- Beaubelique/Badey claim second Akkodis ASP Mercedes-AMG Pro-Am win
- LP Racing Maserati GT2 earns podium on global debut
- Krabec dominates with sixth win to sit eight points ahead
- Four-way Pro-Am title fight goes down to final race in France
Akkodis ASP Team’s Jean-Luc Beaubelique and Ludovic Badey came through the penultimate race of the Fanatec GT2 European Series season with a second win of the season for the #87 Mercedes-AMG GT2.
Although the duo take the 25 points for the outright and Pro-Am win, it was the MZR KTM of Reinhard Kofler and Martin Koch that took the chequered flag first. A 10-second time penalty for causing a collision applied post-race, however, dropped the #812 down to third.
Second place went to Leonardo Gorini and Luca Pirri in the LP Racing Maserati, after the duo claimed pole position for the new model on its global racing debut.
Taking place under sunny skies in the south of France, the first of two 50-minute races did little to shake up or decide the intense Pro-Am title fight.
Class leaders heading into this weekend’s #TitleDecider, LP Racing's Henry Hassid and Anthony Beltoise finished fifth to extend their advantage to just seven points over PK Carsport’s Peter Guelinckx and Stienes Longin. That third place for Kofler leapfrogs the Austrian up to third to sit 14 points adrift of the leaders, while True Racing’s Stefan Rosina sits fourth one point further back.
The Am title fight will also roll on to the final race of the season despite Krabec’s dominant win. The RTR Projects ace now lies eight points ahead of True Racing’s Klaus Angerhofer and Sehdi Sarmini.
Mercedes-AMG for the win as new Maserati GT2 also stars
It was the new Maserati GT2 in the hands of Leonardo Gorini that led the field away from pole position for the penultimate showdown of the season on Sunday morning. Pulling clear of second-place Hassid, Gorini pushed to pull out a comfortable advantage and steer clear of the intense battles playing out up and down the field behind him.
With the first lap complete, it was the Maserati from Hassid’s #67 Audi while Martin Koch, who started in the MZR entry, was already up to P3 from fourth on the grid. That triggered a ding-dong battle with the #87 Mercedes-AMG which rolled on for several laps before Beaubelique could find a way through and then duly pushed on to take Hassid for second.
As Gilles Vannelet, replacing Nicolas Saelens after yesterday’s accident in the #15 True Racing KTM, closed on the squabbling trio, a four-way battle for second soon unfolded and Kofler moved up one more spot to third ahead of the pit stop window.
Pitstops complete, the drama really began to unfold, with title contenders PK Carsport immediately picking up a 10s penalty for causing a collision with the #16 Am KTM, doing nothing to advance either crew's championship chances.
Back at the front, Kofler – now in the #812 – was giving his all to slice the lead Maserati’s advantage, which in turn allowed the #87 to hone in. With seven minutes remaining, a moment from Pirri - now in charge of the #12 – was all the invitation the MZR KTM needed to slip through and the Mercedes-AMG followed suit.
Pirri, however, comfortably held to claim an historic first podium on the Trident’s return to GT racing.
Krabec delivered a textbook drive from pole to flag to take win number six. His strong early race pace saw the #89 KTM run as high as sixth overall among the Pro-Am runners, which gave the RTR Projects driver a healthy buffer to the next Am finisher.
Series newcomers, NM Racing’s Stéphane Perrin and Jakub Knoll notched up a second-place class finish on the #888 Mercedes-AMG's race debut, ahead of the Angerhofer/Sarmini True Racing KTM. With new entrants to the final round ineligible to score, the #16 picked up those 18 points while Ebimotors’ Mantas Janavicius and Aurelijus Rusteika took the 15 points for third.
Both class title fights now go down to the wire and the final Fanatec GT2 European Series race of the season, scheduled for 16:30 CEST this afternoon. Watch the title battles unfold live via GTWorld on YouTube.