Weekend notebook: Triumphs in Germany, Austria and Portugal

In the NLS championship, Racing One’s Ferrari 296 GT3 took a class win in the opening race, while in race two it was forced to retire while in the lead. Spielberg, in the International GT Open, saw an overall win, accompanied by other class wins and numerous podiums. In the Ultimate Cup Series, at Estoril, the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 returned to victory in GT Endurance, while three class triumphs were recorded in the three GT Sprint races. Fine performances also in the DTM at the Sachsenring.

NLS. Victory in the SP9 Pro Am class for the number 19 Racing One-run Ferrari 296 GT3 in the 63rd edition of the ADAC ACAS Cup held on Saturday, 9 September at 12 Hours of Nürburgring, part of the Nürburgring Endurance Series. Christian Kohlhaas, Stefan Aust, Jacob Schell and Luca Ludwig also finished sixth place overall, after starting from pole position thanks to the best qualifying time. The second race of the weekend – the 62nd ADAC Reinoldus-Langstreckenrennen – however, proved an unlucky one for the number 19, which after starting from third position, was forced to withdraw while in the lead after contact with another car.

The next round of the NLS championship is scheduled for 23 September with the 55th edition of the ADAC Reinoldus-Langstreckenrennen.

International GT Open. Positive results for the Ferraris in the fifth round of the International GT Open contested this weekend at the Spielberg circuit in Austria. Race-1 saw victory in the Am class for Team Baron Motorsport’s number 91 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 with Philipp Baron and Ernst Kirchmayr. Runner-up spot in the Pro Am class went to Nicolò Rosi and Niccolò Schirò in the Kessel Racing-managed number 38 Ferrari 296 GT3, which placed ahead of AF Corse’s number 27 sister car, driven by Marco Pulcini and Eddie Cheever III. The identical result followed in Race-2 with the overall victory for Riccardo Agostini and Nicola Marinangeli in AF Corse’s number 51 Ferrari 296 GT3. In the Am category, second place went to the AF Corse-run number 25 Ferrari 296 GT3 with Alessandro Cozzi and Giorgio Sernagiotto crossing the line ahead of AF Corse’s number 88 488 GT3 Evo 2020 with Gino Forgione and Andrea Montermini.

With two rounds to go before the end of the championship (the penultimate round is at Monza on 24 September), it is still anyone’s game in the Pro Am standings, commanded for the time-being by Cheever III-Pulcini on 54 points compared to the 45 points of Schirò-Rosi. In the Am class, Baron-Kirchmayr hold second place, seven points behind the leaders.

DTM. Fifth place for Thierry Vermeulen in Emil Frey Racing’s Ferrari 296 GT3 was the best result for the Maranello manufacturer in the sixth round of the DTM staged on the German Sachsenring track. The young driver claimed one of the podium places in Race-2, after starting from fourth position. His teammate Jack Aitken performed better in qualifying, setting the second best time, but ended the race in 21st place. In Race-1, meanwhile, the British driver was forced to retire due to a punctured radiator suffered during a collision. Vermeulen finished tenth in the first race, after qualifying with the sixth fastest time.

The next round of the championship – the penultimate of the season – is scheduled for 27-29 September at Spielberg in Austria.

Ultimate Cup Series. Visiom’s number one 488 GT3 Evo 2020 was back to winning ways after taking top honours in the rain-soaked fourth round of the Ultimate Cup Series at Estoril in the 4-hour GT Endurance race. After taking pole Jean Bernard Bouvet, Jean-Paul Pagny and David Hallyday were able to manage the race lead, with a masterly reading of the constantly changing weather conditions. After 117 laps and an error-free race, the trio of the number 1 Ferrari took their third win of the season, consolidating their leading position in both the overall and UGT3A standings.

In GT Sprint, in the UGT3B class, the number 73 Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo belonging to CMR with Patrick Michellier won Race-1, while the number 33 Ferrari 488 Challenge EVO of SR&R, crewed by Edoardo Barbolini and Francesco Atzori, triumphed in Race-2 and 3, confirming their leadership in the standings with a comfortable lead.

The championship is set to continue from 27-29 September with the leg at Magny-Cours, France.

Italian Hill Climb Championship. The weekend of the 68th “Coppa Nissena”, the race organised by the Automobile Club Caltanissetta, saw the Prancing Horse claim its first two titles of the season. Lucio Peruggini secured them at the wheel of the Ferrari 488 Challenge EVO, taking second place in the 12th round of the Italian Championship to be crowned overall champion in the drivers’ standings in the GT group and the GT Supercup category class.