Holzer-Tandy (Manthey Porsche) win dramatic finale but fell 3 points short4th is enough for the Italian pairMalucelli-Barba (Villois Aston) third in championshipBizzarri-Rizzoli win in GTS, title for Zampieri-Dalle Stelle (Kessel Racing)AF Corse and Kessel crowned among teams, Ferrari top constructor twice
GT Open RACE 2Montmel, 4 November 2012Gimmi Bruni and Federico Leo are the 2012 Champions of the International GT Openafter a thrilling finale in Barcelona. The Italian pair came fourth in a race that waswon by their strongest rivals, Marco Holzer-Nick Tandy, who took their fifth win withthe Manthey Racing Porsche and finish runner-ups in the championship, three pointsbehind. The other title contenders, lvaro Barba and Matteo Malucelli (Villois RacingAston Martin) finished 9th in the race and third in the final standings.
Patrick Pilet-Raymond Narac (KIMSA Porsche) were an excellent second today aheadof Raffaele Giammaria-Miguel Ramos (V8 Racing Corvette), who repeated yesterdaysthird.
Daniel Zampieri and Michael Dalle Stelle (Kessel Racing Ferrari) secured the GTS titlewith a fourth position, beating todays race winner Stefano Bizzarri, paired withAndrea Rizzoli on the AF Corse Ferrari.
Ferrari has won the Manufacturers titles in both categories, Super GT and GTS, withAF Corse and Kessel Racing taking the Teams crowns.
The race was extremely undecided. It started with the dilemma of what tires to choose, aftera storm left the surface wet before the start. Some went for slicks straight away, like Holzer,while others changed at the last minute (Leo, Barba), having to start from the pits, and someothers (Lopez, Griffin) changed tires on the grid after the 5 panel, incurring in a drive-through.
Griffin led the initial laps, with Pilet and Holzer emerging soon after passing Giammaria andLopez. The two Porsches battled nicely for most of the race, before and after the pit stop,while the AF Ferrari and the Villois Aston climbing up positions steadily. A couple of laps fromthe end, Bruni was sixth, and therefore not champion, but in the last few corners he managedto pass Bizzarri and Peter and attacked Ramos, which almost ended in a contact.
In GTS, the win went to Bizzarri, ahead of the GPR Aston of Baguette-Martin and the SeyffarthMercedes of Wendlinger-Baumann.
Championship Standings after Race 15 of 16 (FINAL)Scratch: 1. Bruni-Leo, 195; 2.Tandy-Holzer, 192; 3.Malucelli-Barba, 179; 4. Giammaria-Ramos, 157; 5. Lopez-Montermini, 154;6. Pilet-Narac, 134GTS: 1. Zampieri-Dalle Stelle, 88; 2. Bizzarri, 85; 3. Hamilton-Mapelli, 70; 4. Rizzoli, 67; 5. Puglisi-Beretta, 43Teams SGT: 1. AF Corse, 85; 2. Manthey Racing, 84; 3. Villois Racing, 76; 4. V8 Racing, 69; 5. aabar Villorba Corse, 65; 6.IMSA Performance, 63Team GTS: 1. Kessel Racing, 134; 2. Autorlando Sport, 113; 3. AF Corse, 95; 4. Lapidus Racing, 27; 5. Ombra Racing, 28; 6.Lapidus Racing, 27Manufacturers SGT: 1. Ferrari, 188; 2. Porsche, 144; 3. Aston Martin, 76; 4. Chevrolet, 69Manufacturers GTS: 1. Ferrari, 221; 2. Porsche, 126; 3. Mercedes, 38; 4. McLaren, 24; 5. Lamborghini, 18; 6. BMW, 14.
