- Classic & Modern Racing’s Stéphane Tribaudini capped his impressive GT4 European Series Southern Cup weekend at Dijon-Prenois by topping both the overall and AM classification in Race 2 with the #111 Ginetta G55 GT4
- Benjamin Lariche and Robert Consani (#8 Team Speed Car Ginetta) claimed the Pro-Am honours, ahead of Street Art Racing’s #117 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 (Arno Santamato/Eric Cayrolle) and the #30 CD Sport Porsche Cayman Clubsport MR GT4 of points leaders Mike Parisy and Gilles Vannelet.
Competing on his own in the AM category, Stéphane Tribaudini was the breakout star of round three in this year’s French FFSA GT Championship. Having found his way into the racing world as one of the most prominent gamers in France, the CMR ace showed impressive pace all weekend long to secure the overall and class win in Race 2, where many constructors had a chance to fight at the front.
Lining up fourth on the grid following an already eye-opening performance in qualifying, Tribaudini had fallen down to eighth halfway through Sunday’s 60-minute contest before storming back through the field to take victory.
The first half of the race saw a thrilling duel between pole sitter Gregory Guilvert on the #69 Saintéloc Racing Porsche and the Race 1-winning entry of Steven Palette (#18 Martinet By Alméras Porsche). Both almost lost out to the fast-starting Simon Gachet on the opening lap, after the former single-seaters ace had enjoyed a great getaway from sixth in the #3 Energy By ART-run McLaren 570S GT4.
Tucked into the slipstream of Guilvert, Palette tried every move in the book to find a way past but the Saintéloc driver was delivering a masterclass in defensive driving at the former grand prix venue. Behind the battling duo, Julien Piguet was showing great pace aboard the #9 BMW Team France Ekris M4 GT4 now occupying third position.
Moments before pitting for his mandatory driver change, Guilvert made a small mistake, which allowed Palette to seize the momentum and grab the lead. By the time all cars had stopped, Piguet’s team-mate Frédéric Johais had managed to move up P2.
BMW Team France briefly held the hope of a maiden season win when the #9 Ekris M4 GT4 took the top spot away from Hassid and the #18 Porsche. However, a drive-through penalty for pitting outside the mandatory window pushed Johais down the order.
This meant Hassid was back in the lead with a shot at making two wins in as many Dijon-Prenois races for Martinet By Alméras. Tribaudini had other plans in the #111 Ginetta, and the CMR driver came back charging. It took him only a handful of laps to reel in the #18 Porsche and breathe past to become the new race leader.
Consani and Lariche finished second on the road but first in Pro-Am, thus scoring the maximum points available in the category. The Speed Car pairing headed Arno Santamato and Eric Cayrolle on the #117 Aston Martin Vantage GT4, with Belgian outfit Street Art Racing claiming its maiden Southern Cup podium finish of the season.
Points leaders Mike Parisy and Gilles Vannelet bagged another valuable haul on Sunday aboard the #30 CD Sport Porsche. Jim Pla and Pierre Sancinéna wrapped up the top-five positions with the #1 Team Racing Technology Cayman.
In the French FFSA GT AM championship, it was a race to forget for points leaders Paul and Jean-Philippe Lamic, who had to retire their #54 Vic’Team-run Ginetta in the early stages.
Behind Tribaudini, Alain Grand and Didier Moureu hoisted the #65 CMR-entered Ginetta to a second podium finish after Pau. Making its Southern Cup debut at the weekend, Mentos Racing left Dijon-Prenois with trophies in the bag, as Egidio Perfetti and Oscar Rovelli secured third in class on the #888 Porsche.
Having reached the halfway mark in the 2017 campaign, the GT4 European Series Southern Cup riders and runners will now head into the summer break. They will report back for FFSA GT duty at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours on September 8-10. Both races will be streamed live on the official GT4 European Series Southern Cup website, as well as on SRO Motorsports Group’s GT World YouTube channel. Highlights from Dijon-Prenois can be watched during an 80-minute programme shown on media partner la chaine L’Équipe.
Stéphane Tribaudini, CMR: “I am still on cloud nine to be honest so the feeling has not sunk in yet. I lost my right rearview mirror at the start and slipped down the order. After the pit stop, I lost the other mirror and the radio was no longer working. So I was pretty much on my own and I pushed all the way to the finish. It’s hard to describe how I feel because I still can’t believe it. A huge thank you to the entire CMR team for the trust they have placed in me.”
Benjamin Lariche, Team Speed Car: “Despite winning the Pro-Am class, we should stay humble because Stéphane [Tribaudini] beat us fair and square. Still, we are happy to score a lot of valuable championship points this weekend. We came to Dijon-Prenois 10 days ago in order to test our setup since it was too aggressive. The adjustments paid off and the car remained in prime condition throughout the race.”
Robert Consani, Team Speed Car: “It’s always a bit stressful to watch the action from the garage. You want to be in the car and shout to help your team-mate! Many congratulations to Benjamin [Lariche], who did a great job in his stint, as well as to the entire Speed Car team for their hard and excellent work. All I had to do was bring the car home safely.”
Arno Santamato, Street Art Racing: “We were only 19th on the grid but my stint went really well. I think I had never overtaken so many cars in so little time. Everyone at Street Art Racing has done a great job, though we still need to improve on the driver change.”
Eric Cayrolle, Street Art Racing: “Arno [Santamato] had a mega opening stint and we’re scoring our first championship points of the season. It was about time and bodes well for the second half of the season!”
Mike Parisy, CD Sport: “I was struggling a lot with the balance of the car in the opening stages of the race, which was quite tricky. We did our best to bring it home and Gilles [Vannelet] delivered another fine stint. Many thanks to CD Sport for their trust and my team-mate for his strong performance.”
Pascal Destembert, Team Speed Car team manager: “Circuit Dijon-Prenois is a high-degradation track in terms of tyre wear. We worked hard on that aspect and were glad to see the efforts pay off in the closing moments of the race. I’d like to extend my congratulations to Robert [Consani] and Benjamin [Lariche], who once again delivered the goods.”
