Scuderia Praha Ferrari wins the Hankook 24H PORTIMAO

The Scuderia Praha Ferrari 488 GT3 (#11, Jiri Pisarik/Josef Král/Matteo Malucelli) has won the inaugural Hankook 24H PORTIMAO. After 722 laps on the 4.653 kilometre Autódromo Internacional do Algarve circuit, equalling a distance of 3,359.47 kilometres, Matteo Malucelli took the chequered flag to win the season finale of the 2017 24H SERIES powered by Hankook. With a three lap margin, the Wochenspiegel Team Monschau Ferrari 488 GT3 (#488, Georg Weiss/Oliver Kainz/Jochen Krumbach/Nico Menzel) celebrated the runner-up spot in the team’s first ever campaign in a CREVENTIC series. With third place overall and the victory in the A6-Am class, the Hofor-Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 (#1, Michael Kroll/Chantal Kroll/Roland Eggimann/Kenneth Heyer/Christiaan Frankenhout) took home various championship titles, such as best drivers overall, best drivers and best team in GT cars plus best drivers and best team in the A6 class. In addition, Michael Kroll, Chantal Kroll, and Roland Eggimann are the best Am-drivers in A6. Chantal Kroll also won the ladies championship.

The A6-Am podium was completed by the GP Extreme Renault RS01 FGT3 (#27, Frederic Fatien/Stuart Hall/Nicky Pastorelli/Tiziano Carugati/Bassam Kronfli) and the Car Collection Motorsport Audi R8 LMS (#34, Rahel Frey/Gustav Edelhoff/Elmar Grimm/Ingo Vogler/Max Edelhoff). Car Collection Motorsport’s Max Edelhoff sealed his overall victory in the rookie championship.

The third-best A6-Pro car, the Konrad Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 (#21, Paul Scheuschner/Franz Konrad/Marco Mapelli/Hendrik Still/Christopher Brück), came home in seventh position overall. The GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 (#963, Christoph Lenz/Roberto Pampanini/Milos Pavlovic/Rik Breukers/Mauro Calamia), that had led the race earlier on, lost its advantage with a driveshaft issue and finally achieved eighth place overall.ù

The PROsport Performance Porsche 991 Cup (#85, Charles Putman/Charles Espenlaub/Joe Foster/Andy Pilgrim) could extend its SP2 class lead over the IDEC SPORT RACING Porsche 991 Cup (#75, David Abramczyk/Stephane Adler/Romain Vozniak/Michael Blanchemain/Christophe Cresp) and finally won with a 14 lap margin. In the battle for the remaining SP2 podium spot, the VDS Racing Adventures MARC Focus V8 (#58, Raphaël van der Straten/Pierre Dupont/Grégory Paisse/Keith Kassulke/José Close) beat the B2F compétition Porsche 991 Cup (#35, Benoit Fretin/Bruno Fretin/Michel Mitieus/Jean-Charles Levy), that had fought for the lead at early stages. With their third place, the VDS Racing Adventures team celebrated the teams championship title in the SP2 class. One of their pilots, Raphaël van der Straten, is the best driver in SP2 class.

The production-based Parkalgar Racing Team Honda Civic Type R (#188, Sir Chris Hoy/Roger Green/Joaquim Penteado/Peter Brookes/Matt Brookes) turned the tables in the SP3-GT4 class and took the win away from the Optimum Motorsport Ginetta G55 GT4 (#231, Dan O’Brien/Aleksander Schjerpen/Oliver Wilkinson) with a seven lap margin. The Optimum Motorsport Ginetta lost its upper hand after an engine change. The British squad still scored the teams championship victory in the SP3-GT4 class. Two of their drivers, Aleksander Schjerpen and Oliver Wilkinson, won the drivers’ championship.

From last place on the grid, the Team Altran Peugeot Peugeot 308 Racing Cup (#308, Thierry Blaise/Kim Holmgaard/Michael Carlsen/Mathieu Sentis) topped the TCR class rankings. The pole setters and early class leaders, the second Team Altran Peugeot Peugeot 308 Racing Cup (#908, Stéphane Ventaja/Gonzalo Martin de Andres/Thierry Boyer/Thierry Chkondali), suffered suspension damage in a slight collision on Saturday evening and lost the advantage. However, they still sealed a one-two victory for the Team Altran. The Zest Racecar Engineering SEAT Leon TCR V2 DSG (#105, Jean-Michel Gerome/Jean-Alexandre Gerome/Philippe Ulivieri/Robert Taylor/Jesús Diez Villaroel) settled for third. The Cadspeed Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR SEQ (#108, Ricky Coomber/David Drinkwater/James Kaye/Jim Briody/Erik Holstein), that had been a podium contender after the start, retired shortly after midnight. With the number 308 car, the Team Altran won the teams title for touring cars as well as the teams title in the TCR class. Mathieu Sentis is TCR driver’s champion.

Next week, the penultimate round of the 24H TOURING CAR ENDURANCE SERIES powered by Hankook will be held with the Hankook 24H BARCELONA. Many teams that were present this weekend will join the inaugural Hankook 24H COTA USA to fight for the Championship of the Continents. Further information can be found at www.24hseries.com.