Lariche and Consani maintain Silver title challenge with Race 1 victory in Jeddah

The #3 Audi charged from fourth on the grid to capture a third successive win, edging closer to long-time leaders Josh Rattican and Tom Lebbon. The #78 Elite Motorsport McLaren pairing came home third, behind the sister #77 McLaren of Alex Denning and Tom Emson

The Pro-Am crown will also be settled tomorrow, with Aleksandr Vaintrub and Stanislav Safronov (#7 Mirage Racing Aston Martin) now in front after their closest rivals hit trouble. Alban Varutti and Julien Piguet bagged the win aboard their #110 AVR-Avvatar Porsche, while Am champions Laurent Hurgon and Pascal Huteau (#55 Schumacher CLRT Alpine) picked up a seventh triumph of the season.

SILVER: Team Speedcar maintains title push with victory

The #78 McLaren made a slow start from pole with Rattican at the wheel, allowing the sister #77 car of Denning to assume the lead while Lariche guided the #3 Audi from fourth on the grid to second at Turn 1. The Frenchman then snatched the lead at the end of the opening tour, diving up the inside of Denning at the last corner.

The race was neutralised by an early Safety Car following contact between the #12 Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport BMW and the #30 W&S Motorsport Porsche. When the green flag was shown the McLaren pair began to rediscover their pace, only for their progress to be halted by another neutralisation.

This delayed the pit window, which opened with 33 minutes on the clock. The #77 was the first of the lead trio to box, allowing Lariche some breathing space out front, while the #78 stopped next and returned to the track behind the sister car. When the Team Speedcar crew pitted one lap later, Consani was able to take over from Lariche and remain at the head of the order.

Initially the #77 McLaren, now driven by Tom Emson, appeared to have a slight pace advantage, but after a handful of laps Consani was able to assert himself at the head of the field. Indeed, by the closing stages his lead had grown to three seconds. There was no change in position between the #77 and #78 cars, with Emson taking the chequered flag as runner-up ahead of Lebbon.

Ahead of them, Consani crossed the line to secure the win, his third of the season alongside Lariche following their double victory last time out at Monza. This reduces the gap at the top of the Silver standings to 22 points in favour of Rattican and Lebbon, who would be assured of the title with a finish of eighth or better tomorrow.

Pro-Am: AVR-Avvatar makes glorious return as title battle reaches boiling point

Varutti and Piguet made a victorious return to the championship, guiding their AVR-Avvatar Porsche to the Pro-Am victory. The 2023 Am class dominators controlled the class from the front, with Varutti being a constant within the overall top 10 before Piguet continued his good work until the finish.

What unfolded behind them mixed up the championship fight. The points-leading #30 W&S Motorsport Porsche was eliminated by its early tangle with the #12 BMW, opening the door for Finn Zulauf and Max Kronberg’s title rivals to make significant gains.

Safronov and Vaintrub did just that. The #7 Mirage Racing Aston Martin was in the podium fight throughout and finished third on the road, but earned P2 points due to the AVR-Avvatar car being a non-scoring guest entry. This moves Safronov and Vaintrub into a narrow championship lead. Second overall, and maximum points, went to Gustavo Xavier and Richard Wolf in their Razoon – More Than Racing Porsche.

Am: Huteau and Hurgon turn it around for another win 

Already crowned Am champions at Monza, Pascal Huteau and Laurent Hurgon celebrated a seventh class victory of the season despite their Schumacher CLRT Alpine facing the wrong way at Turn 1. Contact at the start tipped Huteau into a spin, but he had worked his way back into the podium places by the time he handed over to Hurgon.

A well-timed stop and Hurgon’s pace did the rest, with the Alpine soon resuming its familiar position out front. Antoni de Barn and Jean-Mathieu Leandri put in a great drive on their first outing together in the Chazel Technologie Course BMW to claim second, with solo driver Romain Vozniak taking third in the #4 AV Racing Porsche.

Results are HERE