Lebbon-Emson take maiden win with the Elite Motorsport Ferrari in all-British podium

Tom Lebbon and Tom Emson took a dominant win in Race 1 at the Hungaroring, giving themselves and Elite Motorsport & Entire Race Engineering their respective maiden win in the International GT Open. The young British duo had no rivals throughout the day and made a perfect use of the pole position. “It’s never easy, especially with the heat, but we had no major issues except for the radio stopping functioning”, they commented.

In an all-British podium, they beat the McLarens of Michael Porter-Zac Meakin (Optimum Motorsport) and James Kell-Dean Macdonald (Greystone GT).

The Prancing Horse took its first overall win of the season but also made a hat-trick of wins taking the success also Pro-Am and Am.

In Pro-Am, the Baron Motorsport’s 296 of Edoardo Bacci and Phillip Baron took the first success of the year, ahead of Dexter Müller-Yannick Metller (SPS Mercedes) and the Sanitéloc Racing Audi of Michael Blanchemain-Marcus Paverud.

In Am Gino Forgione and Michele Rugolo (AF Corse) won for the third time this season, preceding  Mark Sansom-Alexander West (Garage 59 McLaren) and Stanislaw Jedlinski-Krystian Korzeniowski (Olimp Racing Ferrari).

THE RACE – It’s a smooth start under very hot weather, with Tom Lebbon, for the first time in pole with the Elite Ferrari, holding the advantage ahead of Aron, with Basz sneaking into third position ahead of Hesse, Reicher, Révész, Abril, Mettler, Porter and Pulcini.

While Lebbon pulls away gently, it’s big fight for third between Basz and Hesse, while Hash spins in lap 7 and Sansom leads in Am.  Positions do not change much, as often at the Hungaroring, but duels continue with light contacts between Basz and Hesse, Bartone and Milota and Porter and Abril.

The pit stop window opens in lap 17. After all stops, Emson leads  by 14 seconds on Ramirez, then Meakin (-21”) who has passed M. Jedlinski, leading in Pro-Am, Rogalski and the duo Ellis-Haase, who are in a very fierce battle, while there has been a contact between Doquin and Mosca. West has taken the baton in the lead of the Am class. The show is put by the fight for 12th in the very compact train comprising Blanchemain, Zsigo, Kruetten, Dunner, Doquin, Walker and Salaquarda. Mosca gets a 5-second penalty for leaving the track.

The last laps are thrilling as always here: while there is no fight for victory, with Emson fully in control, Ramirez is pressed by Meakin, who passes in lap 36, but with four wheels off the track, which owes him a 5-second penalty, with Kell stealing third in the final moments. Rogalski passes Jedlinski, for fifth but none of the Poles will keep their good results: Jedlinski spins leaving the win in Pro-Am to Bacci (ahead of Mettler and Paverud), while the Lambo slows down in the final lap, leaving the way to Haase and Ellis. Further back there is a three-way collision between Baumann, Doquin and Fontana, while Rugolo takes the win in Am ahead of West and S.Jedlinski.

In the championship, by taking fourth ahead of Révész, Haase is reducing the gap in the standings to one point.