The Visiom team, with Jean-Paul Pagny and Jean-Bernard Bouvet, accompanied by David Hallyday, retained the Endurance Cup of the Ultimate Cup Series with one round to go after finishing second at Magny Cours. The Ferraris competing in the last round of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup season finished the Barcelona race with several strong placings.
Ultimate Cup European Series. In the penultimate round of the championship at Magny Cours, the defending champions from Visiom successfully retained their 2023 Endurance Cup title. With their second-place finish in the four-hour race, Jean Paul Pagny and Jean Bernard Bouvet, accompanied by David Hallyday in the Ferrari 488 Evo 2020, number 1, competing in the UCS1 class, kept hold of their crown.
The series’ final round will be held over the weekend of 9-10 November at Le Castellet in the south of France.
Pending final update of rankings by the championship.
In the Sprint Cup, SR&R’s 488 Challenge Evo number 353, driven by Lyle Schonfield and Laurenço Monteiro and competing in the UCS3 class, secured fifth place overall in both races. Meanwhile, OMR’s number 73, with Patrick Michellier at the wheel, ended the weekend with three sixth-place finishes and one seventh-place finish overall. The final round of the Sprint Cup will also take place at Le Castellet.
GT World Challenge Europe. Ferrari’s performance in the last championship round at the Barcelona circuit featured several top-ten placings across various classes. In the Pro class, Emil Frey Racing’s Ferrari 296 GT3, number 14, driven by Ben Green and Konsta Lappalainen, arrived with title hopes. They took fourth place in the first race, held in heavy rain, but finished twelfth in Race-2. Thierry Vermeulen and Giacomo Altoè, in the sister car number 69, finished tenth in Race-1 but made a strong comeback in the second race to secure sixth place. With these results, the Swiss team claimed third place in the overall team standings.
Eliseo Donno and Thomas Fleming, driving the number 71 AF Corse 296 GT3 in the Silver class, closed the season in fourth place in the drivers’ standings thanks to two determined performances, securing fourth and seventh places in class. They finished ahead of their teammates, Sean Hudspeth and Jef Machiels in the sister car, number 52, who came sixth in both races. The Piacenza-based team concluded the season in third place in the team rankings.
Jonathan Hui and Eddie Cheever, in Sky Tempesta’s Ferrari 296 GT3, car number 93, were unable to compete for the title. They finished seventh in the first Bronze Class race, held in the rain, and fourth in Race-2. The two drivers and the team ended the season in fourth place in their respective standings.