Viebahn win first three-hour race in Competition102 GT4 European Series at Silverstone

Peter Terting and Jörg Viebahn have won the first endurance race of the Competition102 GT4 European Series. The drivers competing with the Porsche Cayman PRO4 GT4 were challenged by rain and many rivals in the three-hour Silverstone 500 race. By joining the British GT Championship, which contains a GT3 and GT4 category, the field was made up of 51 participants in total. Terting and Viebahn proved to be best capable of dealing with the circumstances and passed the finish line first in front of their team mates Andreas Patzelt and Nicolas Møller Madsen. Simon Knap and Rob Severs brought their Ekris M4 GT4 home in third position. Mike Hansch and Riki Christodoulou were classified as best drivers in the AM division after class leaders Jan Kasperlik and Dietmar Lackinger retired with five minutes left.

The race got underway behind the safety car in order to let the drivers get familiar with the wet track conditions. Once they were released, Viebahn moved up to the lead quickly, passing both Ekris M4 GT4 vehicles who also made a strong beginning of the race until the #108 of Knap and Severs was penalised with drive through penalties and the #109 of Ricardo van der Ende and Bernhard van Oranje was involved in an incident with two GT3 cars and was forced to change a tyre, losing time in the process.

Soon after that, the safety car showed up due to debris on track. It gave all competitors the opportunity to perform a pit stop and driver change. Terting took over the Porsche PRO4 GT4 from Viebahn and was leading the race in front of his team mate Møller Madsen who gave Patzelt a well-deserved break. Both Pau winners were quick in the wet when the safety car came in and extended the lead to twenty seconds when the race got halfway.

With 55 minutes on the clock the safety car made another appearance after one of the GT3 cars was crashed, Giuseppe Fascicolo got stuck on track with his Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4 and there was debris on the race line that needed to be removed.

The field was released for the remaining 36 minutes. Severs was in front of Viebahn and Møller Madsen who were racing in the same lap. After performing the third mandatory pit stop, it was clear that Viebahn and Terting were in the best position to finish the race first, which they did. They crossed the line 30 seconds earlier than Patzelt and Møller Madsen. Knap and Severs were ranked in third, in front of Villorba Corse’s Luca Anselmi and Giorgio Sernagiotto. V8 Racing’s Duncan Huisman and Luc Braams finished in fifth, only a few seconds behind their Italian rivals.

“I’m very happy. Second time at Silverstone and second victory,” said Viebahn. “I love the rain. It’s just my weather condition. I lost some time in an attempt to overtake Rob Severs in the beginning of the race and it took two laps to catch up and getting into the lead. The safety car was really bad for us because we lost all the time we gained and then I gave the car over to Peter and he did a very good job by retaking the lead.”

Team mate Terting added: “The race was very good. Jörg and I are forming a good team as we work together really well and we like the same setup. Also, we were staying on the track and that was the key today because the conditions were so difficult due to the weather. But we made it and this feels good!”

Best AM drivers were Mike Hansch and Riki Christodoulou when they got handed the victory after the Allied Racing BMW M3 GT4 of Jan Kasperlik and Dietmar Lackinger retired with just five minutes left on the clock. Ghezzi Giuseppe and Giovanelli Allessandro were classified second and finished in front of Graeme Mundy and Steven Liquorish.

The Competition102 GT4 European Series joins the British GT Championship also for round four which will be held on 9 July at Spa-Francorchamps. This will be a two-hour endurance race.

Competition102 GT4 European Series – Silverstone 500 – 11-12 June 2016

GT4 European Series, top 10:

1. Jörg Viebahn / Peter Terting, Porsche Cayman PRO4 GT4, 65 laps in 3:03:12.275
2. Nicolaj Møller Madsen / Andreas Patzelt, Porsche Cayman PRO4 GT4, +29.885 seconds
3. Simon Knap / Rob Severs, Ekris M4 GT4, +1 lap
4. Luca Anselmi / Giorgio Sernagiotto, Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4, +1 lap
5. Duncan Huisman / Luc Braams, Chevrolet Camaro GT4, +1 lap
6. Ricardo van der Ende / Bernhard van Oranje, Ekris M4 GT4, +1 lap
7. Mike Hansch / Riki Christodoulou, Porsche Cayman PRO4 GT4, +2 laps
8. Ghezzi Giuseppe / Giovanelli Allessandro, Porsche 911 (997) GT4, +3 laps
9. Graeme Mundy / Steven Liquorish, Porsche Cayman Clubsport GT4, +3 laps
10. Piotr Chodzen / Antoni Chodzen, Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4, +4 laps