Hofor Leads 24H Barcelona After Six Hours

Photo: RacingPixels/Creventic

Hofor Racing’s No. 11 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo held the lead of the Michelin 24H Barcelona after the opening six hours of racing.

Michael Kroll kept his Mercedes-AMG out front as the field emerged from a Code 60 caution period for a stranded Juta Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II.

The Swiss crew held a healthy lead to Dominic Ang in the No. 65 Viper Niza Racing Mercedes-AMG.

Hofor driver Alexander Prinz made a daring overtake on Viper Niza’s Douglas Khoo on the front straight to edge out a lead just before the fifth caution of the race came out. Both of the leading crews pitted for fuel but emerged from pit lane in the same position.

Hofor, which won the race last year, consistently took advantage of its GT3-Am status by capitalizing on its fuel allowance advantage when pitting under caution.

Am-ranked cars are allowed to take on 40 percent of fuel when they pit under a Code 60 caution period, whereas Pro and Pro-Am teams can only take on 15 percent of fuel.

This meant that Hofor repeatedly pitted as the Code 60 flag came out, allowing it to make up positions under green flag running as several of its competitors were forced to pit again for additional fuel.

Fellow GT3-Am runners Viper Niza also made use of this strategy, meaning the all-Malaysian squad continued to be Hofor’s main rivals going into the second quarter of the event.

An action-packed opening hour saw a six-car battle for the lead with several FIA Gold and Silver-ranked drivers caught in an extended dice.

Maxime Martin in the pole-sitting GetSpeed Team PCX Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo conceded the lead on the first lap to Mikhael Grenier in the No. 93 Ajith RedAnt Racing Mercedes-AMG.

The race order was significantly muddled following the first Code 60 of the race, which came out because the No. 114 Not Only Motorsport Ligier JS2 R caught fire on track.

HAAS RT, which had been towards the bottom end of the 13-strong GT3 field, decided to go against the prevailing wisdom of the leading cars and stay out of the pits during the caution.

This allowed it to take on more fuel than the leaders when it did eventually pit. A rapid stint for 24H Series debutant Storm Gjerdrum propelled the No. 21 BMW M4 GT3 EVO up the order to sit third at the six hour mark.

Up2Race’s Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo held fourth place after leading the race on three separate occasions. It is one of two Pro class GT3 cars competing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend.

Gamota Racing is its class rival. The No. 500 Gamota BMW M4 GT3 EVO impressed in the opening stints of the race, with consistent running in the top five.

Spanish team E2P Racing held the GT3 Pro-Am lead, completing the top six overall.

The pole-sitting Team PCX Mercedes-AMG held onto eight place after the Code 60.

Continental Racing by Simpson Motorsport’s Audi retired towards the end of the first quarter of racing after nursing an engine issue for much of the race.

In 992, Red Camel-Jordans.nl’s No. 909 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup sat seventh overall and held a massive lead to the 992-Am class No. 928 HRT Performance entry.

Elsewhwere, the TCE-TCX class was headed by CP Motorsport’s No. 142 Cupra TCR DSG, which inherited the lead after a puncture for the Stanco&Tanner Motorsport Cupra.

The CP Motorsport entry was the only team in the seven-car TCE-TCX field not to run into trouble in the opening hours, as much of the class had spent extended time in the pits to repair technical issues or crash damage.

CP Motorsport also led the GT4 class.

Source: Sports Car 365