Ekris Wins Pau Race 2, Disqualified from Race 1 Win

Having been stripped off their Race 1 victory for a technical infringement, Ricardo van der Ende and Max Koebolt won the second 60-minute GT4 European Series Southern Cup contest held at Pau on Sunday.

Starting from seventh with their No. 888 Ekris Motorsport-entered BMW M4 Ekris, the Dutch pairing made steady progress through the field to tame the iconic street venue.

The race got underway in warm and sunny conditions, with the pole-sitting No. 26 Classic & Modern Racing Ginetta G55 GT4 of Soheil Ayari holding off Gael Castelli’s No. 444 Speed Car Ginetta to lead into the first corner.

Pau expert Ayari managed to eke out a gap at the front with his nimble Ginetta, while there was also a great scrap just outside the top three positions.

The battle involved both Sainteloc Racing entries: Sebastien Dumez in the No. 66 Porsche and Gregory Guilvert at the wheel of the No. 69 Porsche, as well as Anthony Beltoise on the No. 22 Martinet By Almeras-entered Porsche.

Having climbed its way up to third while its rivals faltered, the No. 888 BMW gained another spot during the mandatory driver change, with Koebolt taking over from van der Ende and heading back out on track in second position.

It took only a few laps for the Dutch ace to reel in Nicolas Tardif, who had taken over from Ayari in the race-leading Ginetta. Koebolt took advantage of a small mistake from the No. 26 car at the last chicane to pounce ahead on the following straight.

Despite a couple of Safety Car periods, the BMW, which competes in both the GT4 European Series Northern Cup and global GT4 European Series championship, stayed the course all the way to flag.

After starting from eighth in the No. 30 CD Sport Porsche, homegrown talent Mike Parisy and Gilles Vannelet climbed up to second to grab the Pro-Am Drivers’ points lead. 

RESULTS: Race 2