The no34 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage of Salih Yuloc and Euan Hankey took a dominant win at the Autodromo do Estoril to secure the Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup for the British team and also receive the invitation to compete at the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans.
A second place finish for the no72 SMP Racing Ferrari of Aleksey Basov and Victor Shaitar meant the Russian duo took the Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup Drivers’ crown after a great battle with the no88 Mentos Racing Porsche and the no7 BMS Scuderia Italia in the closing stages of the race.
Final Round of 2016
The race started dry with Edigio Perfetti in the no88 Mentos Porsche getting a good start from pole to lead into the first corner. Salih Yoluc in the no34 TF Sport Aston Martin moved ahead of Aleksey Basov in the no72 SMP Racing Ferrari on the opening lap, which was an important move for the Team Championship. Yoluc was soon challenging the no55 FFF Racing McLaren of Hiroshi Hamaguchi for 2nd place while Basov was forced to defend his 4th place from a determined Johnny Mowlem in the no25 FF Corse Ferrari.
After a few laps Basov made a move on Yoluc to regain 3rd and then took 2nd place from Hamaguchi with a move down the inside of Turn 1, with Yoluc also moving ahead of the Japanese driver by following Basov through the corner. The no72 Ferrari then caught the leading Porsche to challenge for the lead. Edigio Perfetti was defending his lead when Basov moved down the inside but ran wide and there was contact, knocking the Porsche off the track. Perfetti rejoined but he was now running in 8th place.
Basov now had a 2.8 second lead ahead of Salih Yoluc’s Aston Martin, with theno55 McLaren in 3rd but Hamaguchi now had to defend his position from the two Ferraris of Stevie Hiesse (no8 Villorba Corse) and Adrien De Leener (no14 AF Corse), with Johnny Mowlem’s FF Corse Ferrari also getting in on the action.
The leading SMP Racing Ferrari suddenly went off track at Turn 4 skidding across the gravel trap before rejoining in second place behind the no34 TF Sport Aston Martin. Three laps later Basov was off again and this time he was forced to engage reverse gear and he regained the track in 8th place 22.8 seconds behind the leader. Adrien De Leener was now lying in 2nd place when he, Stevie Hiesse and Johnny Mowlem all passed the no55 McLaren, with De Leener catching the leading Aston Martin as the pitstops approached.
Yoluc didn’t put up much resistance when De Leener caught the Turk but as the Belgian driver swept into the lead the no34 TF Sport Aston Martin headed to the pits to hand over to Euan Hankey. This started the rest of the field heading for the mandatory pitstop. Hamaguchi also headed to the pits in the no55 FFF Racing McLaren but a problem kept the car with Adrian Quaife Hobbs stranded for 9 minutes and then the British driver returned to the pits after he regained the track to retire from the race.
After the pitstops Euan Hankey set about establishing his lead in the TF Sport Aston, setting the fastest lap of the race as he built up a 20 second lead to the no25 FF Corse Ferrari of Ivor Dunbar before the Scot was passed by Victor Shaitar in the SMP Racing Ferrari and Klaus Bachler in the no88 Mentos Racing Porsche.
At this point it started to rain and the teams were forced to make a decision whether to stay out on slicks or pit for wet tyres. The leaders decided to stay out and it seemed to be a good call for Hankey as he extended his lead to over 30 seconds and was pulling away from the battling Shaitar and Bachler.
At this point the no51 AF Corse Ferrari of Francesco Castellacci became the second retirement when an ABS issue slowed the car forcing the Italian into the pits.
As the race entered the final stages the rain began to ease but the battle between the no72 SMP Racing Ferrari and the no88 Mentos Racing Porsche continued to rage. But the battling between the Russian and Austrian drivers allowed the no7 BMS Scuderia Italia Ferrari of Matteo Cressoni to catch up. Bachler was forced to switch from offensive to defensive modes to protact his hard won podium position. This battle raged all the way to the chequered flag, with Bachler taking the place by just 0.4 seconds at the end of 2 hours of racing.
At the chequered flag it was the no34 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage of Euan Hankey who secured the second victory of the season for the British team and, more importantly, the 2016 Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup Teams’ title. Hankey finished 43 seconds ahead of the no72 SMP Racing Ferrari of Victor Shaitar, whose second place was able to secure the 2016 Drivers’ title for himself and Aleksey Basov.
CLICK HERE for the result from Round 6 of the Michelin GT3 Le Mans Cup
CLICK HERE for the classifications after Round 6
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