The 75th edition of Grand Prix de Pau saw two entertaining races of the Competition102 GT4 European Series. After finishing second at the street track on Saturday evening, Nicolaj Møller Madsen and Andreas Patzelt were lucky to be able to make it to the chequered flag on Sunday. While battling for the lead, Patzelt survived a crash after he was touched by a fellow competitor in the penultimate lap. The Porsche Cayman PRO4 GT4 spun around multiple times and hit the guardrails. However, the German was able to finish the race in first position. The AM class Jan Kasperlik and Dietmar Lackinger also won the second race with the BMW M3 GT4.
The 75th edition of Grand Prix de Pau saw two entertaining races of the Competition102 GT4 European Series. After finishing second at the street track on Saturday evening, Nicolaj Møller Madsen and Andreas Patzelt were lucky to be able to make it to the chequered flag on Sunday. While battling for the lead, Patzelt survived a crash after he was touched by a fellow competitor in the penultimate lap. The Porsche Cayman PRO4 GT4 spun around multiple times and hit the guardrails. However, the German was able to finish the race in first position. The AM class Jan Kasperlik and Dietmar Lackinger also won the second race with the BMW M3 GT4.
The race got underway when the French national flag was waived after technical problems had struck the starting lights. Ricardo van der Ende took the lead starting from second while Duncan Huisman made up two places to chase his countryman, passing both Porsches Cayman PRO4 GT4. Saturday’s winner Peter Terting seemed to experience car trouble and retired.
While van der Ende extended his lead to ten seconds, Huisman defended very well against the charging Møller Madsen for second place. After ten laps the Porsche driver passed Huisman at the hairpin. Behind the pair three KTM X-BOW GT4 drivers were battling for position. They were accompanied by Donald Molenaar.
When Marcel Nooren took over the wheel from Molenaar, the Dutchman stranded with damage on the rear and the front right. It brought out the safety car to recover the Chevrolet Camaro GT4. Grammatico, who was now in front after he was handed the BMW M3 GT4 from van der Ende, saw an eleven second gap being destroyed.
After the restart Grammatico regained a bit of his margin while Patzelt, who took over from Møller Madsen, had first to get through traffic. The final minutes marked the battle for the race win. In the penultimate lap Patzelt made a successful move on Grammatico but the Frenchman touched the Porsche, that went spinning around and hit the guardrails multiple times. It was a miracle that Patzelt was able to continue.
Despite visible damage on the car, Patzelt passed the finish flag first with a lead of eight seconds over Luc Braams, who shared the Chevrolet Camaro GT4 with Huisman. Classified third were Lennart Marioneck and Tim Stupple who started the race with the KTM X-BOW GT4 in eleventh position.
“It was really a thrilling race, I can’t find the words”, said Patzelt. “It’s my first weekend in GT4, first weekend in Pau and first race on a street circuit. It could not have been better. In the final laps there was no space to overtake quickly. I was faster than Grammatico and I did a move in the first corner. He was still fast and then I got hit at the rear. My car was okay and I was told I had to push. A big thanks to the team as the guys did a really good job.”
In the AM class Jan Kasperlik and Dietmar Lackinger experienced an eventful race. “We’re happy with two victories in our division, but we are also looking at the overall result”, said Kasperlik. “I did a mistake by hitting a KTM and received a drive through penalty for that. Then I speeded in the pit lane and was handed another one. Luckily Dietmar did a great job and he rescued the race and secured the win. Pau was crazy but a fun track to race at. Hopefully we’ll be visiting the street track in the future.”
The third round of the Competition102 GT4 European Series will be held on 11 and 12 June at Silverstone in the United Kingdom.
Competition102 GT4 European Series – 75th Grand Prix de Pau – 13 – 15 May 2016
Race 2:
1 Andreas Patzelt / Nicolaj Møller Madsen, Porsche Cayman PRO4 GT4, 31 laps in 59:59.162 minutes
2 Luc Braams / Duncan Huisman, Chevrolet Camaro GT4, +8.489 seconds
3 Tim Stupple / Lennart Marioneck, KTM X-BOW GT4, +9.582
4 Giuseppe Fascicolo / Mauro Calamia, Maserati Trofeo MC GT4, +21.437
5 Dietmar Lackinger / Jan Kasperlik, BMW M3 GT4, +24.696
6 Rebecca Jackson / Thomas Krebs, KTM X-BOW GT4, +28.897
7 Andreas Guelden / Hendrik Still, Sin Cars Sin R1 GT4, +29.627
8 Caitlin Wood / Marko Helistekangas, KTM X-BOW GT4, +36.117
9 Laura Kraihamer / Jamie Vandenbalck, KTM X-BOW GT4, +47.074
10 Luca Anselmi, Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4, +1:26.855
11 Eric Cayrolle / Didier Moureu, Ginetta G55 GT4, +1 lap
12 Steven Liquorish / Graeme Mundy, Porsche Cayman Clubsport GT4, +1 lap
13 Albert Bloem / Jérôme Demay, Aston Martin Vantage GT4, +1 lap
14 Alessandro Fogliani / Patrick Zamparini, Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4, +1 lap
15 Andre Grammatico / Ricardo van der Ende, BMW M3 GT4, +2 laps
Not classified
16 Marcel Nooren / Donald Molenaar, Chevrolet Camaro GT4, +14 laps
17 Anna Rathe / Cédric Freiburghaus, KTM X-BOW GT4, +20 laps
18 Chris Vlok / Immanuel Vinke, KTM X-BOW GT4, +26 laps
19 Mads Siljehaug / Maciej Dreszer, KTM X-BOW GT4, +26 laps
20 Joerg Viebahn / Peter Terting, Porsche Cayman PRO4 GT4, +28 laps
DNS
21 Rob Severs / Simon KNAP, Ekris M4 GT4
Standings after round 2
GT4 PRO class
1. Duncan Huisman / Luc Braams, 46 points
2. Andreas Patzelt / Nicolaj Møller Madsen, 43
3. Luca Anselmi, 41
4. Marcel Nooren, 39
5. Ricardo van der Ende, 39
6. Lennart Marioneck / Tim Stupple, 35
GT4 AM class
1. Jan Kasperlik / Dietmar Lackinger, 86 points
2. Alessandro Fogliani, 62
3. Ghezzi Giuseppe / Giovanelli Allessandro, 37
GT4 TEAM class
1. V8 Racing International, 55 points
2. PROsport Performance, 51
3. Allied Racing, 42