ST Racing Leads 12H Mugello at Overnight Intervention

ST Racing leads the Hankook 12H Mugello after the first portion of the race was completed on Saturday.

The Canadian squad and its No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 driven by Samantha Tan, Bryson Morris and Nick Wittmer saw the checkered flag after 147 laps for the overnight intervention.

It led by just over a minute ahead of the No.25 Mann-Filter Team Landgraf Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Martin Konrad, Alexander Hrachowina and five-time DTM champion Bernd Schneider.

The BMW started the race from second position but seized the race lead from polesitter Phoenix Racing and its No.18 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II in the opening exchanges.

An early Code 60 promoted the Audi to the front when the BMW pitted, only for it to drop the lead to the No.6 BoDa by Bas Koeten Racing Bentley Continental GT3 when it made a pitstop of its own when the race resumed.

Another Code 60, this time for an off-track moment for the No. 34 Car Collection Motorsport Audi, promoted the No.8 Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 by the end of the first hour when it remained out during a round of stops.

After the restart, the No. 1 BMW charged up to second place by passing both the Landgraf Mercedes and the No. 61 Earl Bamber Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R.

It then retook the lead when the Kessel Ferrari came in, only to drop it again under yet another round of stops under Code 60 for the No.6 BoDa Bentley into the wall following a reported ABS failure.

Following three further Code 60 interventions, the BMW retook the lead for the final time leading into the end of the first half.

Behind the two leading cars, the No.18 Phoenix Audi sits third ahead of the No.71 Juta Racing Audi, the Kessel Racing Ferrari and a pair of Mercedes from CP Racing and MP Racing.

The two Porsches in the GT3 class appear largely out of contention after the first 5.5 hours.

Herberth’s No. 91 car has suffered a plethora of issues including an early puncture, a 60-second penalty for speeding in the pitlane as well as two different incidents that left it in the gravel.

It now sits eighth overall, four laps down but on the same lap as the EBM Porsche, which was reported to have suffered from floor issues.

The top ten was completed by the No. 26 Sainteloc Racing Audi, which similarly sat four laps behind the leaders.

The two-car GT4 class is led by the No. 417 Orchid Racing Team Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 driven by Alexandre Mottet, Stefan Chaligne, Antoine Leclerc and Antonio Garzon.

The team holds a lead of three laps over the No. 421 Team ACP-Tangerine Associates by VEIDEC JJ Motosport BMW M4 GT4 of Catesby Jones and Wim Spinoy.

The remaining 6.5 hours of the Hankook 12H Mugello start at 9 a.m. local time on Sunday.

RESULTS: Hankook 12H Mugello Part 1