Ultimate Cup Series – Collard and Samani win the 4H of Magny-Cours

La Mercedes-AMG GT3 n°83 fielded by Racetivity took the honors after 102 loops completed on the Nevers Magny-Cours Circuit. Starting from pole position, Charles-Henri Samani had a cautious start, losing the advantage in the first turns to Franck Dezoteux and the Renault RS 01 n°5 (FIT-ITBC by AB Sport Auto), but thanks to an error-free race, the duo, completed by Emmanuel Collard, always remained at the front.

The competition experienced many setbacks, starting with the No. 01 Renault RS 46 (AB Sport Auto), plagued by an exhaust problem. While leading the race after a good start to the event, David Hallyday lost control of the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo n°1 from Visiom sliding on gravel present on the track, in the first turn. Stuck in the tank, the Ferrari was nevertheless able to restart thanks to the intervention of the marshals, but the lost time could not be made up by its teammates, Jean-Paul Pagny and Jean-Bernard Bouvet.

On the restart lap of the second Safety Car intervention, David Hallyday tried to find the opening on the No. 01 Renault RS 45, then driven by Eric Cayrolle, inside the Château d'eau. The two cars collided and the Renault spun. During the pit stops, the #5 Renault and the #83 Mercedes exchanged leadership. Despite 61 laps in the lead compared to 53 for the Mercedes crew, Franck Dezoteux and Stéphane Tribaudini lost by conceding 42 seconds to the winners of the day, Manu Collard and Charles-Henri Samani, for the very first time this season. Dezoteux and Tribaudini, however, garnered valuable points which allowed them to maintain the advantage in the scratch and GT Class 3A championship.

The third step on the podium is occupied by the pair of Renault n°45, made up of Franck Thybaud and Eric Cayrolle. Hallyday, Pagny and Bouvet finish 4^e, two laps behind the winners. The GT Class 3B category went to the Lamborghini Super Trofeo driven by Valentin Simonet, Lucas Valkre and Vincent Congnet. This first category victory for the trio is accompanied by a 5^e place in the general classification.

Let's highlight the very beautiful 2^e place in the category Porsche Cup de Pierre Martinet, Gérard Tremblay et Alessandro Ghiretti. Parti en fond de grille, le Junior Porsche Carrerar Cup France 2021 est remonté en 10^e position in the first round. The three men finally place in 8^e position in the general classification. Sebastian Loeb did not go unnoticed on the track thanks to a thunderous start at the wheel of Vortex No. 712, which he shared with his partner, Laurène Godey. Their teammate, Sébastien Lajoux was unable to take the wheel of the race due to a gearbox problem forcing the car to retire.

The last race at Estoril, mid-November, will count double and could well reshuffle the cards.

Find the race rankings HERE