With the return of grey weather and temperatures dropping almost 15 degrees in 24 hours, Spa offered a typical … Spa Race 1, with rain inviting itself during the driver change window while the race was under safety-car following a big crash of Chris van der Drift (BhaiTech McLaren) at the Raidillon.
Lorenzo Bontempelli and Marco Frezza (who was making his return to the series) made the best use of the situation clinching a superb win with their Kessel Racing Ferrari F458, which re-opens completely the GTS title fight and was the best present for the team’s sporting director Tiziana Borghi, injured together with other team members, in a road racing when leaving the track yesterday evening.
Another GTS car, the Autorlando Porsche of Isaac Tutumlu-Dimitris Deverikos came in second ahead of the V8 Racing Corvette of Nicky Pastorelli-Miguel Ramos, who benefitted of the 1-lap penalty imposed to the Villorba Ferrari of Montermini-Rigon, who had dominated the first stint, and the BhaiTech McLaren of Pantano-Suzuki for doing the driver change under safety-car. Local heroes Enzo Ide-Maxime Soulet (GPR Aston Martin) took third in GTS.
At the start, with almost dry conditions, Montermini keeps the advantage of the pole ahead of Ramos and Talkanitsa, with Seefried going wide at La Source and the usual confusion at the back of the group. The phase will be fatal for the Ferrari of Maleev, while there is also a contact between Razia and Hamprecht and the Ferrari ombra of costantini is sent into a spin.
The situation stabilizes with Montermini ahead of Ramos in the same second, then Pantano, Lyons, Seefried, Frezza and Talkanitsa, followed by Razia, Ide,Cameron, Tutumlu and Rosell who goes out of track at Blanchimont on lap 6.
The driver change window opens with Ramos coming in, while there is a drive-through for Costantini and Kremer, and Seefried stops with a damage on his Porsche. Light rain appears and surprises Abresch, who is off at Combes, and Van Der Drift, who had just taken the wheel from Razia. The New-Zealander loses the car at the Raidillon hitting heavily but he is ok. This prompts the safety-car out for four laps, while some cars take a bet and stop to put rain tires, which shortly after become mandatory as the rain is heavier and heavier.
Bontempelli, who was the first one to put on the wets, is in the lead ahead of Deverikos, while Pastorelli will take third when Rigon and Suzuki get penalized with one lap for having done the driver change under safety-car and Soulet takes third in GTS. Alexander Talkanitsa sr and Johnny Laursen took new wins in the Gentlemen’s Trophy.
