Weekly Racing Roundup (9.30.19)

Moller Crowned Blancpain GT Sports Club Champion at Barcelona

Jens Reno Moller was crowned Blancpain GT Sports Club champion on Saturday while Denis Remenyako and Murod Sultanov won the pair of races at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Moller finished the races fourth and second but his fourth-place result on Saturday was enough to clinch the title thanks, in part, to his four victories earlier in the season onboard his Honda NSX GT3 Evo.

Remenyako made a late pass on James Sofronas’ Audi R8 LMS GT2, making its race debut this weekend, to claim victory on Saturday.

It was the Capital Racing Team driver’s second consecutive win with his Mercedes-AMG GT3 and came despite losing the lead at the start to Sultanov and Moller.

He made his way back into the lead on the third lap and managed to build up a gap at the front until Sofronas passed him into Turn 1 on the restart after a safety car period.

The Mercedes driver got back past the Audi after an entertaining battle in which the GT2 car showed its power advantage on the straights but lost ground to the higher-downforce GT3 cars in corners.

Remenyako started from pole in Sunday’s Race 2 and initially kept his advantage while Sofronas vaulted from sixth to second at the start.

The two drivers then slid off track on an oil patch after 15 minutes, sending both into the gravel and allowing Sultanov’s Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 to assume the lead.

He went on to take the win with Moller just four-tenths behind.

In addition to Moller taking the overall title, Coach McKansy beat Lee Mowle to the Titanium Cup while Stephen Earle claimed the Iron Cup at Spa.

RESULTS: Race 1; Race 2

Dontje, Goetz Win GT Masters Race 1 as Audi Champions Take Race 2

Indy Dontje and Maxi Goetz claimed their first ADAC GT Masters win of the season on Saturday before champions Kelvin van der Linde and Patric Niederhauser took the Race 2 victory at the Sachsenring.

Dontje and Goetz took a resounding lights-to-flag Race 1 win with their Mann-Filter Team HTP Mercedes-AMG GT3 by a margin of 31 seconds.

Race 2 went the way of van der Linde and Niederhauser, who had been crowned champions last time out at the Hockenheimring, but adding another win to their tally was enough to secure the teams’ title for HCB-Rutronik Racing.

Dontje started Race 1 from pole and remained out front throughout his stint, pitting with a four-second lead, which Goetz extended during his stint. 

Christopher Mies made his way past Kelvin Snoeks with six laps remaining to take second for Montaplast by Land Motorsport with the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo he shares with Max Hofer.

Team Zakspeed BKK Mobil Oil Racing’s Mercedes-AMG GT3s finished third and fourth with Snoeks and Mick Wishofer ahead of Daniel Keilwitz and Jimmy Eriksson.

Sunday’s race was equally as straightforward at the front of the field as van der Linde started from pole and kept his lead until Niederhauser took over and increased the gap.

Zakspeed went one better this time, with Eriksson and Keilwitz placing second and finishing 2.8 seconds down on Niederhauser, while Hofer and Mies crossed the line third.

RESULTS: Race 1; Race 2

GetSpeed Mercedes Secures First VLN Victory

Fabian Schiller and Dominik Baumann gave GetSpeed Performance its first VLN victory on Saturday, taking Mercedes-AMG’s fourth consecutive win in the series.

Schiller drove two cars in the four-hour race at the Nürburgring Nordschleife and started from pole in his other entry, another of GetSpeed’s Mercedes.

Baumann, driving the eventually victorious No. 23 Mercedes, got past Schiller’s No. 2 car on the sixth lap. The team opted for intermediate tires in the unpredictable conditions while many of its rivals switched to slick tires.

This proved beneficial for GetSpeed, which remained in the lead for the rest of the race despite a stop-and-go penalty for a short pit stop.

Team Mann-Filter made it a Mercedes 1-2 with its car, driven by Edoardo Mortara, Lance David Arnold and 2011 DTM champion and GT racing returnee Tim Scheerbarth, finishing 43 seconds behind in runner-up position.

Third and fourth went to BMW M6 GT3s run by Walkenhorst Motorsport and Falken Motorsports.

Team AVIA Sorg Rennsport’s BMW M4 GT4 was the best-placed GT4 car, winning the SP10 category, while Black Falcon Team Knuffi claimed SP8T class honors with its Mercedes-AMG GT4.

RESULTS: VLN 7