The second race of the Blancpain GT World Challenge weekend at the Nürburgring yielded a second win of the season for the 488 GT3 of AF Corse, crewed by Andrea Bertolini and Louis Machiels, in the Pro-Am class. In the Am Cup, Florian Scholze and Wolfgang Triller triumphed at the wheel of the 488 GT3 of HB Racing, ahead of the twin car of Kessel Racing driven by Stephen Earle and Rory Penttinen.
Uphill start. After his splendid Race-1 win, David Perel put in an excellent performance in qualifying to start from the fifth row. The Rinaldi Racing driver had hoped to pull off a one-two that would have given him and his partner Rinat Salikhov the lead in the class standings, but that goal vanished early on when the South African was involved in a contact that sent him off the track, damaging the car. Perel managed to resume the race and then hand over the 488 GT3 to Salikhov, but his chances of fighting for the podium were compromised. The other stars of the Pro-Am took advantage of the episode, especially Pla, at the wheel of the Mercedes of AKKA ASP, closely followed by Andrea Bertolini, in the Ferrari of AF Corse.
Intense clash. The obligatory pit-stop proved decisive for the outcome of the race. The men of the Italian team made a perfect stop and Louis Machiels, who had meanwhile taken over from Bertolini, led the race ahead of the leader of the provisional classification, Hamaguchi. The two embarked on a struggle with the lead alternating before the Belgian Ferrari driver finally defeated the Japanese in the Lamborghini. Machiels crossed the line victorious, half a second in front of his rival.
HB Racing encore. In the Am Cup, the challenge between the two Ferraris of HB Racing and Kessel Racing ended in favour of the former, thus balancing accounts with the Swiss crew after their win in Race-1. It was a deserved victory for Wolfgang Triller and Florian Scholze that further enriches this season’s winning sequence in the class.
Final Act. The Blancpain GT World Challenge is back on track again next weekend, for the final round the series at the Hungaroring, the one in which the titles at stake will be won and lost.