| Car Collection Motorsport delivered a strong performance at the second race weekend of this year’s International GT Open season at Spa-Francorchamps. Alex Fontana (Switzerland) and his US team-mate finished twelfth overall in the first of two endurance races of the season and narrowly missed out on the Pro-Am podium in fourth place. A 15-second handicap time at the pit stop, caused by the class victory at the season opener, prevented an even better result. Without this handicap, the team would clearly have been in contention for the podium in the class. Unlike the other weekends, there was only one race on the agenda in Spa, which covered a distance of 500 kilometres. The long race on the demanding Formula 1 circuit, which was completed after 72 laps, placed high demands on strategy and teamwork. Alex Fontana shone with the second-fastest race lap of the entire field (2:15.287 minutes). Strong basis in qualifying In qualifying, the team’s bronze driver finished 27th overall and 12th in the Pro-Am class. Fontana took second place in both classifications in the second qualifying session with a 2:14.153. The average of the two times meant 17th overall on the grid and 5th in the class. The team’s potential was already evident in the free practice sessions: FP1 was completed with 1st place overall and in class, FP2 brought P4 overall and again P1 in the Pro-Am. The bronze test (FP3) ended in 14th place overall and 11th in class. Team manager Romina Schmidt: ‘We knew that it wouldn’t be easy with the handicap time – but the whole team did a great job, both drivers made no mistakes and we achieved a strong result despite the additional time. Without the handicap, a podium would certainly have been possible.’ Looking ahead to Hockenheim With the result from Spa, the duo is now third in the overall Pro-Am standings. The focus is now on the next race weekend, which will be held at the Hockenheimring from 6 to 8 June – a real home race for Car Collection Motorsport. The usual sprint format with two races will continue there. |
