Ford Sweeps GTE-Pro in Shanghai

Photo: Drew Gibson/Ford

Ford Chip Ganassi Racing has scored its second consecutive 1-2 sweep in GTE-Pro, with Harry Tincknell and Andy Priaulx taking a dominant class win in Sunday’s Six Hours of Shanghai.

Priaulx took a 50.652-second victory over the sister No. 66 entry of Olivier Pla and Stefan Muecke, following a hard-fought battle with the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE for the runner-up spot.

Muecke and Pla fought back from an unscheduled stop in the third hour, which derailed their chances of class victory.

The No. 67 Ford led from lights-to-flag, in a near mirror-image to its equally dominant run in last month’s round at Fuji, which saw Tincknell and Priaulx score their breakthrough first win.

Bruni and co-driver James Calado had to settle for third in class on Sunday, with the championship-leading No. 95 Aston Martin Vantage GTE of Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim coming home fourth.

Their sister No. 97 Aston was taken out of the race on the first lap after Richie Stanaway was clipped by the spinning No. 45 Manor Oreca 05 Nissan of Mathias Beche.

It resulted in the race’s only safety car period, but saw Ferrari extend its slim lead in the GT Manufacturers’ Cup, despite a tough race for the No. 71 AF Corse entry, which finished fifth.

Aston Martin Racing, meanwhile, scored its third consecutive GTE-Am class victory and fifth of the season, in another commanding run for Pedro Lamy, Mathias Lauda and Paul Dalla Lana.

Lauda took the No. 98 Aston Martin Vantage GTE to a 51-second win over the No. 78 KCMG Porsche 911 RSR, following last-lap contact between Wolf Henzler and the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia GT of Rui Aguas.

Championship leader Aguas and co-drivers Emmanuel Collard and Francois Perrodo finished third in class, keeping the title fight alive heading into the season finale in Bahrain.

RESULTS: 6H Shanghai 

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John