The first round of the new GT2 European Series got underway at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza with the first of the five scheduled races in this year’s calendar. CMR’s 488 Challenge Evo, crewed by the French pairing Alexis Berthet and Patrick Michellier, took to the track as a wildcard entry.
Race 1. It was perfect weather for the series opener which sprang into action with a string of multiple collisions, triggering the entrance of the Safety Car. The CMR-run Ferrari, with Berthet at the wheel, defended itself well in spite of conditions not ideally-suited to the Maranello car. After the driver swap, Michellier took charge of the 488 Challenge Evo and went on to eventually claim fourth place at the finish-line, ninth overall.
Race 2. Sun and lower temperatures than those recorded the previous day greeted the drivers for the start of the second race of the weekend. Michellier, at the wheel of CMR Ferrari, got off to a fine start although the driver was subsequently forced to relinquish the position in the early stages of the race. The driver change, some twenty minutes from the end, handed Berthet the task of bringing the 488 Challenge Evo home, crossing the finish-line in fourth position in Am class.
Next date. The second race weekend of the GT2 European Series is scheduled for 14-15 May at Hockenheim, on occasion of the debut of the GT Rebellion Series.