+ Ginetta duo unstoppable on their way to Silver title
+ Prette claims historic third Masters crown with late move
+ Result: Race 2, Zandvoort
Two GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli titles were decided in the second race at Zandvoort, with Mikkel Njor and Ethan Gialdini claiming both a second win and the Silver crown, as Philippe Prette made history by storming to a third Masters championship.
Njor kept the #3 Ginetta in the top six during the pro driver stint before handing across to Gialdini, who produced a string of well-timed overtakes against the now largely Am field to move into a winning position. The pair’s double means they now cannot be caught in the Silver title race, securing the class crown with two races to spare.
Likewise, Prette produced the drive of a champion in Masters, leading throughout the first half before then overcoming his pit stop compensation time to pass Viktor Mraz’s RTR Projects KTM late on to seal a clean sweep of wins and with it a third Masters honour. The LP Racing Maserati man is the first driver in series history to celebrate three tiles.
The Pro-Am win should have gone to Mike Simpson and Lawrence Tomlinson, but the #62 Ginetta was penalised for using an external battery to restart the car, handing the result to Marius Aigner and Reinhard Kofler in their MZR KTM.
Titles decided in Zandvoort thriller
Gialdini and Njor completed a perfect weekend by taking a second successive overall win, a result that also sealed the Silver title for the CMR Ginetta duo.
The race began in exciting fashion with the first four cars vying for the lead through the opening sequence of corners. Pole-sitter Kofler held on to his advantage aboard the #119 MZR KTM, followed by his Pro-Am rivals Simpson (#62 CMR Ginetta) and Moritz Wiskirchen (#110 SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm Mercedes-AMG) and Silver leader Njor.
The difference between the leaders fluctuated during the early laps. Simpson initially cruised on to the rear of the KTM, but the gap subsequently stabilised at around a second. It seemed that it would remain this way until the pit stops, but with the race approaching half distance the Englishman swept around the outside of Kofler at T8 and quickly pulled clear of the KTM.
With compensation time to serve following yesterday's Pro-Am win, the #62 CMR Ginetta slipped to third during the pit cycle. The MZR KTM returned to the lead with Aigner now at the wheel, while the Dinamic Motorsport Maserati vaulted to second after Roberto Pampanini took over from the impressive Mauro Calamia.
Tomlinson soon made a move on Pampanini, cooly sliding up the inside of the Maserati at Tarzan, and set off in pursuit of Aigner. Meanwhile, the fastest car on the track was the #3 CMR Ginetta, which Gialdini had taken over from Njor. The Frenchman picked up where he left off yesterday by rapidly catching the leading trio of Pro-Am cars.
He made quick work of Pampanini, then squeezed between Aigner and Tomlinson to seize the overall lead. Tomlinson followed his team-mate through and looked set for another Pro-Am triumph, but the #62 Ginetta was placed under investigation for using an external battery during its pit stop.
While this was in question, Gialdini’s outright and Silver wins were not. The Frenchman crossed the line first to clinch the class title, though the order behind him changed due to a number of time penalties. Runner-up spot went to Prette (#1 LP Racing Maserati), who sealed his third successive Masters class title with a first overall podium of the year.
Prette led the opening phase but dropped behind his sole remaining title rival Mraz (#89 RTR Projects KTM) due to his pit stop compensation time. Having taken 18 class wins since the start of 2024, this is normal procedure for the LP Racing driver. Back on track he caught the KTM and made a pass with a little over five minutes to go. With penalties applied he was rewarded with an overall podium as well as his third successive title.
Mraz took third overall in the car he shares with Lennart Marioneck, followed by the Aigner/Kofler KTM. Fifth overall and second in Silver went to Stefan Rosina and Lorenzo Marcucci in the #88 LP Racing Audi, which had crossed the line in P2 but was penalised for a short pit stop. Then it was the Pampanini/Calamia Maserati and the penalised #62 CMR Ginetta, which nevertheless took a Pro-Am podium and reduced the deficit at the top of the standings.
The GT2 European Series returns to action for the season finale in Portimão over October 16-18.