Perfect day for LP Racing as Blank and Kaffer secure Pro-Am spoils, Prette wins again in Am

Otto Blank and Pierre Kaffer triumphed in Saturday's GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli contest at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, putting the Audi R8 back on top for the first time in more than two years.

The LP Racing duo scored Pro-Am victory ahead of the new Ginetta G56, which enjoyed a sensational competitive debut at the Spanish venue, while Philippe Prette continued his domination of the Am class thanks to a ninth win of the year.

There was drama before the season's penultimate race had even begun, with the pole-sitting #89 RTR Projects KTM unable to start due to a technical issue. This effectively promoted Prette to overall pole, though the #1 LP Racing Maserati would still need to start from the left-hand side of the grid.

Having qualified third, Alberto De Martin (#115 NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG) took advantage of the gap ahead of him to charge into first, while Prette slotted into second. The LP driver initially looked to have a pace advantage over the Mercedes-AMG, but De Martin held firm.

Prette was subsequently passed by the #7 DINAMIC Motorsport Maserati and the #294 RTR Projects Mercedes-AMG, though the latter was quickly eliminated from the lead battle by a drive-through penalty. Pampanini gradually closed the gap to De Martin, but the Italian misjudged his braking into Turn 1 and made contact with the rear of the #115 Mercedes-AMG. This caused significant cosmetic damage to the NM machine and allowed Prette to swoop past both and into the overall lead.

The pit window would shuffle the order even further. With extra time to serve following their success last time out at Valencia, the #1 Maserati and the #115 Mercedes-AMG both slipped back after their stops. The #7 Maserati was temporarily promoted to the lead, but its chances were scuppered by a drive-through for Pampanini's contact with De Martin.

Once the penalty had been served the lead fell to Kaffer in the #88 Audi, which had been started by Blank and climbed to fifth overall during the first stint. With a clear track ahead of him, former Audi factory ace Kaffer was in a commanding position. He delivered an assured drive to give the R8 its first GT2 Europe win since the series visited Valencia in 2023.

Lawrence Tomlinson survived an opening-lap trip through the gravel in the CMR-run Ginetta to hand the car to son Freddie, who ran in P2 throughout the second stint. The youngster largely kept pace with Kaffer to secure a dream result for the new G56, which is set to launch a full attack next year. Nil Montserrat brought the #115 Mercedes-AMG home third to complete the Pro-Am podium.

Prette scored his ninth Am win of the year, though he did not control the entirety of the race. The Italian lost the lead to Petr Lisa's #294 Mercedes-AMG early on and then slipped behind the sister #8 LP Racing Maserati after making his stop. Stéphane Ratel led several laps in the car he shares with Jean-Denis Delétraz, but Prette was able to catch and pass the Frenchman on his way to another triumph. Ratel retained P2 to complete a perfect day for LP Racing, with Ondrej Rokos third in the #294 Mercedes-AMG.

The final race of the 2025 GT2 Europe season will take place on Sunday at 09:10 CEST and will be streamed live on the GT World YouTube channel. Mauro Calamia will start from pole aboard the #7 DINAMIC Motorsport Maserati looking to secure runner-up in the Pro-Am standings, while Prette has a chance at scoring a remarkable 10th Am class win of the year.

Results are HERE