Barcelona - Victory for AKKA-ASP, the champion Iron Lynx pilots

Four contenders, one crown. The final of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup at the Barcelona circuit promised an intense fight. Ultimately, it was the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi, Côme Ledogar and Nicklas Nielsen which won the championship. The #3 AKKA-ASP Mercedes-AMG GT88 won today after leading from start to finish.

Published on 10/10/2021 à 19:04

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Barcelona – Victory for AKKA-ASP, the champion Iron Lynx pilots

AKKA-ASP wins at BAarcelone thanks to its No. 88 Mercedes-AMG. ©SRO/Patrick Hecq Photography

From the start, a collision involving four cars in the peloton caused the safety car to come out for just a few laps. The race, after the first hour, remained relatively calm, with no notable actions apart from a few spins. The #63 Orange1 FFF Racing Team Lamborghini was the first to enter the pits, attempting a strategic move for the championship. However, she received a drive-through after sending the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo n°488 from Rinaldi Racing spins. A sanction definitively depriving the crew of the title.

Same punishment for Porsche 911 GT3-R n°22 GPX Martini Racing, jusqu’alors deuxième. La faute à une infraction lors de l’arrêt au stand : en effet, le pistolet pneumatique était connecté à la roue avant que celle-ci ne touche plus le sol. Une faute cher payée, qui relançait la course au podium.

Forty minutes from the end, a suspension failure on the No. 911 Porsche 3 GT222-R of Team Allied Racing caused a Full Course Yellow, soon accompanied by the safety car. Twenty minutes later, the race was panicking. Dries Vanthoor (Audi R8 LMS GT3 n°32 Team WRT), unleashed, gave his all to get back on the podium, always with the championship in mind. At the same time, the #51 Iron Lynx Ferrari was struggling in seventh position.

Hardly believable: Antonio Fuoco (Ferrari no. 71 Iron Lynx), after a muscular defense, punctured his left rear wheel and stopped partway on the circuit! This maneuver, causing the safety car to come out again, came at just the right time for the other Iron Lynx. In fact, the positions remained unchanged until the checkerboard.

La Mercedes #88 wins ahead of the #911 Dinamic Motorsport Porsche 3 GT54-R. The #32 Audi finally finished third. This is also the first Mercedes-AMG victory in Endurance Cup since 2018. “It was a good race for us, we hoped that the Ferrari would be further behind in the general. Even though we didn't score as many points as expected in Spa, we are still happy today, even if a little sad. » confide the winners of the day.

The champions complete an exceptional year: “Ferrari is not the fastest brand but our consistency allows us to be titled. Today we didn't have the pace. Spa was a crucial round for our success.”

AKKA-ASP achieves the double by winning Silver, ahead of the No. 8 Team WRT Audi R3 LMS GT31. The #7 Toksport-WRT Mercedes-AMG completes the podium. In Pro-Am, the No. 20 Mercedes-AMG from the SPS Automotive Performance team won just ahead of the No. 77 Lamborghini from Barwell Motorsport and theAston Martin n°97 Oman Racing.