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GT World Challenge Europe

Leonard, Vervisch Win Race 2 as WRT Sweeps Weekend

Stuart Leonard and Frederic Vervisch win Race 2 as WRT dominates weekend…

Photo: Olivier Beroud Images

Stuart Leonard and Frederic Vervisch have given Belgian Audi Club Team WRT a sweep of the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup weekend at Brands Hatch by winning Race 2 on Sunday afternoon.

The No. 17 Audi R8 LMS GT3 led the entire race from pole position and Leonard crossed the line ahead of WRT teammate Alex Riberas in the team’s No. 1 car.

The win came after Dries Vanthoor and Will Stevens won Race 1 earlier in the day, and makes it the Belgian outfit’s third consecutive win and Audi’s fourth.

Riberas dropped off the pace in the last ten minutes after being given a final warning for track limits abuse.

The No. 1 car which the Spaniard shares with Christopher Mies is understood to have also had a radio problem.

Steijn Schothorst completed the podium in the No. 66 Attempto Racing Audi he co-drives with Kelvin van der Linde after the pair lost a podium finish in Race 1 with a last-lap puncture.

The top five was completed by Michael Meadows and Christian Engelhart as the highest-placed non-Audi entries.

Meadows’ co-driver Raffaele Marciello shunted the barrier on the way into the pit lane, appearing to damage the No. 88 Mercedes-AMG GT3’s steering balance for the rest of the race.

The safety car was brought out on the first lap for a while after a collision between Jack Manchester and Callum Macleod which forced both Team Parker Racing Bentley Continental GT3s and the SMP Racing by AKKA ASP Mercedes to retire.

Andrea Caldarelli was also caught up in a first-lap problem, going off course at the Druids hairpin in his No. 19 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3.

Manchester and Nico Bastian took the Silver Cup win in their No. 90 AKKA ASP car with Lukas Moraes and Andrew Watson second for 3Y Technology.

The BMW crew won the Silver battle on track in Race 1 but was disqualified and lost its victory for ignoring a black and orange flag late in the race.

Nyls Stievenart and Markus Winkelhock were victorious in Pro-Am for Sainteloc Racing, meanwhile, beating the TP 12 Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 of Piti Bhirombhakdi.

UPDATE: The No. 90 AKKA ASP Mercedes was given a 30-second post-race time penalty as a result of the contact caused in part by Manchester on the first lap. The car is now classified 15th overall and 3Y Technology inherits the Silver Cup win.

RESULTS: Race 2

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.

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