Weekend notebook: first podium for the Ferrari 296 GT3 in the GT WC Europe

The GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, at the Misano circuit, saw the first podium in the championship for a Ferrari 296 GT3. The red racers were also competitive in the ELMS and Le Mans Cup championships on the Le Castellet track. In Japan, in the GT World Challenge Asia, satisfaction in the GT3 Am class.

GT World Challenge Europe. In the second round of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, contested at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, the Ferrari 296 GT3 registered its maiden podium finish in the championship. The feat was achieved by the number 14 Emil Frey Racing-run entry with Giacomo Altoè and Konsta Lappalainen who secured second place overall in Race-1 in a 42-car line-up. Teammates Albert Costa and Thierry Vermeulen in the number 69 crossed the line fifth. In the Silver Cup, sixth place went to the number 71 Ferrari 296 GT3 driven by Sean Hudspeth and Nicola Marinangeli, while the number 52, also fielded by the team from Piacenza, with Andrea Bertolini and Louis Machiels, claimed tenth in the Bronze class.

In Race-2 Costa and Vermeulen posted fifth overall ahead of teammates Altoè and Lappalainen. In the Silver Cup Hudspeth and Marinangeli improved on the first race, taking the chequered flag in fifth place, while Bertolini and Machiels’ number 52 earned seventh among the Bronze drivers.

The next Sprint Cup commitment will be held at Hockenheim for round seven from 2 to 3 September, while the fourth round of the Endurance Cup will be held at the Nürburgring track from 29 to 30 July.

ELMS. In the 4 Hours of Le Castellet, the second round of the European Le Mans Series championship, the best-placed of the five Ferrari 488 GTE entries was the fourth spot of the Kessel Racing crew number 57 with Takeshi Kimura, Gregory Huffaker II and Frederik Schandorff. The Swiss crew had actually crossed the line in third place in the LMGTE class, but a post-race penalty imposed by the stewards for contact with the number 16 car dropped the trio to fourth, ahead of Spirit of Race’s number 55 Ferrari 488 GTE with Matt Griffin, David Perel and Duncan Cameron. Sixth was the number 66 car of JMW Motorsport with drivers Martin Berry, Lorcan Hanafin and Jon Lancaster. Eighth place went to the number 50 Formula Racing car featuring the trio of Johnny and Conrad Laursen and Ferrari official driver Nicklas Nielsen, who were held up after having to serve a drive-through and repair the damage caused by contact with an adversary whilst battling for the top positions. Eleventh was the number 51 AF Corse car with Kriton Lendoudis, Rui Aguas and Ulysse De Pauw.

The ELMS championship returns on the track for the third round of the season with the 4 Hours of Aragón on 25-26 August.

Le Mans Cup. Round three at Le Castellet with its usual format of a single 110-minute race. Among the GT3 entries, the AF Corse-run number 51 Ferrari 296 GT3 took fourth, with Hiroshi Koizumi and Kei Cozzolino managing to gain two positions after starting from sixth spot on the grid. The second car of the Piacenza-based team, the number 83 of Emmanuel Collard and Charles-Henri Samani, finished sixth, after an accident at the start involving two other cars: the crash prompted a Safety Car entrance and later saw the two drivers penalised for causing the collisions.

The fourth round of the Le Mans Cup is scheduled for 25 August at Aragón

GT World Challenge Asia. The third leg of the GT World Challenge Asia, held at the Suzuka International Circuit, ended with a double podium in the GT3 Am class for the number 7 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 belonging to the Comet Racing team. After finishing third in their class in Race-1, Yusuke Yamasaki and Yorikatsu Tsujiko improved in the second race, climbing onto the second place on the podium. The Maezawa Racing team’s number 555 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 with Piti Bhirombhakdi and Naoki Yokomizo finished sixth in Race-1 and twelfth in Race-2. The third Maranell-manufacturer entry, the number 60 of LMcorsa with Kei Nakanishi and Shigekazu Wakisaka finished twenty-fourth and twenty-second in the two races.

In the special Japan Cup standings, among the GT3 Overall, Takeshi Kimura and Kei Cozzolino now find themselves back in fourth place with 30 points, 28 points behind the leaders. In sixth place, on 26 points, are the two Comet Racing drivers, Yamasaki and Tsujiko, who also occupy the top spot, on 100 points, in the GT3 Am standings.

The fourth round of the GT World Challenge Asia championship is scheduled for 21-23 July at the Motegi circuit.