BMW Team France has capped a perfect GT4 European Series Southern Cup weekend at Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours with Julien Piguet and Fred Johais claiming a second win in as many races aboard the #9 BMW Ekris M4 GT4. The AM FFSA GT championship saw repeat winners as well, as Stephane Tribaudini and Michael Petit combined for another class victory for Classic & Modern Racing’s #111 Ginetta G55 GT4.
Benjamin Lariche and Robert Consani have kept and extended their Pro-Am points lead, with their #8 Speed Car-entered Ginetta classified fifth in a thrilling finish.
Once again starting from pole position, the #9 BMW did not lose any ground on the opening lap unlike fellow front-row starter Soheil Ayari on the #26 Ginetta he shares with Nicolas Tardif. The experienced CMR racer slipped behind the fast-starting #18 Porsche Cayman Clubsport MR GT4 of Martinet By Alméras ace Steven Palette.
Right behind, a terrific battle was shaping up with several cars in the hunt for valuable championship points. The list included Generation AMR SuperRacing’s #44 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 (Matthew George-James Holder), as well as Energy By ART’s #3 McLaren 570S GT4 (Simon Gachet-Bruno Hernandez). George would tumble down the order though, after an off in the early stages of the race.
Having started from P6 on the grid, CD Sport’s Mike Parisy (#30 Porsche) was already up to third place, ahead of Gachet and a gaggle of feisty-looking Caymans. Involved in the scrap were Eric Tremoulet on the #64 Vic’Team Porsche, Racing Technology team-mates Jim Pla and Jimmy Antunes (#1 and #11 Caymans), TFT Racing’s Romain Iannetta and Ander Vilarino (#19 and #2 Porsches), as well as Anthony Beltoise on the #22 Martinet By Alméras Cayman. Contact between Vilarino and Beltoise resulted in an early retirement for the two-time FFSA GT Champion, while the Spaniard was given a drive-through penalty.
Out in front, Piguet kept lapping at a competitive pace, so much that he handed the wheel over to Johais with around six seconds in hand. The US-based racer delivered another strong, mistake-free stint to pull away from a raging battle for second place between Palette’s crew-mate Henry Hassid on the #18 Porsche and Gilles Vannelet, who had taken over from Parisy on the #30 charger.
The CD Sport driver thought he had the runner-up spot in the bag after overtaking the Martinet By Alméras racer, only for Hassid to pounce back ahead.
The final minutes of racing featured twists and turns galore. First, the #8 Ginetta, which had fought back up to sixth, ended up beached in the gravel after it was hit by another car at the rear.
Almost simultaneously, drama struck the #30 Porsche, as Vannelet stopped on the start/finish straight, thus triggering a red flag period with one minute left on the clock. Although the CD Sport car was initially ranked third behind the #9 BMW and #18 Porsche, it was later disqualified for technical nonconformity.
The mishap promoted the #3 McLaren to its first podium of the season. Energy By ART’s successful outing at Nevers Magny-Cours was completed with a solid fourth-place finish for Gregoire Demoustier-Alain Ferté on the #4 Porsche.
Fifth were Lariche and Consani, since the final classification was stopped one lap before the red flag, i.e. when the #8 Ginetta was still running in the points-paying positions. As a result, Lariche has also claimed the Nevers Magny-Cours Pirelli Junior Cup, which rewards the best overall performance from a young driver at the weekend.
Also scoring points were the #19 TFT-entered Cayman (Romain Iannetta-Eric Clément); Vic’Team’s #64 Porsche (Eric Tremoulet-Olivier Jouffret); the #444 Speed Car-run Ginetta of Gael Castelli and Rodolphe Wallgren; and the two Caymans fielded by Racing Technology: Jimmy Antunes-Franck Leherpeur on the #11 car, ahead of Jim Pla-Pierre Sancinéna aboard the #1 machine.
In the GT4 European Series Southern Cup AM class, BMW Team France seemed very much on course for the win with Gregoire Depauw and Jean-Claude Lagniez (#6 BMW Ekris M4 GT4).
Despite a stop-and-go penalty for leaving the pits too early, Michael Petit and Stephane Tribaudini managed to make up for lost ground to claim a second consecutive class win, which further cements the Nice-born driver’s AM points lead.
Having already featured among the category’s top three in Race 1, Georges Cabanne and Fabien Michal paid the podium another visit following a strong drive with CMR’s #666 Ginetta
Erstwhile points leaders Paul and Jean-Philippe Lamic endured a frustrating weekend at the former home of the French Grand Prix, with the #54 Ginetta suffering two DNFs though it was still classified in Race 2.
Julien Piguet, #9 BMW Ekris M4 GT4 – BMW Team France: “It looks like we could not get to the chequered flag this weekend! At the end of the day, what really mattered was putting everything together on BMW’s home turf with two pole positions and two wins. I’d like to extend my warmest thanks to Fred [Johais] and everyone at BMW Team France for this tremendous performance!”
Fred Johais, #9 BMW Ekris M4 GT4 – BMW Team France: “The start of the season had been quite tough but we approached this weekend with the determination to challenge for victory. I must admit I was a bit nervous before the start of Race 1 but on Sunday I felt much more comfortable. Congratulations to everybody at BMW Team France for a great weekend!”
Stephane Tribaudini, #111 Ginetta G55 GT4 – CMR: “After I was told about the stop-and-go penalty, I thought that was it: I’d never see the first two cars in the AM class again. I had nothing to lose so I just went for it, until I saw the #6 BMW ahead and managed to overtake it. I’d like to say a big thank you to my team-mate Michael Petit who has done a superb job all along on his first weekend racing a GT4 car.”
Michael Petit, #111 Ginetta G55 GT4 – CMR: “Race 2 was all about keeping the position relative to our direct competitors, without paying attention to the faster cars around us. Switching from GT3 to GT4 machinery has proved to be quite a transition. It was my first time racing without ABS: I will have to get used to it and adjust my braking for the next round in Barcelona. I am glad to partner Stephane [Tribaudini] and help him on his quest for the AM championship.”
Michel Duvernay, BMW Team France Team Manager: “It took us some time to adjust to the BMW, as we were used to working on other cars. Looks like we have found the right instruction book! Now, the goal is to try and keep the same level of performance and race at the front until the end of the season.”
