Moving From the Very Back of the Grid Through Heavy Rain and Standing Water, Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi
Moving from the very back of the grid through heavy rain and standing water, Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi, Julian Hanses, and Maxime Martin won the GT3 season opener of the Asian Le Mans Series in Le Castellet on Saturday, leading a four-car sweep for Mercedes-AMG.
Driving the Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3, the trio drove through four chaotic hours of shifting track conditions at the Circuit Paul Ricard to secure victory, GT-Place reported. Steve Jans, Anthony Bartone, and Fabian Schiller finished second in the GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3, crossing the line just 1.926 seconds behind the winners after starting from pole position.
Ameer Naran, Mikkel Gaarde Pedersen, and Luca Stolz rounded out the podium in third place aboard the Craft-Bamboo Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3. The race began on a damp track under strong winds and slippery conditions, with almost all competitors starting on rain tires.
Only the Haupt Racing Team Ford Mustang GT3 and a Herberth Motorsport Porsche opted to start on slick tires. Both cars pitted for a tire change after the formation laps, while Michael Tosi failed to return to the course after crashing on slicks in the pit lane. The opening phase saw numerous spins under treacherous grip levels.
Both 2Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 entries suffered collisions within the first 15 minutes. Rinat Salikov spun the sister car of Charles Dawson in the WINWARD Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, while Darren Leung made heavy front-end contact with Max Moritz in the Manthey Porsche, prompting a mandatory pit stop for repairs.
Debris across the circuit forced a Full Course Yellow after roughly 50 minutes of racing as the rain intensified. Around the same time, Moritz suffered a punctured tire on the Manthey Porsche.
Giacomo Petrobelli lost control of the Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn Aston Martin roughly 80 minutes into the event, crashing heavily into the tire barrier on the approach to the Mistral Straight. The impact heavily damaged the rear of the Aston Martin and brought out a neutralisation.
Standing water prompted race control to deploy the safety car with 37 minutes remaining as aquaplaning threatened cars on the flooded circuit. Behind the top three Mercedes-AMG crews, Charles Dawson, Christian Mansell, and Kiern Jewiss placed fourth for 2Seas Motorsport.
Matt Kurzejewski, Lenny Ried, and Robert de Haan took fifth for Proton Competition in a Porsche 911 GT3 R. Peter Dempsey, Rafael Duran, and David Perel finished sixth in an AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3.
Stéphane Tribaudini, Simon Birch, and Frederik Schandorff claimed seventh for Petrolife Racing Team in a Mercedes-AMG. Arnold Robin, Jonny Edgar, and Valentin Hasse-Clot finished eighth in a Car Balance by RSL Aston Martin Vantage GT3.
Dustin Blattner, Thomas Fleming, and Dennis Marschall secured ninth for Garage 59 in a McLaren 720S GT3. Rinat Salikhov, Gabriele Piana, and Marvin Dienst completed the top ten in the WINWARD Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
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