Bornhauser and Groppi are not short of air

The conditions are delicate when the pack of the French Championship FFSAGT setting off for the second race of the weekend. A few drops of rain entered the debates when Kurt Mollekens took pole position in front of Olivier Porta, but all the competitors opted for slick tires.

The GT1 stars liven up the start of the race. The tightrope walkers stand out, with Jean-Philippe Dayraut taking the lead before the driver changes, ahead of Soheil Ayari, Laurent Groppi and Laurent Cazenave. The leaders wait as long as possible to make their obligatory stop. Wilfried Mérafina therefore logically takes over from his teammate in the lead, ahead of Bruno Hernandez, Patrick Bornhauser and Jean-Claude Police.

Very comfortable, Patrick Bornhauser overtakes Bruno Hernandez and is in second place, while the temporary downpour now seems to be over. He then took the lead when Wilfried Mérafina saw his hopes of victory disappear following a puncture. The bruised Corvette is forced to return to the pits. Bornhauser thus takes control of the race ahead of Jean-Claude Police and Bruno Hernandez, in full explanation.

Patrick Bornhauser irremediably takes off. Bornhauser and Groppi thus won for the second time this season and took back control of the French FFSA GT Championship, for two small points. “Yesterday we finished on the podium with 80 kg of ballast. Without ballast today, we had to win. The start of the race was difficult, it was raining quite a bit in a few places. I'm definitely back on Kurt Mollekens and Jean-Philippe Dayraut. While trying to overtake him, we touched and I spun. However, I managed to come back and give Patrick a good car? analyzes Laurent Groppi. “When we are not weighted down and the other cars are, the least we can do is win,” adds Bornhauser.

Winners the day before, Laurent Cazenave and Jean-Claude Police confirmed today by finishing second, ahead of Bruno Hernandez and Soheil Ayari. Both crews have the same number of points. “We had a good race, with ballast we are doing what we can. We are happy with the result, but I'm not used to finishing on the podium behind a car that spun? That says a lot about the difference between the Saleen and the Corvette.” Soheil Ayari refers to the diameter of the air flange of the Saleen which was changed this weekend. ?I had the opportunity to test the bi-turbo Saleen in the USA? This weekend I wondered if this car was not homologated in GT FFSA” concluded Bruno Hernandez.

In GT3, Olivier Thevenin, Mike Parisy and Antoine Leclerc compete for first position at the start of the race. Aboard the brand new Audi, Franck Biela lost ground following a problem with a reluctant gearbox at the start.

Cautious at the start of the race, Mike Parisy finally took the lead over Olivier Thevenin. He has a good lead when handing over his wheel to Philippe Gaillard. At home, the latter had a solid end to the race. Like Bornhauser and Groppi, Mike Parisy and Philippe Gaillard achieved a second success this season ahead of Antoine Leclerc and David Tuchbant. The podium is completed by the winners of the first race of the weekend, Olivier Thévenin and Arnaud Peyroles.

“Following our poor performance yesterday, due to a tire problem, it was important to put things back in order,” explains Mike Parisy. “Our Lamborghini was very efficient. We are really happy with this result. This Championship is very close. We are going to experience many more emotions this season. »

Next meeting with the FFSA Super Series at Magny-Cours, in three weeks.