Sky Tempesta Racing second in Pro-Am at 3 Hours of Nürburgring

The Sky Tempesta Racing 488 GT3 Evo 2020 finished runner-up in the Pro-Am class after a difficult 3 Hours of Nürburgring for the Prancing Horse cars, as witnessed by the #51 Iron Lynx crew’s seventh place in the Pro class.

Hour 1. The first hour saw the Iron Lynx Ferraris of Nielsen and Ilott in eighth and ninth position, separated by a few tenths and in each other’s slipstream, while Mastronardi led the Pro-Am class. There were few twists and turns, aside from one involving Benjamin Hites, who had performed well in the Silver Cup up to that point. The Chilean tried to take advantage of a mistake by Born’s Mercedes, mounting a very decisive attack on the German car and crashing into it. The contact punctured his rear left tyre, which the Rinaldi Racing mechanics repaired, together with some of the rear bodywork.

Hour 2. Mastronardi lost the Pro-Am class lead in the first hour after strenuously fending off Baumann’s attacks, just before handing over to Jonathan Hui. It was also time for changes in the other categories, with Nielsen giving the wheel to Ledogar in the Pro class while Ilott made way to Rovera a lap later. Without finding the necessary pace to challenge the leaders, the Iron Lynx Ferraris engaged in a duel lasting almost two hours with the #32 Audi WRT crew, who went on to secure the overall win. With the German car sandwiched between the two Ferraris, Rovera attacked Weerts, managing to pass the Belgian. Bertolini moved up to fifth in the Pro-Am, just behind Hui, while Zollo and Griffin occupied tenth and eleventh, respectively.

Hour 3. After the final driver changes, things became very lively but not always positive for the Prancing Horse cars. With Pier Guidi and Fuoco at the wheel, the two Iron Lynx 488 GT3 Evo 2020s had to contend with Dries Vanthoor, who had meanwhile managed to pull ahead of the #71 Ferrari after the latter’s problematic pitstop. With 41 laps to go, a Full Course Yellow allowed Fuoco to pit and refuel. The Safety Car compacted the group with 33 minutes left on the clock. Chris Froggatt took advantage of these episodes to bring the Sky Tempesta Racing Ferrari back into the podium positions, while Machiels slipped to sixth. With a compact group, lapping played a decisive role, with Kohmann’s Kessel Racing Ferrari failing to cooperate with Pier Guidi, who gave way to Vanthoor. A few minutes later, Fuoco’s car spun on a kerb at the Michael Schumacher “S” and crashed into the barriers, making it back to the pits but finishing the race prematurely. This episode and the almost simultaneous exit of Jaminet’s Porsche at the same point provoked a new Full Course Yellow and Safety Car outing. With twelve minutes to go, the Pro-Am and Silver class standings saw their respective leaders struggling with problems, allowing Froggatt’s Ferrari to cross the line in second, just a few tenths behind the winners. Alessandro Pier Guidi ended the race in seventh place in the Pro class, securing crucial points for the Endurance Cup that the Ferrari crew leads on 77 points. Chris Froggatt tops the standings on 88 points. The other Ferraris finished off the podium. In the Silver Cup, Rinaldi Racing closed in twelfth, while in the Pro-Am, the #52 AF Corse Ferrari closed in eighth, the Kessel Racing car tenth and the Piacenza-based team’s second car, #53, eleventh.