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The next race in the GT World Challenge European Endurance Cup is the Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours on the last weekend of June. The Classic, held at Belgium’s Ardennes roller coaster circuit, celebrates his 100th anniversary this year.
Rutronik Racing finished the first round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS in fifth place as the best Porsche customer team. During the three-hour race at the Paul Ricard circuit, Switzerland’s Patrick Niederhauser and two former Porsche Juniors, France’s Julien Andlauer and Germany’s Sven Muller, rise from 13th on the grid to fourth place. did. However, just before the finish line, on the final lap, he was narrowly defeated by his rival. Three drivers, Klaus Bachler (Austria), Alex Malihin (Great Britain) and Joel Sturm (Germany), also drove Pure Racing 911s, starting in 16th place and finishing in 8th place. , won 8th place.
However, two former Porsche juniors Ayhancan Güven (Turkey) and Laurin Heinrich (Germany) were unlucky. Together with French teammate Dorian Bocolacci, they raced from second on the grid on the 5.771km Grand Prix circuit in the Mediterranean Sea. There were accidents such as not meeting the minimum refueling time during the first pit stop, and three drive-through penalties were imposed. However, from far down the 55-strong line-up, three Schumacher CLRT drivers battled it out for 14th place.
As the best non-professional car of the eight Porsche 911 GT3 R that started at Le Castellet, the two Germans Robert Renauer and Ralf Born and their Dutch teammate Morris Schuling took 28th overall and bronze. They achieved a result equivalent to 7th place in the Cup.
Famous GT3 racing series with the Spa 24 Hours as the highlight of the season
Fanatac GT Word Challenge Europe powered by AWA is one of the most important GT3 race series in the world. In 2024, nine manufacturers will participate in the championship. There will be a total of 10 races this year, split evenly between Sprint Cup and Endurance Cup. He has 55 of his GT3 cars entered in the long-distance category, and organizers expect additional guest drivers to appear in selected races. This is especially true for the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. The second round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, to be held from June 26th to 30th, is considered the highlight of the season. This traditional race from Belgium’s Ardennes region will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2024. After Spa, the endurance calendar includes two more rounds on European soil: the Nürburgring (July 26-28) and Monza (September 20-22), before the series moves on to racing offshore. and depart. The final episode will be held from November 21st to 23rd in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“With over 50 cars on the grid, Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe is the most popular GT3 racing series in the world,” explains Sebastian Golz, Porsche GT3 R Project Manager. “Almost all the big-name manufacturers are taking part in this championship, and the battle for position in the opening round highlights the competitive nature of this series. The GT World Challenge is designed to compete directly with competitors, with Porsche 911 GT3 R We will provide the perfect stage to showcase your performance.”
Organizer SRO Motorsport Group offers four classes at GT World Challenge Europe: Pro, Gold Cup, Silver Cup and Bronze Cup. In addition to the overall professional ranking, teams can enter in any of his three remaining categories based on his official FIA driver classification. For example, a combination of one “Silver” ranking and two “Gold” rankings can register for the Gold Cup, but also a trio of one “Bronze” and “Silver” driver and one “Gold” or “Platinum” driver. Eligible to register for the Gold Cup. Participate in the Bronze Cup. For the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, a team can designate a fourth driver for each of his GT3 racing cars.
8 Porsche 911 GT3 R registered in Endurance Cup
Six Porsche customer teams have registered to compete in the entire 2024 season of the GT World Challenge European Endurance Cup with a total of eight 911 GT3 R race cars. Lutronik Racing will compete in the Bronze Cup with the 911 GT3 R, along with American Dustin Blattner, Germany’s Dennis Marshall and Dutchman Rok Hartog. In the Pro category, the second blue and yellow 911 will be shared by Patrick Niederhauser and former Porsche juniors Sven Müller (2014-2016) and Julian Andlauer (2018-2019). Dinami GT will also compete with two 911 GT3 R cars. In the Bronze Cup he will face Philipp Sager (Austria), last year’s Porsche DTM drivers Marvin Dienst (Germany) and Guilherme Moura de Oliveira (Portugal), and in the Silver Cup he will face Austria’s Christopher. Germany’s Jop Rappange’s Säkling and Norway’s Marius Nakken.
The newcomer Lionspeed GP has so far registered one driver for the entire season, last year’s Porsche Junior and 2023 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup champion Bastian Buus from Denmark. Two of his former Porsche juniors, Ayhan Kanguven and Laurin Heinrich, will join forces with last year’s Porsche Carrera Cup France winner Dorian Boccolacci to tackle the entire Endurance Cup season. The Frenchman won the Porsche Carrera Cup in his home country last year. The three will be competing in the professional category with the Schumacher CLRT Team, which will also be taking on the GT World Challenge Europe for the first time.
Pure Rxcing is also campaigning a Porsche 911 GT3 R in the Pro category in all rounds of the 2024 Endurance Cup with drivers Alex Malihin, Joel Sturm and former Porsche junior Klaus Bachler. At the same time, the team and its drivers will team up with Manthey Racing to compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Herbert Motorsport will take on the Bronze Cup of the GT World Challenge European Endurance Cup with Ralf Born, Robert Renauer and Morris Schuling.
Comments on the race at Le Castellet
Julian Andlauer (Lutronich Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 R #96): “As a team, we stood out today with a good strategy and our pitstops were also absolutely perfect. This makes up for a lot as we didn’t have arguably the fastest 911 GT3 R in the field today. It meant we could do it. We were slightly off the pace in terms of performance this weekend. We will now consider this closely and, if possible, prepare for the prologue of the 24 Hours of Spa at the end of May and the final one in June. We have to find a solution before the weekend’s race. I gave my best today and I’m happy to finish in the top five.”
Morris Schuling (Herbert Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91): “If it weren’t for the 30 second time penalty for ignoring the track limits, we could have achieved a Bronze Cup podium with Porsche. We would therefore start the season in just 7th place in this ranking. These points are important for winning the championship. We are making the most of the situation and are already preparing for the Spa 24 Hours.”
result:
1. Farfus/Harper/Hesse (BR/UK/D), BMW M4 GT3 #998, 85 laps
2. Calderelli/Cairoli/Bortolotti (I/I/I), Lamborghini Huracan GT3 #63, +13.519 seconds
3. Stolz/Schiller/Gnon (D/D/F), Mercedes-AMG GT3 #2, +18.696 seconds.
5. Andlauer/Niederhauser/Müller (F/CH/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #96, +29.325 seconds.
8. Bachlar/Marihin/Sturm (A/UK/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #911, +41.609 seconds.
14. Güven/Heinrich/Boccolacci (TR/D/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R #22, +1.16.048 min
28. (7. BC) Born/Schuring/Renauer (D/NL/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #91, +1 lap
30. (9. BC) Spengler/Kolb/Bues (D/D/DK).Porsche 911 GT3 R #13, +1 lap
31. (10. BC) Marshall/Hartogg/Blattner (D/Netherlands/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #97, +1 lap
35. (12. BC) Sager/Moura de Oliveira/Dienst (A/P/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #54, +1 lap
42. (7. SC) Lappanger/Nakken/Sekling (D/N/A), Porsche 911 GT3 R #55, +1 lap
Pro = professional class. SC = Silver Cup; BC = Bronze Cup
Full results: www.gt-world-challenge-europe.com/results
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