The Akkodis ASP Mercedes AMG GT3 machine of Timur Boguslavskiy and Raffaele Marciello held off a late charge from Ricardo Feller’s Orange 1 Audi R8 LMS to claim victory in the first Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe race of the weekend at Brands Hatch today (Sunday).
The Mercedes duo had built up a sizable lead before the mandatory driver change pit stops midway through the one-hour contest, courtesy of pole man Maricello’s excellent opening stint.
The Swiss-Italian handed over to Boguslavskiy with 26 minutes remaining, with the pair holding a 15 second margin to the #40 Audi of Feller and Mattia Drudi, elevated up a place after the #69 Ferrari of Thierry Vermeulen and Albert Costa, which had been running second, endured a slow pit stop.
But it was immediately clear that Feller had a significant pace advantage as he began carving into Boguslavskiy’s advantage. The gap was below 10 seconds five laps after the pit stops, and with five minutes remaining it stood at 3.6.
With traffic to negotiate, it was a nervy final few tours for the Mercedes driver, as Feller loomed ever larger in his mirrors, the two cars crossing the line to start the final lap separated by just 1.4 seconds.
But there wasn’t quite enough time for Feller to complete what would have been a remarkable win, ultimately falling just six tenths of a second short.
The lead duo finished only three seconds ahead of the third place Team WRT BMW M4 car of Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts, which had been in sixth place before the driver changes.
There was a longer margin back to the fourth-place Comtoyou Racing Audi of Christopher Haase, which snatched the position on the run to the line after the #54 Porsche faltered on the Brabham Straight.
Haase finished just ahead of the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari of Giacomo Altoe and Konsta Lappalainen, and the #60 Lamborghini of Franck Perera and Jordan Pepper.
Having run second early on, the #69 Ferrari dropped to seventh by the end of the race, ahead of Adrian De Leener’s Porsche which fell from fourth to eighth in the final seconds.
The top-10 was completed by the Comtoyou Racing Audi of Nicolas Baert and the similar machine of Alberto di Folco, less than a second behind.
The second Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe race of the weekend is due to start at 16.10.
Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe, powered by AWS, Brands Hatch GP, race one result:
1. Timur Boguslavskiy/Raffaele Marciello, Mercedes AMG, 42 laps
2. Ricardo Feller/Mattia Drudi, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, +0.616s
3. Dries Vanthoor/Charles Weerts, BMW M4 GT3, +3.683s
4. Christopher Haase/Lucas Legeret, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, +27.432s
5. Giacomo Altoe/Konsta Lappalainen, Ferrari 296 GT3, +28.251s
6. Franck Perera/Jordan Pepper, Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2, +27.713s
7. Thierry Vermeulen/Albert Costa, Ferrari 296 GT3, +30.790s
8. Adrien De Leener/Christian Engelhardt, Porsche 911 GT3 R, +31.533s
9. Nicolas Baert/Frederic Vervisch, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, +41.066s
10. Alberto di Folco/Aurelien Panis, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, +41.677s
Click here for full results.
Tickets for the Fanatec GT World Challenge at Brands Hatch on 13/14 May are available on the gate all weekend, with free entry for children under-13. Click here for more information.