Viebahn & Cantu take season-ending Fanatec GT2 Europe win in Barcelona as Prette snatches Am title

Andy Cantu and Jorg Viebahn brought the curtain down on the 2024 Fanatec GT2 European Series Powered by Pirelli campaign with Pro-Am victory in today's concluding race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, while Philippe Prette clinched the Am class title in dramatic fashion after his rivals retired with damage sustained in an opening-lap incident.

The #888 NM Racing Mercedes-AMG GT2 was pushed hard for the win by a charging Lennart Marioneck (#89 RTR Projects KTM GT2) but ultimately held firm to earn a maiden Pro-Am triumph. The foundations were laid by a phenomenal launch from Cantu. Starting fourth, the American dived to the outside and put two wheels on the grass while keeping the throttle planted. Remarkably, he had done enough to be ahead of the pack before the Turn 1 braking zone.

While the #888 Mercedes-AMG pulled clear, there was major drama in the Am class. Jean-Luc Beaubelique and Gilles Vannelet (#87 Akkodis ASP Mercedes-AMG) entered the season-ending race with a 23-point advantage in the Drivers' standings, meaning a classified finish would see them crowned champions.

This plan was derailed when #87 Mercedes-AMG snapped loose in Turn 2 and made contact with the sister #53 Mercedes-AMG. The latter was sent into the barriers, while Beaubelique was forced to limp back to the pits with damage to the front-right of his car. The Akkodis ASP crew quickly went to work, but it was to no avail.

This meant that Philippe Prette could snatch an unlikely title triumph, though the #2 LP Racing Maserati GT2 driver would need to win his class. During the opening phase of the race he was in position to do exactly that, running at the head of the Am field with a comfortable advantage. There was an added complication, however, as the Italian was handed a five-second time penalty for failing to respect Race Direction's instructions at the start.

When he exited the pits following his mandatory stop, Prette had fallen behind Dominik Olbert, who had taken the controls of the #90 Razoon - more than racing KTM from Arthur Chwist. The gap was close to eight seconds, a significant amount of time to make up in less than half an hour. In the event, Olbert was able to pull even further clear, climbing up the overall order while bolstering his Am class advantage.

Meanwhile, the #888 Mercedes-AMG had maintained its Pro-Am lead through the pit stop phase, with Viebahn taking over from Cantu. But this would not be an easy win, as the #89 RTR Projects KTM had rapidly closed on to the rear of the NM Racing machine, while late traffic cost Viebahn further time. With the final lap fast approaching, Marioneck was all over the Mercedes-AMG.

The KTM driver was able to draw alongside his rival at Turn 3 on the closing lap, but Viebahn held firm. In a dramatic finish, the German driver took the chequered flag just 0.351s ahead of Marioneck. This gave the NM Racing squad a maiden Fanatec GT2 Europe win. The Pro-Am podium was completed by the title-winning duo of Martin Koch and Reinhard Kofler (#812 KTM), who also wrapped up the Pro-Am Teams' title for MZR.

This just left the Am class to be decided. Despite his best efforts, Prette could do nothing about the impressive Olbert, who climbed all the way to fourth overall and took the chequered flag. This appeared to have saved the day for Akkodis ASP, but in yet another twist the #90 KTM was subsequently disqualified for not complying with the post-race scrutineering process.

As such, Prette was promoted to Am class victory, giving him the 25 points needed to overhaul Beaubelique and Vannelet and be crowned class champion, while LP Racing took the Teams’ title by a single point over Akkodis ASP. The Am class podium was rounded out by Alexandre Leroy (#24 TFT Racing Maserati) and True Racing’s Klaus Angerhofer and Sehdi Sarmini (#16 KTM).

Today's race marked the conclusion of the 2024 season, which brought the Fanatec GT2 European Series Powered by Pirelli to new venues, produced record grids, and ended with a fresh set of champions. The 2025 campaign will launch at Circuit Paul Ricard on 11–13 April, kicking off another six-round series that includes a return to the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa support line-up.

Results are HERE