The second meeting of the 2015 GT Sports Club was a resounding success, with twenty-two drivers taking part in two animated races. Stefano Pezzucchi produced a stellar performance by winning both races overall, while Martin Lanting did the same in the Iron Cup.
The races of the GT Sports Club were a fitting end to what was arguably one of the most exciting weekends in the history of the SRO Motorsports Group. With an exhilarating 1000 km for the Blancpain Endurance Series on Saturday evening and the presence of no fewer than sixteen very rare Ultracars, the paddock of the Circuit Paul Ricard was brimming with activity.
The 22 participants of the GT Sports Club felt really at home in such a motorsport loving environment and produced some interesting races on Sunday. Star of the meeting was Stefano Pezzucchi with his #35 Krypton Motorsport Porsche. The Italian had already shown some excellent performances in the GT Sports Club opening round in Barcelona, but mechanical problems in the main race prevented him from scoring serious points.
However, in the South of France his Porsche was an example of reliability, and Pezzucchi scored a grand slam: pole position, fastest lap in the race and wins in both the qualifying and main races. Performances that obviously do no harm to his championship chances, as Pezzucchi is now second in the standings.
The new leader in the GT Sports Club drivers' rankings is Cedric Mezard. The Scuderia Villorba Corse driver twice crossed the line in second place, and even though he was never able to threaten Pezzucchi, the French driver was well ahead of the drivers behind him. Mezard now has 43 points, which is two more than Pezzucchi and former leader Max Bianchi.
The Italian Kessel Racing driver had qualified well in fifth, but a rare error during the qualifying race made him drop to twelfth in the 25-minute race. Nevertheless, Bianchi managed to take fourth in the main race, limiting the damage during the French weekend.
Another choice performance in Le Castellet came from Martin Lanting, who dominated the Iron Cup. The AF Corse-driver even managed to claim an overall podium spot in the main race, after passing Jürgen Häring in the #56 Attempto Racing Porsche in the opening laps of the long race. Lanting was joined on the Iron Cup podium by fellow AF Corse driver Louis-Philippe Soenen and Marc Sourd in the Saintéloc Racing Audi. In the Iron Cup rankings Lanting now has an important lead over Soenen.
The next GT Sports Club meeting will be held in early September in the Algarve, as part of the Blancpain Sprint Series meeting.
