LP Racing and Akkodis ASP snare crucial pole positions for Fanatec GT2 Europe finale in Barcelona

Akkodis ASP’s Gilles Vannelet led the opening 20-minute shootout on Saturday morning in Spain to earn himself and co-driver Jean-Luc Beaubelique top spot on the grid for the afternoon’s 50-minute Race 1. The French racer’s flying lap also marks the second overall pole position for the #87 Mercedes-AMG GT2 duo of the current campaign.

In the second session to decide the grid for Race 2 on Sunday, Carlo Tamburini took over the #1 LP Racing Maserati from Leonardo Gorini to grab a crucial point by heading the times. They now have a 42-point gap to close to the Pro-Am leading #812 Team MZR entry, with 50 points still on offer this weekend.

Vannelet quickly became locked in a battle with nearest Am class rival Philippe Prette (#2 LP Racing Maserati) during the opening phase of Q1. But he ultimately prevailed, clocking a 1:44.277s lap to pip his main competition by just 0.165s as rain threatened to hit Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

In hot pursuit, a strong performance from the returning #90 KTM X-BOW GT2 of Dominik Olbert (Razoon - more than racing) meant Am runners locked out the top three places for Race 1, while a strong showing by newcomer Lennart Marioneck put him fourth - best of the Pro-Am crews - for RTR Projects (#89 KTM).

Gorini bided his time before rising to fifth in the #1 Maserati, two spots higher than nearest title rival Martin Koch in the Team MZR KTM. They sandwiched the #888 NM Racing Mercedes-AMG of Jörg Viebahn, who climbed to sixth overall with a late flying lap.

Gianluca Giorgi sealed eighth for LP Racing in the Italian squad’s #88 Audi R8 LMS GT2 to rank ahead of Mauro Ricci’s #61 Akkodis ASP Mercedes-AMG. He was followed by Am title contender Alexandre Leroy, who rounded out the top 10 in the #24 TFT Racing Maserati.

The second part of Qualifying resulted in mixed fortunes for those vying for Pro-Am glory. Emerging on top was Tamburini, having climbed aboard the LP Racing Maserati in place of Gorini before posting an unbeatable effort of 1:43.113s to confirm pole for Race 2.

Matej Homola was only 0.108s further back despite a spin at Turn 7 in the RTR Projects KTM, as third place went the way of DINAMIC Motorsport thanks to a strong effort by Mauro Calamia in the #67 Maserati he shares with Roberto Pampanini.

Viebahn’s rookie team-mate Andy Cantu backed up his Friday pace with a fine showing to bag fourth for the NM Racing duo, just ahead of Reinhard Kofler in fifth. The latter had topped the times for Pro-Am points leader Team MZR before the lap was deleted for exceeding track limits.

Sixth was enough for Prette to grab a critical point back as fastest of the Am class competitors - the only driver in the class to finish inside the top 10. Alfio Andrea Spina went one better than team-mate Giorgi by snatching seventh, with Simon Birch eighth after taking over the #80 KTM (Razoon - more than racing) from Thomas Andersen.

Benjamin Ricci matched father Mauro’s result of ninth to beat the experienced Bernd Schneider, who completed the top 10 for himself and Dutchman Wim de Pundert who share the #81 Bosi Race Tech Mercedes-AMG.

Results are HERE