Porsche Takes Down the Competition at GT World Challenge Opener
Unpredictable weather may have played a role in the Dinamic Motorsport Porsche victory. But a win is a win.
Seaon Opener In Monza
The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup got underway this past weekend with the season opener at the iconic Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Northern Italy. The high-speed race track was host to the three-hour sports car endurance race. And unpredictable weather conditions played into Dinamic Motorsport Porsche's hands, as they made their way up the field and took the victory in a close finish.
Photo: SportsCar365
Dinamic Motorsport Porsche
The qualifying session wasn't looking great for the Porsche team. The car driven by the trio of Matteo Cairoli, Christian Engelhart, and Klaus Bachler couldn't manage any higher than 12th position. Pole position was taken by the Orange 1 FFF Racing Team. But the Lamborghini Huracan didn't stay in the lead for long. As the rain started to intensify, the running order started to shift.
Photo: Motorsport.com
Quick in the Rain
Engelhart moved the Dinamic Porsche 911 GT3 R up from 12th all the way to 5th place in the space of the first 17 laps of the race. Having to switch to wet weather tires caught most teams off guard. And Dinamic Motorsport took advantage. The car proved to be quite capable in the rain. When Cairoli took over, he was able to improve even further and take the lead of the race.
Photo: Autosport
No Shortage of Drama
The track was drying, though, and the tires were starting to fail. Cairoli hung on until it was time to hand the wheel over to Bachler, who was a part of the team's winning squad at Monza two years prior. He took over with a 6-second lead, but a safety car eliminated the gap, as all the cars were bunched up.
Photo: Motorsport Radio
Razor Thin
When the green lights came back on, Bachler began to pull away again. He increased the gap to the ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven in the final portion of the race by Jules Gounon to almost five seconds. Gounon, who had the threat of Ricardo Feller's Emil Frey Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo in his rear-view mirror the entire time, still managed to close the gap down to 2.8 seconds before the end of the race.
Photo: Explica.co
Round 1 in the Books
The Lamborghini missed out on a second place by only 0.3 seconds in the end. Cairoli, Engelhart, and Bachler celebrated a less expected victory in the first round of the season, kicking things off with great momentum. The pole-winning FFF Racing Lamborghini finished way down the order, missing out on a great opportunity for points. The GT World Challenge Europe continues with round 2 at Magny-Cours in France.
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