GT4 RACE 2 OSCHERSLEBEN
After a short but eventful first sprint race of the weekend, Alex Buncombe, in the nr 14 RJN Motorsport Nissan 350Z, came away victorious. Close behind, in the nr 8 Jetalliance Aston Martin N24, was Klaus Engelhorn, claiming second, while André Grammatico, in the nr 18 Espace Bienvenue BMW Z4 made it into 3rd place. Catharina Felser won her category for the second time this weekend, in the nr 100 Reiter Engineering KTM Xbow.
The race started with Guino Kenis in the nr 6 G&A Motorsport BMW Z4 taking the lead, overtaking Buncombe who had inherited pole after Mallock was unable to restart after yesterday’s crash. The start was busy with the cars all bustling for the best place possible, causing the nr 211 Lotus Sport Lotus 2-Eleven to spin, touching the 101 Reiter Engineering KTM Xbow and sending it into the gravel, where it spent most of the race.
But the 211 recovered and managed to put up a good fight with Catharina Felser in the nr 100 Reiter Engineering KTM Xbow, overtaking her at one point, but then Kershaw got a stop&go penalty, allowing Catherina to win her category. The nr 6, which led most of the race, pitted about halfway though with engine problems and didn’t make it back onto the track.
Buncombe took advantage of this and managed to hold onto his position, keeping the nr 8 Jetalliance Aston Martin N24 at bay. De Doncker, the points leader coming into this round, put up a good fight, tailing Buncombe and holding off Engelhorn for most of the race, but just after half way, he went out with a suspension failure.
Race Quotes
1st Alex Buncombe, nr 14 RJN Motorsport Nissan 350Z:
"I got a pretty good start. Unfortunately the BMW Z4 [Guino Kenis in the nr 6] came flying past me and I followed him for a few laps, and I had to fend off the Mustang behind me. But by the 5th or 6th lap, Kenis had to come in for a drive through penalty which handed me the race. It’s good."
2nd Klaus Engelhorn, nr 8 Jetalliance Aston Martin N24:
"I’m happy to be on the podium again. Second is a good place, it brings a lot of points for the championship. The Nissan was very strong, but even though he made a mistake in the last round, and I caught up to him, there was no way I could overtake him. I was very lucky that De Doncker had tyre problems, which put me up a place. It’s like it always is in a race; it’s a mixture of luck and effort. I’m happy with my result."
3rd André Grammatico, nr 18 Espace Bienvenue BMW Z4:
"This is a circuit that I didn’t know beforehand, so we’ve been practicing, trying out different things that haven’t been very successful for us, we only got up to 9th and 10th in the qualifying sessions. We’ve been making changes as we’ve gone along. This podium was really unexpected, I’m really happy."
Sports Light
1st Catharina Felser, nr 100 Reiter Engineering KTM Xbow:
"I had a lot of luck at the start of the race, I got a really good line and got up to about 8th position. The GT4s were too fast for me, so I let them pass. I got some good times and it went okay. It was difficult, but I was lucky, and also the Lotus got a penalty, and so I won the race. It was hard but good."
2nd Gavan Kershaw, nr 211 Lotus Sport Lotus 2-Eleven:
"I got a bit of contact with everyone at the beginning, I think I touched the Xbow, sending it off. He didn’t rejoin, but I did and caught up to Catherina. I had a good pace and overtook her, but then they declared that I had a drive-through penalty which put me 20 seconds behind her when I exited the pits. It’s good having the sprint race for the Lotus; it makes a difference with the heavy fuel load in the car."
-SRO- photo DPPI
photos will be on automobilsport.com under PHOTOS - FIA GT
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