GTWC – Strong battles to round off our Magny-Cours weekend
Our GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup weekend at Magny-Cours came to an end on Sunday with a more challenging second race than expected, despite both of our crews delivering determined performances on track.
Everything started with the second qualifying session, which unfortunately did not go according to plan. Both of our Porsche 911 GT3 Rs were caught in traffic during their flying laps, preventing them from fully exploiting their pace and leaving them further down the grid than their true potential deserved.
As a result, Race 2 proved to be an uphill battle. Starting in the heart of the highly competitive Pro field, the #2 Porsche of Dorian Boccolacci and Alessio Picariello had to fight hard throughout the 60-minute race. Thanks to a determined drive and several impressive overtakes, the duo crossed the finish line in ninth place before a five-second penalty dropped them back to 12th in the final classification.
On the other side of the garage, the #10 Porsche of Robin Knutsson and Gilles Magnus saw its recovery hopes hampered by a small mistake in the opening stages of the race, before a penalty further compromised its progress. The duo eventually finished 24th overall while securing fifth place in the Gold Cup category.
Although the final race left us wanting more, we will mainly remember the countless on-track battles and exciting racing throughout the weekend. We also leave Magny-Cours with some fantastic memories, including the remarkable comeback from Dorian Boccolacci and Alessio Picariello in Saturday’s opening race, and above all, Robin Knutsson and Gilles Magnus’ superb Gold Cup victory on Saturday evening, which undoubtedly stands out as the highlight of our weekend.
The GT World Challenge Europe season now switches back to the Endurance Cup for the next round. We’ll be back in just under a month’s time at the Nürburgring for another thrilling three-hour race, where we’ll be aiming to build on the positives from Magny-Cours and fight for more success—this time in endurance racing.
