#3 Audi – Team Speedcar dominates opening contest with lights-to-flag triumph
Vaintrub and Safronov score Pro-Am win for Mirage Racing
Leandri earns solo Am class victory with Alpine from Chazel Technologie Course
Benjamin Lariche and Robert Consani successfully converted pole position into a controlled GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club victory in Saturday's opening race at Monza, bagging their first win of the campaign and boosting their Silver title hopes.
The #3 Audi from Team Speedcar led every lap of the one-hour contest, while Stanislav Safronov and Aleksandr Vaintrub (#7 Aston Martin, Mirage Racing) earned their second Pro-Am victory of the season and Jean-Mathieu Leandri (#33 Alpine, Chazel Technologie Course) scored a superb solo Am class win.
Silver: Monza masterclass secures richly deserved win for Lariche and Consani
GT4 Europe is never predictable, but this result rarely looked in doubt. Lariche took the start and made a clean getaway from pole, followed into the opening chicane by Jon Lancaster in the #812 McLaren from RAFA Racing Team.
Josh Rattican (#78 McLaren, Elite Motorsport) could not make good on his third-place starting spot, slipping back to sixth, while the sister #77 McLaren of Alex Denning jumped to third and Emil Heyerdahl vaulted from seventh to fourth aboard the #92 Wimmer Werk Porsche.
The majority of the 50-car field made it through the Rettifilo chicane unscathed, only for an incident involving the #60 Porsche to require an early safety car. The action resumed shortly after, when Lariche was able to make a quick break at the front.
Lancaster remained close behind, placing the #812 McLaren in the lead of the Pro-Am class. Any advantage was soon wiped out when a second caution period arrived just moments before the pit window.
The stops began shortly after racing resumed, though Team Speedcar elected to run its man as long as possible, a strategy also adopted by NM Racing Team. Luc Ibañez had started the #15 Mercedes-AMG from eighth but was able to climb the order as his rivals stopped. It would prove to be a wise decision: Consani took the wheel of the #3 Audi and retained the lead when he rejoined, while the #15 Mercedes-AMG vaulted into P2 with Alexandre Papadopulos now installed.
That set the final order for the top two, but the fight for second was not yet finished. Raphael Rennhofer rejoined third in the #92 Porsche from Wimmer Werk, but fell back after contact at the Roggia chicane with Tom Emson, who was now in the #77 McLaren.
Enzo Joulié was the big beneficiary, moving the #9 Toyota – Matmut Evolution into a podium place, but he was overhauled by Jamie Day aboard the #82
Aston Martin from Racing Spirit of Léman. Emson recovered from his earlier clash to also pass Joulié for fourth.
Out front, Consani was unstoppable, holding a firm lead and the result was sealed when a final Safety Car was called after the #812 McLaren that had run second early on was T-Boned at the first chicane and came to rest in the middle of the track.
Rattican and Lebbon recovered to sixth, and now hold a 39-point advantage at the top of the standings.
Pro-Am: Mirage makes it count for second win
Stanislav Safronov and Aleksandr Vaintrub scored their second Pro-Am victory of the season, the championship leaders running at the sharp end throughout and eventually beating their title rivals to the flag.
Just a point separated the Aston Martin crew from Finn Zulauf and Max Kronberg in the W&S Porsche ahead of the trip to Monza. The two cars were once again the class of the field and, after finishing one-two, are now separated by just eight points.
Jon Lancaster impressively qualified the #812 McLaren on Pro-Am pole and ran second overall through the turbulent early stages, but the car fell back after the stops before its unfortunate late exit. Safronov had kept the McLaren in sight, before pitting for Vaintrub, who rejoined and quickly vaulted the Artura for the lead.
Things were more difficult for the W&S crew, with Zulauf having to fight hard in traffic to keep the #30 Porsche inside the top seven. Zulauf was one of the last to stop, and a well-timed service got Kronberg installed and back out in fourth.
He then climbed to second, limiting the points damage to the winning Aston Martin, while Lestrup Racing Team celebrated its second podium of the season with Victor Bouveng and Joakim Walde coming home third aboard their BMW.
Am: Leandri goes it alone as Huteau and Hurgon close on the crown
Jean-Mathieu Leandri scored a superb maiden Am class victory on his first weekend driving solo for Chazel Technologie Course, beating runaway championship leaders Pascal Huteau and Laurent Hurgon in an all-Alpine battle.
Leandri started sixth but picked his way inside the top three by mid-distance, timing his pit stop well to rejoin in the lead. He then survived pressure from the chasing Hurgon, who had taken the Schumacher CLRT entry over from Huteau. Second for Huteau and Hurgon gives them a 75-point lead, with only 77 points left on offer.
Adrien Paviot and Nicolas Markiewicz were third in the #300 Team Speedcar Audi, keeping up their impressive streak of finishing on the podium in every race they have contested this year.
The GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club will be back in action on Sunday. The weekend’s second race gets underway at 12:35 CEST and can be watched live on the GT World YouTube channel.
