Weekly Racing Roundup (7.17.23)

Points Leader Inthraphuvasak Takes First Win of Season

Pro-Am points leader Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak claimed his first win of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS season alongside stand-in driver Klaus Bachler.

The AAS Motorsport by Absolute Racing pairing won the opening race of the weekend at Suzuka from 11th on the grid after both drivers made up several positions.

Inthraphuvasak was seventh by the time the pit window opened and Bachler made further progress before reaching the 5ZIGEN Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 of race leader Shintaro Kawabata.

The Austrian driver, who was replacing the European Le Mans Series-tied Alessio Picariello, quickly closed the gap before overtaking Kawabata into Turn 1.

Bachler went on to win by 6.7 seconds ahead of the Nissan that was started by ‘Hirobon’ while Yuta Kamimura and Hiroaki Nagai were third for Porsche Center Okazaki.

Race 2 honors went to Craft-Bamboo Racing’s Daniel Juncadella and Anthony Liu who led a one-two result for Mercedes-AMG entries ahead of Triple Eight JMR’s Luca Stolz and Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim.

Juncadella started from pole position and had eked out a three-second margin over fellow Mercedes-AMG factory driver Stolz in time for the mid-race pit window.

Liu then increased the gap to Ibrahim to claim his second win of the campaign after an early-season success at Buriram alongside Fabian Schiller.

Patrick Pilet and Wei Lu completed the top three in their R&B Racing Porsche, ahead of Climax Racing’s Mercedes-AMG driven by Dennis Lind and Bihuang Zhou.

Inthraphuvasak and Bachler came through in ninth despite having to serve a 15-second success penalty, meaning that the former left Suzuka with a 10-point buffer over Ibrahim in the championship standings.

RESULTS: Race 1 / Race 2

Piana, Schrey Take Last-Lap Win at Misano

The fourth round of the GT4 European Series powered by Rafa Racing Club season featured a last-lap overtake for the win from Gabriele Piana in the first 60-minute race.

The Italian’s co-driver Michael Schrey started from 14th on the grid in Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport’s BMW M4 GT4, but a decision to pit early in the window paid dividends as Piana emerged in fourth.

After overtaking the No. 11 Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport BMW, Piana was aided by a safety car period that put him on the tail of NM Racing’s Mercedes-AMG GT4 driven by Alex Papadopulos.

Piana dispatched Papadopulos at the high-speed Curvone right-hand kink with eight minutes to go, before sizing up Robert Consani’s Team Speedcar Audi R8 LMS GT4 which led the opening stint in the hands of Benjamin Lariche.

The top two made contact early on the final lap before Piana completed the move by powering past Consani as they exited Turn 6.

Piana and Schrey also finished one place ahead of Consani and Lariche in Race 2, although their order was second and third behind winners Tom Edgar and Berkay Besler.

A strong getaway from the second row of the grid saw Besler charge into an early lead, but the Turkish driver faced constant pressure from Consani and Piana.

The close-quarters racing continued after the driver swaps, but Edgar kept Schrey behind him to win by half a second as Lariche completed the podium. With two rounds to go, Piana and Schrey lead Edgar and Besler by 25 points in the Silver Cup standings.

RESULTS: Race 1 / Race 2

Tight at the Top as GT Masters Reaches Halfway

The ADAC GT Masters season reached its midpoint with the top three crews in the championship separated by seven points after last weekend’s round at the Nürburgring.

Finn Gehrsitz and Sven Mueller picked up 23 points across the pair of races and qualifying sessions to maintain their leading position, but Salman Owega and Elias Seppanen closed the gap to three points with a strong event that included victory in Race 1.

The teenage pairing of Owega and Seppanen briefly moved into the points lead after their victory in the Landgraf Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, but Gehrsitz and Mueller struck back with a Race 2 podium.

Owega snatched the lead at Turn 1 in damp conditions and led throughout the opening stint, before handing over to Seppanen who won by a comfortable 15-second margin.

The second race saw Marco Mapelli and Benjamin Hites prevail for Grasser Racing Team after Mapelli took Lamborghini’s 50th pole in GT Masters history.

The GRT duo resisted the pressure from Marco Wittmann and Sandro Holzem’s BMW M4 GT3, while Gehrsitz and Mueller finished third after only managing 10th in Race 1.

Owega and Seppanen ended up eighth, creating a close championship scenario that also involves the Huber Racing Porsche crew of Jaxon Evans and Tim Zimmermann.

RESULTS: Race 1 / Race 2

Other Racing Action & News

***Julien Gerbi and Gillian Henrion won the Michelin Le Mans Cup race at Paul Ricard for Ligier outfit Team Virage after a battle with Cool Racing’s Adrien Chila and Cedric Oltramare. GT3 honors went to the Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini duo of Patrick Kujala and Gabriele Rindone after the leading Aston Martin Vantage GT3 suddenly slowed with a loss of power 15 minutes from the end. Results

***Sports car racing was well-represented at the 30th-anniversary Goodwood Festival of Speed, with current and historic machinery taking to the famous hill climb or being shown on static display. The 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning No. 51 Ferrari 499P was on view in the paddock, whereas Hertz Team JOTA’s Porsche 963 and the Iron Dames Porsche 911 RSR-19 were among the cars being driven up the hill. Marvin Kirchhoefer won the Sunday shootout with a time of 45.34 seconds in a McLaren Solus GT.

***Tom Blomqvist’s NTT IndyCar Series debut with Meyer Shank Racing ended in a multi-car accident on the first lap of the Honda Indy Toronto street race. The reigning IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar DPi champion was drafted in to replace Simon Pagenaud who was not cleared to compete after an airborne crash in practice at Mid-Ohio.

***Two-time FIA World Endurance GTE-Pro champion Nicki Thiim will join Beechdean AMR for this weekend’s Intelligent Money British GT Championship round at Portimao. The Danish ace is subbing for Ross Gunn who has WeatherTech Championship commitments at Lime Rock Park. Thiim will share Beechdean’s Aston Martin Vantage GT3 with team owner Andrew Howard.

***GetSpeed Performance has added a fourth Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo to its International GT Open stable for three of the four remaining rounds. Aaron Walker, who drives for the German team in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup, will share the wheel with Michelin Le Mans Cup racer Andres Latorre.

On this weekend: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (Lime Rock Park), Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS (Motegi), International GT Open (Paul Ricard), Intelligent Money British GT Championship, Fanatec GT2 European Series (Portimao)