+ Gialdini builds a gap for Njor to stroke it home
+ Simpson’s late charge seals Pro-Am victory and second overall
+ Prette moves closer to Masters title with another win
+ Result: Race 1, Zandvoort
Ethan Gialdini and Mikkel Njor took a lights-to-flag victory in Saturday's GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli race at Zandvoort to put one hand on the Silver class title, while the sister CMR Ginetta crew scored an impressive Pro-Am triumph.
The Ginetta stromed away from pole to lead every lap of the contest, with Gialdini building an early lead that Njor managed to the flag. A late charge from Mike Simpson helped make it a CMR one-two as he got the better of the LP Racing Audi on the final lap to snatch second. Philippe Prette claimed a fourth Masters win of the year in an untroubled race. Barring a spin on the way to the grid, Prette proved untouchable to put one hand on the class title.
Gialdini started the #3 car from pole and brushed aside an initial challenge from Stefan Rosina (#8 LP Racing Audi). The French driver then pulled clear of his class rival at the head of the order, while Philippe Prette settled into third aboard the #1 LP Racing Maserati.
The Gialdini-driven Ginetta would need to serve an additional 10 seconds in the pits following its victory last time out at Misano, while the #88 Audi would be stationary for an additional seven seconds. But any possibility of a position change was quickly dispelled as Gialdini pulled clear at the front of the pack. By the time the pit window opened he was more than seven seconds to the good.
As such, it was no surprise when Njor took the controls and returned to the track in the lead, with Lorenzo Marcucci now at the wheel of the #88 Audi in second spot. The Ginetta was not under any pressure during the second half of the race, with Njor disappearing into the distance to win by almost 22 seconds.
But there was plenty of action behind him. Pro-Am was close from the word go, with Lawrence Tomlinson (#62 CMR Ginetta) leading the opening stint from Thomas Yu Lee (#8 LP Racing Maserati). The American could not make a move on track, but the pit stops did the job for him as extra compensation time for the Ginetta handed the Maserati the lead.
Back on the circuit, however, Luca Pirri could not keep Ginetta ace Mike Simpson at bay. The Brit got a better run around the final corner and pulled alongside the Maserati on Zandvoort's long start/finish straight, completing a decisive move into Turn 1.
That was Pro-Am won – but Simpson now had an overall podium in his sights. He first passed Prette, who was running his own race on the way to a commanding Masters class win, then chased down Marcucci at a rapid rate.
Simpson made the pass for P2 overall with less than a minute left on the clock, ducking beneath the Audi at Hugenholtbocht and then pulling ahead around the following corner. It capped a fine performance from both Simpson and Tomlinson, who were rewarded with a second Pro-Am win of the season.
As such the final order was the twin CMR Ginettas followed by a trio of LP Racing entries. Prette claimed his fourth Masters win of the season in P4 overall, while the #8 Maserati was fifth and runner-up in Pro-Am. The Viktor Mraz/Lennart Marioneck RTR Projects KTM finished sixth and was Masters runner-up, while Jay-Mo Härtling gave SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm the final spot on the Pro-Am podium with a last-lap pass on fellow Mercedes-AMG driver Nil Montserrat.
The final race of the Zandvoort weekend is set for 09:30 on Sunday.