Weekend notebook: titles at Monza and Portimão

Ferrari celebrated success in the final rounds of the Le Mans Cup and GT Cup Open. At Portimão, Matthew Kurzejewski and Alessandro Balzan secured the Le Mans Cup title in AF Corse’s Ferrari 296 GT3 number 51, while at Monza, Iván Velasco and Luca Ludwig were crowned GT Cup Open Pro-Am champions in the MERTEL Motorsport Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo number 80.

Le Mans Cup. Matthew Kurzejewski and Alessandro Balzan, in the AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 number 51 at Portimão, celebrated the drivers’ and team titles they had already sealed at the Mugello round with their fourth win of the season. Starting from pole position, the US pair briefly lost the lead, only to regain it with 10 minutes remaining, thanks to Balzan’s decisive overtaking move. AF Corse’s number 88, driven by Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini, took second place, while Frédéric Jousset and David Fumanelli finished third in Kessel Racing’s number 12. The latter started from the back of the group but ahead of the Swiss team’s sister car, the number 74, crewed by Andrew Gilbert and Fran Rueda Mateos, thus completing Ferrari’s domination of the series. Biogas Motorsport’s number 23, with Spaniards Josep Mayola Comadira and Marc Carol Ybarra at the steering wheel, had a tougher race and finished in ninth place.

GT Cup Open. Iván Velasco and Luca Ludwig won Race-2 and took seventh place in the first race at the Monza circuit, the season’s last event, to become 2024 GT Cup Europe champions in MERTEL Motorsport’s Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo number 80. This was the Spaniard’s second consecutive Pro-Am title, while the German driver split his time between engagements at the Brianza circuit and the Finali Mondiali Ferrari at the Autodromo di Imola.

ELMS. Ferrari’s season in the championship ended off the podium in a 4 Hours of Portimão race decided on the final lap. Fourth place went to Formula Racing’s 296 LMGT3 number 50, driven by Conrad and Johnny Laursen. Behind them were official driver Daniel Serra, Takeshi Kimura, and Esteban Masson in Kessel Racing’s car number 57, which was delayed by issues at the start. With this result, the three drivers finished as series runners-up. Next came GR Racing’s number 86, driven by Davide Rigon, Michael Wainwright, and Riccardo Pera, followed by Spirit of Race’s number 55 with Duncan Cameron, David Perel, and Matt Griffin. JMW Motorsport’s number 66, driven by Scott Noble, Jason Hart, and Ben Tuck, also finished in the top 10, while AF Corse’s number 51, with Charles-Henri Samani, Emmanuel Collard, and Nicolas Varrone, did not start.

International GT Open. The GT Open 500 at Monza, a single endurance race, wrapped up the International GT Open championship. The race concluded with Spirit of Race’s Ferrari 296 GT3 number 51, driven by Nicola Marinangeli and Vincent Abril, in fourth place overall. They ended the season in third place in the overall standings. In the Pro-Am class, Marcelo Hahn and Allam Khodair won in the AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 number 16, finishing fourth in the final class standings. In the Am category, Olimp Racing’s number 5, driven by Stanislaw Jedlinski and Krystian Korzeniowski, secured second place. Marco Pulcini clinched the Pro-Am championship in the previous round at Barcelona, driving the Spirit of Race team’s Ferrari 296 GT3 number 27.

DTM. Emil Frey Racing’s Ferrari 296 GT3s were unlucky on the track in the final round of the DTM championship at the Hockenheim circuit. In Race-1, Jack Aitken, driving the number 14 car, set off from fifth position but had to retire because of technical issues, while Thierry Vermeulen finished 13th after starting from 17th place. In the second and final race of the weekend, both Ferraris began from the fifth row but could not make significant progress during the race, with Vermeulen finishing 11th and Aitken 16th. The British driver ended the season in eighth place in the overall standings with 128 points, while the Dutchman finished 15th with 71.

ADAC GT Masters. The ADAC GT Masters season at Hockenheim concluded alongside the DTM, with a single Ferrari 296 GT3 again driven by Emil Frey Racing. Starting from ninth position in Race-1, car number 14, crewed by Jean-Luc D’Auria and Alain Valente, was eighth to cross the line. Valente secured an impressive pole position in Race-2, where the Swiss pairing’s 296 GT3 claimed its second podium finish of the season with a third-place result. D’Auria and Valente finished fifth in the standings with 128 points.

Super GT. The seventh round of the Japanese Super GT season, held at the Autopolis circuit, began promisingly for Ferrari, with Roberto Merhi taking pole position in Team LeMans’ 296 GT3. However, the race was less rewarding for the Spanish driver and his teammate Yoshiaki Katayama, as they finished in eighth place. The weekend proved more challenging for the other Ferrari, fielded by Ponos Racing and driven by official driver Lilou Wadoux and Kei Cozzolino. Starting from 17th, they ended the race in 24th.

GT WC Australia. Sydney Motorsport Park hosted the penultimate round of the GT World Challenge Australia season, contested in the form of a three-hour endurance race. Strong contenders throughout the season, Arise Racing GT’s two Ferrari 296 GT3s started from fourth and sixth positions in the race, which began at 6.45 p.m. local time and concluded in darkness at 9.45 p.m. After three hours and several Safety Car interventions, the number 1 car, driven by Liam Talbot and Chaz Mostert, crossed the line in second place, while the number 8 sister car, with Elliott Schutte and Jaxon Evans, came fourth. Talbot and Mostert remain at the top of the championship standings ahead of the season’s final round from 18 to 20 November at Bathurst.