The first race of the Sprint Cup in Valencia ended with the victory of the Mercedes # 6 of Maro Engel and Luca Stolz. The Toksport WRT team drivers took the lead after passing through the pits and managed their advantage to perfection, achieving a comfortable victory against the mistakes of their pursuers. In fact, Saintéloc Racing’s Audi # 25 and AKKA ASP’s Mercedes # 88 have completed the podium after the touch between the McLaren # 38 and the Lamborghini # 114 of Alex Fontana. This touch has also meant that the Swiss is not yet champion of the Silver Cup. There are also no champions in the Pro-Am Cup.
Ben Barnicoat managed to stay in the lead with the McLaren # 38 in an exit in which very few GT3s managed to take the first corner within the limits of the track. Luca Stolz did not lose the trail of the leader, while Timur Boguslavskiy managed to place third with the Mercedes # 88. However, the action was nipped in the bud in the first round after the accident between Óscar Tunjo’s Mercedes # 7, Mercedes # 90 and Aston Martin # 188 that forced the exit of the Safety Car. The highlight left no change among the leaders, although Ricardo Feller placed the Lamborghini # 14 in fourth place.
In fact, Ricardo Feller managed to overtake Timur Boguslasvkiy for third place minutes before the second caution of the race, caused in this case by the touch of the Audi # 32 to the Bentley # 107 in an overly optimistic overtaking attempt by Charles Weerts. The ‘Full Course Yellow’ period lasted just a few minutes, long enough for the race to almost slip right into the pit stop window. Right now, Dennis Marschall also surpassed Boguslavskiy. An overtaking that crossed the timeline with the first pitlane stops.
Maro Engel and the # 6 Mercedes emerged victorious from the pit duel thanks to the good work of the Toksport WRT mechanics. The German GT3 thus went on to lead the race ahead of the # 38 McLaren, already in the hands of Oli Wilkinson. For its part, Alex Fontana’s # 14 Lamborghini had no problem holding third position, although the Swiss did meet the pressure of Raffaele Marciello, since AKKA ASP got the Mercedes # 88 to be fourth in the new race order. For its part, Audi # 99 was relegated to fifth place, with a notable loss of time over the top four.
While the positions in the leading group stabilized, the focus was on the direct duel between Andrea Bertolini and Hugo Chaves. A duel for the 19th place that was also for the Pro-Am Cup title, the only direct battle since Alex Fontana seemed to leave everything sentenced in the Silver Cup with its position on the absolute podium with the Lamborghini # 14. In fact, the Swiss leaned on top of the McLaren # 38 and with fifteen minutes left he was drawing an interesting battle for second position against an Oli Wilkinson who at no time managed to show a greater rhythm than his rival.
With everything, Alex Fontana paid his excess of momentum and hit the McLaren # 38. The Italian Raffaele Marciello narrowly dodged the two GT3s, but lost position with the Audi # 25. Thus, Maro Engel ensured the victory with the Mercedes # 6 ahead of Saintéloc Racing’s vehicle and Marciello’s Mercedes # 88. The Lamborghini # 14 was out of the equation, as its fourth place was evaporated by the Drive Through received. The Audi # 99 and the Audi # 30 went on to complete the ‘top 5’, although Robin Frijns took the Audi # 26 off the track on the last lap, leaving his result in the air.