Jan Kisiel and Max Koebolt emerged victorious from a dramatic GT4 European Series race at the Misano World Circuit this morning. The #4 Leipert Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4 lost the lead ten minutes from the end of the second one-hour race, but last-minute drama for the #9 CMR Alpine handed victory to the Leipert Motorsport crew after all. Kisiel and Koebolt leave the Italian circuit with the Silver Cup points lead. Schwede Motorsport and Street Art Racing claimed class wins in Italy.
Having started from second on the grid, Ricardo van der Ende passed Jan Kisiel to take the lead on the run down to the first corner, with Pierre-Alexandre Jean slotting into third place. Van der Ende in the #8 Ekris M4 GT4 immediately pulled out a comfortable two-second gap, which he extended to three seconds, before his car suddenly decelerated due to an heat-related issue.
The time-loss resulted in Van der Ende dropping to fourth place, with Kisiel in the #4 Leipert Motorsport Mercedes taking the lead on lap 11. Van der Ende quickly recovered third place and then went after the CMR Alpine of Jean. Shortly after he had passed Jean, the Ekris hit problems once more and Van der Ende dropped to fourth again.
A full course yellow during the pit window as a result of the #15 NM Racing Team Ginetta G55 GT4 was the signal for most teams to come in to the pits for the mandatory driver change. Racing resumed after all teams had completed their pit stop and with 25 minutes left on the clock.
On the restart, Max Koebolt was still leading the race for Leipert Motorsport, with Stephane Lemeret (CMR), Euan McKay (Ekris Motorsport), Francesco Pastorelli (V8 Racing) and Simon Knap (MDM Motorsport) behind him. It didn’t take long before Lemeret began to close in on Koebolt.
Ten minutes from the end Lemeret caught Koebolt and overtook him to take the lead. Koebolt was unable to challenge the Belgian driver, but with just over a minute left on the clock, the Alpine suffered a front-left puncture and Koebolt moved back into the lead. One lap later he was shown the checkered flag, claiming Leipert Motorsport’s second Silver Cup win of the season.
Just over six seconds behind the race winning Leipert Motorsport Mercedes of Koebolt and Kisiel, it was the #8 Ekris of McKay and Van der Ende that finished in second position, with yesterday’s race winning Bullitt Racing Mercedes of Lambertz and Monti claiming the third podium step in the Silver Cup.
The V8 Racing Camaro came home in fourth place, ahead of the #25 MDM Motorsport BMW. Academy Motorsport and Street Art Racing claimed sixth and seventh in class, with Phoenix Racing, Equipe Verschuur and PROsport Performance completing the Silver Cup top 10.
SEASON FIRST FOR SCHWEDE MOTORSPORT, SEYLER AND BACHMANN WIN IN AM
Schwede Motorsport’s Jan Reinig and Dominik Schraml were the first to cross the finish line in the Pro-Am class, beating Leipert Motorsport drivers Luci Trefz and Marcus Paverud. The #777 Schwede Motorsport took the lead before the pit window opened, after the #15 NM Racing Team Ginetta retired from the class lead.
After the pit stops, Rehnig rejoined behind Trefz but with less then ten minutes remaining in the race he overtook the #2 Leipert Motorsport Mercedes and went on to win his first race in the GT4 European Series and the first race win with the Mercedes for Schwede Motorsport.
Jan Kasperlik secured Allied Racing’s third class podium finish of the season in the #22 Porsche by finishing in third place, only 0.433s ahead of the first of the two Selleslagh Racing Team Mercedes entries. The #13 Schwede Motorsport Mercedes finished sixth in class, followed by the #12 Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport BMW and the #35 Redele Competition Alpine.
CMR’s David Loger and Eric Mouez started from pole in the Am class and held onto the lead for a very long time, but eventually it was the #17 Street Art Racing Aston Martin of Pascal Bachmann and Clement Seyler. The #32 Selleslagh Racing Team Mercedes crossed the line in second place, with the CMR drivers taking third.
DRIVER QUOTES
Max Koebolt, #4 Leipert Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4: « I knew my main rivals were behind me, so I didn’t really defend when the Alpine attacked. Scoring as many points as possible was the main target. I stayed close to him and then he suffered a puncture two laps from the end. After that I just stayed safe, avoiding debris on track and won the race. »
Jan Kisiel, #4 Leipert Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4: « The main target was to score points, as many as possible. P3 yesterday, P1 today, taking the championship lead. Great job by Leipert Motorsport. They did an enormous job with the car and I could feel that today on the track. Everything is going in the right direction! »
Dominik Schraml, #777 Schwede Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4: « My start was great, then I had a hard fight with Møller-Madsen. Our pace was good. After the pit stop, Jan did a brilliant job. It was amazing. »
Jan Rehnig, #777 Schwede Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4: « It was a great relief to win the race. The car didn’t want to start after the pit stop and we had some problems, but it was great. It’s a very good result and I’m very happy about it! »
Clement Seyler, #17 Street Art Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4: « I had to manage the temperatures, I could overtake some cars in the beginning. I then managed the tyres for Pascal. I had a really good stint, we had a quick pit stop and Pascal did a great job and he took the win in our category. »
Pascal Bachmann, #17 Street Art Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4: « The race was good. We saved the car essentially, I had some temperature warnings, but it was fine. I was driving conservatively and just wanted to last the car to the end. It was a good day on the track. »
Marcel ten Caat,