The Corvette of Matzke and Skula were able to break the Ford stranglehold
The FIA GT3 European Championship has reached the halfway point - and finally a race has been won by something other than a Ford GT. The No.38 MM-Racing Corvette Z.06R GT3 of Martin Matzke and Jiri Skula claimed the victory, ahead of two La Torre Motorsport Dodge Viper Competition Coupe cars - second was the No.42 entry of Gabriele Sabatini and Giuseppe de Pasquale, with Dino Lunardi and reigning champion Gilles Vannelet third in the No.43 car.
After some first corner incidents, the race settled down, with few changes in the top ten. But then, just as the pit-stop window opened, two cars spun at the first corner. That resulted in the safety car being sent out to allow them to be recovered - and the race was won and lost on the timing of pit-stops. The No.38 car had been seventh, but led the race after the stops had been taken; similarly the Dodge Vipers gained places during the stops, although they subsequently had to fight their way through to the head of the field.
The No.26 Team Berlanga Ascari KZ1R GT3 of Martin Rich and Andrew Thompson was on course for a second podium in two races - but then they were given a stop-go penalty, because their pit-stop had been one second too short. The No.28 Marc Sourd Racing Corvette of Marc Sourd and Johan Charpilienne was also in contention for a podium, but a minor error under braking sent the carinto a spin, dropping them to fifth.
The Matech GT Racing Ford GT cars were never in contention, and didn't lead a single lap. Ian Khan and Thomas Mutsch, in the No.20 car, came into this race leading the Championship - but a first-corner collision caused a puncture and wrecked their race. The No.21 car of Alex Mortimer and Bradley Ellis suffered from brake problems almost the entire race, while the No.19 duo of Luca Pirri and Jürgen von Gartzen had been running in the top five before the pit-stops; their race ended after they hit a spinning Ferrari.
Arnaud Peyroles and James Ruffier finished fourth in the No.1 Martini Callaway Corvette; the five points they picked up means they have moved to the top of the Drivers' Championship, three points clear of Khan and Mutsch.