| The Car Collection Motorsport team returns from the fifth race weekend of the International GT Open Championship with a double points result. At the historic Circuit Paul Ricard, Alex Fontana and his American teammate secured two top 10 finishes on an eventful race weekend. The weekend got off to a promising start. In the first qualifying session, the bronze driver set a new personal best time on the 5.8-kilometre circuit in southern France and put the car in ninth place on the grid in the Pro-Am class. He put in a solid performance in the race and handed over the wheel to Alex Fontana at half-time in a promising position. The Swiss driver brought the car home safely in fifth place with a flawless stint – the first points finish after a few difficult weekends. The relief in the pits was correspondingly great. On Sunday, Fontana took over qualifying. The fast professional gave it his all and, despite less than ideal conditions for the Porsche, managed to secure third place on the second row of the grid. The race itself was then marked by tactical shifts and incidents. After a focused first stint, Fontana handed over the wheel to his American partner in a good position. The bronze driver found himself under pressure immediately after the changeover, as some teams deployed their professional drivers for the second part. He defended himself courageously, engaged in intense duels and was in sixth place in the class until shortly before the end. However, a collision with a Mercedes directly in front led to both cars retiring shortly before the finish line. Thanks to the race distance completed beforehand, the team was still classified eighth and thus scored points again in the Pro-Am class. However, the race result is not yet final due to several investigations. Team manager Romina Schmidt draws a mixed but overall positive conclusion: ‘It was a challenging weekend with ups and downs. This makes it all the more important that we scored points on both days. I am particularly pleased with the strong driving performance of both drivers. After the last few difficult races, a result like this is good for the whole team. We are on the right track!’ |
