Reiter Engineering holds shock lead after first four hours of the #Hankook 12H MONZA
The Reiter Engineering KTM GTX Concept (#746, Stefan Rosina / Laura Kraihamer / Eike Angermayr) leads the way after a frenetic start to the first-ever Hankook 12H MONZA. The KTM, which is also the current GTX-class leader, is one of six different GT teams to have led outright so far at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, two of which lost time early on to problems on-track.
The Equipe Verschuur Renault RS01 (#9, Harrie Kolen / Erik van Loon / Mike Verschuur), which sealed overall pole position earlier this afternoon, had been leading comfortably for the opening 16 laps only for powertrain issues to leave the stricken Renault at the side of the track at the Variante della Roggia.
The Herberth Motorsport Porsche 991 GT3 R (#93, Steffen Görig / Stefan Aust / Klaus Bachler) took over the top spot thereafter, and went on to lead 47 of the completed 116 laps of the 5.793km Autodromo Nazionale di Monza thus far. The Porsche also suffered setbacks with two left rear punctures, but still lies 2nd after four hours, and crucially, will take tomorrow’s restart on the same lap as the leader.
The second of three Herberth Motorsport entries (#91, Daniel Allemann / Ralf Bohn / Robert Renauer / Alfred Renauer), which has led five laps so far, will line up 3rd for tomorrow’s restart, one lap down. In a grandstand finish at Monza, Daniel Allemann was less than a car’s length short of overtaking the Reiter Engineering KTM on the run to the chequered flag. The third and final Herberth Motorsport Porsche (#92, Jürgen Häring / Taki Konstantinou / Alfred Renauer) will start alongside its sister entry on the second row tomorrow.
Having weathered repeated battery issues, and despite being in the running for a podium spot early on, the Car Collection Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo (#34, Johannes Dr. Kirchhof / Elmar Grimm / Max Edelhof) lies 5th so far.
After an impressive run, the Speed Lover Porsche 991-II Cup (#978, Dominique Bastien / Gavin Pickering) holds the lead in the 991 class and finished the opening four hours in 6th place overall at the Hankook 12H MONZA. Having split its strategies, the Belgian team’s second Porsche Cup car (#979, Olivier Dons / Eric Mouez / Rolf Lietart) lies 14th overall and 2nd in-class.
Having opted against re-fuelling under the first of three of this afternoon’s Code 60 caution periods, the MP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo (#58, Thomas Gostner / David Gostner / Manuela Gostner / Corinna Gostner / Giorgio Sernagiotto) led the field for 12 laps on the Italian team’s 24H SERIES debut, and collected the chequered flag in 7th overall. The Wochenspiegel Team Monschau Ferrari 488 GT3 (#22, Georg Weiss / Leonard Weiss / Jochen Krumbach / Hendrik Still) meanwhile is 8th after suffering two separate left rear punctures.
Behind class leader Reiter Engineering, the ARC Bratislava Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo (#707, Miro Konopka / Mato Konopka / Mato Homola) and the JR Motorsport BMW M3 F80 (#703, Ted van Vliet / Ruud Olij) lie 2nd and 3rd in the GTX class, the former having lost time in the opening stages to electrical problems. The race’s sole GT4 entrant – the MDM Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 (#450, Tom Coronel / Tim Coronel / Jan Jaap van Roon) – finds itself just outside the top 10 after four hours in 11th.
