No.51 Ferrari win Race 1 in GTWC EU at Brands Hatch

Credit: SRO/JEP

The No.51 Ferrari of Vincent Abril and Alessio Rovera have won race one of the the opening round of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup at Brands Hatch, with four Ferraris in the top five.

The opening Sprint Cup round of the GT World Challenge Europe (GTWC EU) got underway this morning at the Brands Hatch circuit. The No.69 Gold Cup Verstappen.com Ferrari led away from the overall pole position.

The No.69 led away from the No.51 AF Corse Ferrari, at the rest of the pack battled for position on the opening lap. The No.59 McLaren got past the second placed Ferrari, chasing after Vermeulen in the No.69, but the Verstappen.com backed car pulled out a gap of a second in just the first lap.

Early on the top six cars consisted of four Ferraris and two McLarens, Ferraris running first, third, fourth and fifth.

The first set of drivers began to settle into the race, with some battles brewing down the pack. However, cars found it difficult to overtake on this circuit, with many of the overtakes more likely to come during the 10 minute pit window.

The pit window opened with 35 minutes to go, with the No.69 and No.59 in from first and second at the first opportunity. They stayed in the same order, with Lulham and Goethe at the wheel of the Ferrari and McLaren respectively.

The No.51, No.14 and No.58 came in the next lap around from first, second and third. The No.51 came out ahead of the No.69 as Lulham tries to fight back past on pit exit. But the sim-racing star compromised himself and lost out to the No.59 McLaren too.

The No.21 Aston Martin was spun around by the No.63 Lamborghini, but Jamie Day got the ComToYou Silver Cup entry going again, albeit further down the order.

Credit: SRO/JEP

The No.26 and No.99 Silver Audis battled hard for fifth in class, both cars dipping wheels off the track as they fought for position. The No.26 eventually came out on top after some very close moments between the two.

The final cars came into the pits, meaning the No.51 officially picked up the lead of the race. All of the top eight were packed tightly together with 20 minutes remaining.

The No.96 Porsche sitting in sixth got a five second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Niederhauser was sitting in that tight lead pack, so any penalty at the end of the race would be detrimental.

Race Results - Top 5

1st No.51 Ferrari - Abril, Rovera

2nd No.59 McLaren - Kirchhöfer, Goethe

3rd No.69 Ferrari - Lulham, Vermeulen

4th No.14 Ferrari - Lappalainen, Green

5th No.50 Ferrari - Neubauer, Leclerc