Only one week after the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, the next challenge was waiting for Car Collection Motorsport with the 1000 kilometers at Paul Ricard. At the six-hour race in Le Castellet, Team Tresor by Car Collection competed with two Audi R8 LMS evo II GT 3 cars. After a mixed qualifying and a race marked by collisions, punctures and technical problems, the #12 entered in the Pro classification with Christopher Haase, Mattia Drudi and Luca Ghiotto still managed to secure two important championship points in 12th place. The sister car with the #11 and drivers Axel Blom, Lorenzo Patrese and Hugo Valente, which started in the Silver Cup, only finished in 39th place after several incidents and was therefore twelfth in class.
The Formula 1 circuit in Le Castellet in the south of France hosted a six-hour race of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, which was the second round of the Endurance Cup. After finishing fourth at the season opener in Imola, the trio of #12 drivers, consisting of Audi Sport drivers Mattia Drudi and Christopher Haase as well as ex-Formula 2 driver Luca Ghiotto, were determined to further establish themselves in the top group of the championship. In qualifying, it was a major challenge for all three drivers to find a clear lap with over 50 cars on the track. With eighth place, the drivers of the #12 were able to establish a good starting position for the race.
Shortly after the start Luca Ghiotto got into trouble and lost a few positions. Shortly before the first stop, the Italian also suffered a puncture that set the team far back. As a result, all three drivers tried to make up the lost ground, but were slowed down by a power steering system that went on strike, making driving a major physical challenge. Under these conditions, 12th place in the end with two championship points was the absolute maximum.
The weekend was even more difficult for the #11, with drivers Axel Blom, Lorenzo Patrese and Hugo Valente already failing to find a clear lap in qualifying. Starting position 37 gave little hope for a good race. Already in the first lap the fears about a turbulent start in the middle of the field came true. Hugo Valente was involved in a collision, spun and dropped to the back of the field. Subsequently, the drivers fought their way back to the front, but were repeatedly involved in incidents and were also victims of punctures, so that it was clear early on that no good result could be achieved on this day. Nevertheless, Tresor by Car Collection did not give up and repaired the #11 quickly, so that the three drivers were still able to complete many important race kilometers by the end of the race.
The next round of the demanding Endurace Cup racing calendar also represents the season highlight of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS: The biggest GT3 race in the world, the 24h of Spa, starts on July 30. Before that, however, Tresor by Car Collection will be competing in the two Sprint Cup events at Zandvoort and Misano. Car Collection Motorsport is also still active in the ADAC GT Masters at Zandvoort and in the NLS at the Nürburgring.
Foto Credits: Christopher Otto / C.O. Mediavision