in Spa GT Open
• First success in the GT Open by a French team• Lietz-Roda (2nd and new series leaders) complete Porsche’s excellent day• Rugolo-Ricci (3rd), best Ferrari• Fourth GTS Win for Peter-Broniszewski (Kessel Ferrari)
Raymond Narac and Patrick Pilet (Porsche 997 RSR) took a resounding victory in Saturday’s Pro-Am race of the Spa GT Open, giving IMSA Performance Matmut its first victory in the International GT Open, which is also the first victory of a French team in the series.
Porsche took also the second place, with Richard Lietz – Gianluca Roda and Autorlando team, who are now the new leaders in the provisional standings. Michele Rugolo – Giacomo Ricci (Advanced Engineering) took third and saved Ferrari’s honour in a closelyfought final battle.
In GTS, the triumphal march of Kessel Racing’s Ferrari driven by Philipp Peter and Michal Broniszewski continues; the pair has clinched its fourth success of the year, with the Villois Aston Martin of Wiser-Lancieri second and the Scuderia 22 Corvette of Geri-Piccini third in its come-back to the series.
The race started with a strong Portuguese taste as Couceiro and Aguas trusted the first row, while the SunRed of Fernández-Cressoni had to withdraw from the meeting, after a heavy crash of the Spaniard in Blanchimont in Qualifying 2.
After a hot start (which saw a collision between the AE Ferrari of Bonifacio and the IMSA Porsche of Lecourt), Aguas overtook Couceiro to take the lead of the race, both followed by Narac, Camathias, Rugolo, Belloc, Peter and Bonetti. Later the Portuguese duel was resolved in favor of Aguas until few moments before driver change, when the Ferrariretired on the track with a blown tyre.
After the driver changes and the handicaps, Pilet became a strong leader on the IMSA Porsche, with over a 15-seconds advantage on Ricci, Gião, Lietz, David and Fässler.
The fight for second became then the focal point of interest, with Fässler managing to pass both Gião and Lietz and all of them catching up on Ricci. But when the Swiss was ready to attack the Italian, a collision with the lapped Mtech Ferrari of Edmonton sent the Trottet Ferrari into a spin (lap 23), losing three positions. Eventually, Lietz managed to catch 2nd and Ricci to save its third position.
The GTS race was dominated since the beginning by the Kessel Ferrari of Peter- Broniszewski. In the first phases, the Corvette of Alexander-Lagniez and the GDL Porsche of Borghi-De Lorenzi kept second and third, before losing ground in favor of the Villois Aston of Lancieri-Wiser and the Corvette of Geri-Piccini, who took the other podium positions.
SPA RACE 1 RESULTS
SUPER GT:1. Narac-Pilet (IMSA Porsche 997) 29 laps in 1h12m21s471 (av: 168.400 kmh)2. Roda-Lietz (Autorlando Porsche 997) +10s3. Rugolo-Ricci (Advanced Ferrari F430) +11s4. Couceiro-Gião (Autorlando Porsche 997) +11s5. Fässler-Camathias (Trottet Ferrari F430) +18s
GTS:1. Peter-Broniszewski (Kessel Ferrari F430 GT3)2. Wiser-Lancieri (Villois Aston Martin DBRS9)3. Piccini-Geri (Sc.22 Corvette)4. Cameron-Edmonds (Mtech Ferrari F430 GT3)5. De Lorenzi-Borghi (GDL Porsche 997 GT3)
OVERALL STANDINGS SUPER GT1. Lietz-Roda (Autorlando Porsche 997 RSR), 78 p.2. Fässler-Camathias (Trottet Ferrari F430), 703. Rugolo-Ricci (Advanced Ferrari F430), 684. Couceiro-Gião (Autorlando Porsche), 505. Narac-Pilet (IMSA Porsche), 44
OVERALL STANDINGS GTS1. Peter-Broniszewski (Kessel Ferrari F430 GT3), 40 p.2. Wiser (Villois Aston Martin DBRS9), 323. Lancieri (Villois Aston Martin DBRS9), 24
