Two Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3s and one Porsche 997 GT3-R are involved in a close battle for the overall lead after two hours in the Hankook 12H HUNGARY. As the race got underway at 8 am this morning, pole sitter Christiaan Frankenhout led the field in the Hofor Racing Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 (#1, Kroll/Heyer/Frankenhout/Eggimann), but coming out of the first corner, German Lance-David Arnold had a better exit and took the lead with the SPS automotive performance Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 (#4, Pierburg/Müller/Arnold). After the first range of pit stops, just over the one-hour mark, it was the Stadler Motorsport-Porsche (#20, Amstutz/M. Ineichen/R. Ineichen) that moved up into first place and has remained there ever since.
Behind the three German sports cars involved in the battle for the outright race lead and top position in the A6 class, the Porsche 997 Cup car of the Austrian ZaWotec Racing team (#8, Uckermann/Daum/Schreier) is leading the SP2 class in fourth place overall, with the MARC Cars Australia MARC Focus GTC silhouette car (#48, McLeod/Kaye/Kassulke) second and the SPS automotive performance Porsche 991 Cup car (#7, Moodley/Maharaj/Jarvis) third.
The A5 class saw a nice battle for the class lead in the first 30 minutes between the pole-winning Team Altran Peugeot 208 GTi (#18, Radermecker/Palette/Roman) and the Rimo BMW 335 D (#41, Blazulionis/Vitkauskas/Samultis), with the Lithuanian team’s BMW coming to the fore and leading its class for the best part of the first two hours. The second Team Altran Peugeot (#19, Rostan/Niederhauser/Ogay) is following in third place.
For Danish team, HM Motorsport, the early class lead in the D1 category with their Peugeot RCZ (#32, J.H. Hansen/J.E. Hansen/Hagedorn) was a nice reward after the massive effort to get the car back out again after a crash in free practice yesterday. Later on, however, the Peugeot lost time due to an overheating problem, handing the class lead to the KPM Racing Volkswagen Golf (#38, Onslow-Cole/White/Edwards), followed by the Red Camel-Jordans.nl SEAT (#37, Kresnik/Puth/R. Breukers) and the Kaukas Volkswagen Golf (#36, Ivanovas/Giknius/Vilkas/Ambrazevicius).
Live timing, photos and videos can be found at: live.24hseries.com while there are also regular updates on Twitter (@24HSeries) and Facebook (24H Series). A 24 minutes’ highlight show will be broadcast on Motors TV at a later stage. More information about the Hankook 12H HUNGARY and the other rounds of the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook can be found at: www.24hseries.com.