Ferrari scored a double-win in the final round of the GT World Challenge Endurance Cup held today in Barcelona. The 296 GT3s of AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors achieved their best season result in the SRO series, with Rovera-Nielsen-Shwartzman taking first place and Fuoco-Rigon-Serra second. However, this wasn’t the only joy for the Prancing Horse on the Catalan circuit. In the Pro-Am class, the trio of Tutumlu Lopez-Tan-Hanafin took first place for ST Racing with Rinaldi, while in the Silver Cup, AF Corse finished third with Franco-Sbirrazzuoli-Wadoux.
Pro. The race was punctuated by the entry of no less than five Safety Cars, that followed an equal number of Full-Course Yellows, the first of which wiped out the 11-second-plus advantage accumulated by the two Ferraris driven by Rovera and Serra after powering into the race lead with a brilliant start. After entering the pit lane first and second at the first driver change, the 296 GT3s driven by Shwartzman and Rigon had to contend with Mercedes numbers 777 and 88. A longer Full Course Yellow because of oil on the last part of the track just under an hour from the chequered flag re-compacted the group before the final confrontation kicked off, with 19 minutes left after a further Safety Car. Behind provisional leader Stolz, who in the meantime received a five-second penalty to add to his overall race time due to a collision in the early stages, Nielsen and Fuoco, who had taken over from their teammates, took no unnecessary risks in managing their lead over the Mercedes driver, crossing the finish line in first and second overall.
Other classes. Ferrari also enjoyed a successful Sunday in the Pro-Am class, where Isaac Tutumlu Lopez, Samantha Tan and Lorcan Hanafin climbed the top step of the podium with the 296 GT3 of ST Racing with Rinaldi after spending the entire race among the front runners. The AF Corse 296 GT3 of Manny Franco, Cedric Sbirrazzuoli and Lilou Wadoux, also achieved an excellent podium finish, with the latter grabbing third place overall in her stint. However, the AF Corse crew of Louis and Jef Machiels and Andrea Bertolini in the Bronze Cup ended the day in ninth, with the Italian as high as third during his stint.