over the No. 61 Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 and emerged behind Bonduel, but kept ahead of his nearest challengers Marzio Moretti and Lennart Marioneck to assume victory when the penalty was applied.

After securing the title, Spinelli and Weering went on to sweep the Barcelona weekend by claiming their eighth victory of the season in Race 2.

Weering started from sixth on the grid, with the Target Racing Lamborghini of Moretti and Milan Teekens leading the way through two early safety car periods.

The race was decided in the pits, when the Target car got held up behind an Am-class Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2. The delay cost around five seconds, and was enough for Spinelli to charge through into a lead that he would keep until the checkered flag.

Ruing a missed opportunity to take the overall win, Teekens held off Danil Keilwitz to secure second place alongside Moretti.

RESULTS: Race 1 / Race 2

Photo: Kevin Pecks/SRO

Bastard, Mehuyas Snatch GT4 Europe Title

Erwan Bastard and Roee Meyuhas fought back from 18 points down to win the GT4 European Series title by a single point in a dramatic season finale at Barcelona.

Sainteloc Racing Audi duo Bastard and Meyuhas cut their deficit to NM Racing’s Enzo Joulie and Lluc Ibanez to three points by finishing second in the opening 60-minute race, which was won by the Allied-Racing crew of Vincent Andronaco and Andreas Mayrl.

Sainteloc then scored just enough points in a hectic title-decider on Sunday to leapfrog the drivers of the No. 15 Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the final standings.

The deciding second race started in chaotic fashion, with several incidents throughout the field and an engine failure prompting race control to produce a red flag.

The driver changes occurred in the pits under the stoppage, before the field was remobilized for what was set to be a 15-minute dash to the checkered flag with Meyuhas positioned just behind Ibanez.

However, another collision resulted in a safety car, which was almost immediately followed by a car entering gravel to trigger a Full Course Yellow.

The FCY cleared as the racer leaders entered the final sector, with Dante Rappange muscling his V8 Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4 past leader Benjamin Lariche to take a dramatic win, while further back Meyuhas crossed the line in fifth after making a few passes.

Ibanez, however, was unable to keep up with Meyuhas through the busy field and ended up finishing eighth, which was enough to hand the title to the Sainteloc pairing.

Bastard and Meyuhas added the European championship to their recently-secured FFSA French GT4 Silver Cup title. To celebrate the double achievement, Bastard allowed Sainteloc’s crew to cut off his ponytail with scissors.

The Pro-Am title went to Jean-Luc Beaubelique and Jim Pla who shared an Akkodis ASP Mercedes-AMG, while W&S Motorsport Porsche pair Mikhail Loboda and Andrey Solukovtsev won the Am championship.

RESULTS: Race 1 / Race 2 / Standings

Photo: Super GT

Real Racing Leads Honda 1-2 at Autopolis

The Real Racing pairing of Nobuharu Matsushita and Koudai Tsukakoshi won the penultimate round of the Super GT season, leading a one-two result for Honda teams.

Matsushita and Tsukakoshi moved up to third in the GT500 standings following their first victory of the year, while the NDDP Nissan pairing of Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi will take a 2.5-point lead into the Motegi title decider next month.

Matsushita ran fourth in the early stages of Sunday’s 65-lap race, with Kondo Racing Nissan driver Daiki Sasaki leading away from pole.

Sasaki made a strong start and was around five seconds clear of second-placed Tadasuke Makino after 10 laps, while Matsushita gained a place on Yuji Kunimoto’s Toyota GR Supra just before the pit window opened.

A strong pit stop from the Real Racing crew brought Tsukakoshi out in the lead of the race, with Makino’s co-driver Naoki Yamamoto running second for Team Kunimitsu.

The Kondo Nissan dropped to third after the driver changes and Sasaki’s co-driver Kohei Hirate put in a determined recovery stint to close the gap to Yamamoto, however he couldn’t find a way past the two-time champion.

The battle for second enabled Tsukakoshi to draw clear and win by 10 seconds, delivering Honda’s first GT500 victory since the second round of the season and completing a recovery from Real Racing following a crash in practice.

Championship leaders Chiyo and Takaboshi finished seventh, one position behind title rivals Bertrand Baguette and Kazuki Hiramine who nibbled away at the points deficit.

GT300 honors went to Hiroki Yoshida and Kohta Kawaai who shared a Greenbrave Toyota GR Supra.

RESULTS: Autopolis / Standings

Photo: Thailand Super Series

Other Racing Action & News

***Sports car racing joined last weekend’s Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix support bill, as the Thailand Super Series held two races at the Marina Bay street circuit. Andrew Haryanto won the opening contest for Audi Sport Team Asia Absolute. After finishing third in Race 1, Kantasak Kusiri claimed Race 2 honors in his YK Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. Race 1 / Race 2

***Carrie Schreiner won the Pro title in the GT60 element of the German GTC Race Series, while Semi-Pro champion Robin Rogalski claimed overall honors in the 26-lap race at Hockenheim. Solo driver Rogalski, driving a Seyffarth Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, beat the Rutronik Audi pairing of Stefan Muecke and Finn Zulauf by nine seconds. Results

***Lithuania has committed to the GT Sprint and GT elements of next month’s FIA Motorsport Games. Julius Adomavicius will race in Sprint, with Eimantas Navikauskas and Jonas Gelzinis teaming up in GT. Their Audis will be run by Circle K milesPLUS Racing Team, which is a multiple winner of Lithuania’s top sports car race, the Palanga 1000km.

***The NLS has announced its provisional eight-round 2023 calendar. The season is due to start on March 17-18 and conclude on October 6-7. The series organizers have also given the option for Round 3 to be extended into a double-header if one of the opening two rounds is called off, as was the case last year. Click here for the full schedule.

On this weekend: Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli, Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS (Indianapolis), DTM (Hockenheim), NLS (Round 7)

Daniel Lloyd is a UK-based reporter for Sportscar365, covering the FIA World Endurance Championship, Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, among other series.

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