The Portuguese resists all assaults in thrilling finaleAF Corses Bruni-Leo and the Villois Aston gave great battleHolzer-Tandy (Manthey Porsche) third and back on the points leadBizzarri-Rizzoli (AF Ferrari) win in GTSThe Wilhelmus, the Dutch anthem, played for the first time in the GT Open, as the V8 Racing Chevrolet Corvette took its first overall victory in the series, after a breath-taking finale in Saturdays Race 1 in Budapest, a very lively 99th race for the series (with 5 cars of four different brands within 3.3 seconds). Raffaele Giammaria performed a great stint, with the black Vette exiting first after driver change, and Miguel Ramos managed what looked impossible to maintain the leadership until the end.
On a circuit know for the difficulty to overcome, the Portuguese resisted to the assaults of the AF Corse Ferrari of Federico Leo shared with Gimmi Bruni, who had domi.nated the first part of the race. Nick Tandy-Marco Holzer took third with the Manthey Porsche, and now are on top of the overall standings, after passing the Villois Aston of Malucelli-Barba, which also lost fourth to Lopez-Montermini (Aabar Villorba Ferrari) at the very end.
In GTS, the AF Corse Ferrari of Stefano Bizzarri-Andrea Rizzoli took its third win of the year (and reconquered the points lead in the category) ahead of the Autorlando Porsches of Hamilton-Mapelli and Puglisi-Beretta.
The start is very lively between Bruni, Giammaria and Barba who almost collide, but the polesetting AF Corse Ferrari keeps di advantage over the Corvette and the Aston, followed by Montermini, Peter, Holzer and Zampieri who leads in GTS ahead of Bontempelli. Behind, there is a big fight between the young Cesar Ramos (Kessel Ferrari) and Pilet (IMSA Porsche)for 12th.
Bruni cant really pull away, as there is only a 2-second gap over Giammaria, with a similar gap over Barba, who is threatened by Montermini. Behind, the Maserati passes Hamilton for sixth in GTS and starts a close duel with Csar Ramos. Bontempelli gets a drive-through for track limits infringements, but doesnt stop getting a black flag. Similar drive-through for Alexander.In lap 20, Barba and Montermini stop for the driver change but have same handicap (15) and positions do not change when Malucelli and Lopez go back to the track. The Aston also passes Tandy with authority. After all the stops, Ramos leads with 10 seconds over Leo, 11 on Broniszewski and 15 on the duo Malucelli-Lopez. Rizzoli is first in GTS, preceding Dalle Stelle, Mantovani, Mapelli and Gardel.
In lap 27, Malucelli passes Broniszewski for third; the Pole has to let pass also Tandy and Lopez on lap later. At the top, Leo is now on the tail of Ramos, but a couple of attacks of the Italian go void, while Malucelli, Tandy and Lopez climb from the back.
There is a collision at the back between Calari and Dalle Stelle, but all the attention is for the fight at the top, with Leo giving a last, fruitless assault on Ramos, while having also to defend from Malucelli, with whom there is a slight contact. The Aston herself is caught and passed by Tandy and Lopez in the last lap, with again slight contact between the Aston and the Porsche.
In GTS, Rizzoli wins ahead of the two Autorlando Porsches of Mapelli and Beretta, back to the top at the end of the race.
Championship Standings after Race 11 of 16Scratch: 1.Holzer-Tandy, 134; 2. Leo-Bruni, 131; 3. Barba-Malucelli, 128; 4. Montermini-Lopez, 109; 5. Pilet-Narac, 94; 6.Ramos-Giammaria, 93
GTS: 1. Bizzarri, 60; 2. Hamilton-Mapelli, Dalle Stelle-Zampieri, 58; 4. Rizzoli, 42; 5. Puglisi-Beretta, 25
Teams SGT: 1. Manthey Racing, 59; 2. AF Corse, 58; 3. Villois Racing, 55; 4. Villorba Corse, 48; 5. IMSA Performance, 38
Team GTS: 1. Autorlando Sport, 83; 2. Kessel Racing, 82; 3. AF Corse, 70; 4. Lapidus Racing, 24; 5. Seyffarth Racing, 20
Manufacturers SGT: 1. Ferrari, 135; 2. Porsche, 94; 3. Aston Martin, 55; 4. Chevrolet, 34
Manufacturers GTS: 1. Ferrari, 142; 2. Porsche, 96; 3. McLaren, 24; 4. Mercedes, 23; 5. Lamborghini, 18.
