Class podiums for SPS automotive performance in Misano

At the opener of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup at the Misano World Circuit, SPS automotive performance finished on the podium in the Pro-Am class in all three races and celebrated a great debut in the fiercely contested sprint variant of the SRO series.
Willsbach – The duo of Valentin Pierburg (GER) and Dominik Baumann (AUT) made it onto the podium in the Pro-Am class in all three races. With their #20 Mercedes-AMG GT3, they crossed the finish line in second place twice and third place once in their class in the first three races of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup season. The sister car with car number 44, with Christian Hook (GER) and Tom Onslow-Cole (GBR) at the wheel, crossed the finish line in fourth place in the first two races, narrowly missing out on the podium.
Early Saturday evening, the starting drivers Valentin Pierburg and Christian Hook contested the first one-hour sprint race from 20th and 21st on the grid. Both drivers moved up a couple of positions right at the start and established themselves in the leading pack in the Pro-Am category. All cars maintained their positions until the mandatory pit stop. Dominik Baumann, who took over the #20 Mercedes-AMG GT3 from Valentin Pierburg, reduced the gap behind the class leader but was unable to make the crucial attack and was in second place at the chequered flag. Christian Hook handed over car number 44 to Tom Onslow-Cole, who drove his Mercedes-AMG GT3 over the finish line in fourth place, rounding off the good result in the first race for SPS automotive performance.
In the initial phase of the second race, a team duel developed between Dominik Baumann and Tom Onslow-Cole for third place in the Pro-Am class, which Baumann in car number 20 won. Both Mercedes-AMG GT3 of SPS automotive performance maintained their positions after the driver changes, crossing the finish line in third and fourth place in the Pro-Am category, and in doing so celebrated the next podium success for the team from Willsbach.
In the closing third race, Valentin Pierburg in car number 20 started from third place in his class and took second place in his stint, before handing over to his team-mate Dominik Baumann. Like in the first race, Baumann closed the gap between himself and the front-runner by a few seconds. After a safety car phase a few minutes before the end of the race Baumann was just a few tenths of a second behind the leader, but couldn’t get past his rival and crossed the finish line in second place once again. Unfortunately, consequential damage from race two meant that Christian Hook and Tom Onslow-Cole in car number 44 didn’t start the final race, and therefore didn’t pick up any points.
After a brief summer break, SPS automotive performance will appear at the Nürburgring from 4th-6th September, when the second round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup will be held.
Stephan Sohn, team principal SPS automotive performance: “To be honest, I’m surprised that it went so well. I’m very proud of the whole team and the drivers. Everyone did a fantastic job this weekend. During the pit stops in particular everything ran perfectly. We’re delighted with the podiums. Now we want to build on the good performance and finish on the podium in the Endurance Cup as well.”
Dominik Baumann, Mercedes-AMG GT3 #20: “I went into the weekend without any real expectations, but obviously I am really happy with the three podiums. The team did a fantastic job. We didn’t have any problems with the car or the set-up at all throughout the whole weekend, and were all able to gain a lot of experience.”
Tom Onslow-Cole, Mercedes-AMG GT3 #44: “It is fantastic to be able to contest the Sprint Cup this year. The level is very high, but I think that we will be able to battle for the podium this year. Christian and I worked well together and improved continuously. The Ferraris were very strong this weekend. I think the track suited them better than us. But I think that we will be at the same level with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the next races in Zandvoort, Barcelona and Magny-Cours.”

Result GT World Challenge Europe Misano Race 1*:

POS
overall
POS
class
Nr. Car Team Driver
1. 1.
PRO
32 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Dries Vanthoor (NED), Charles Weerts (BEL)
2. 2.
PRO
31 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Belgian Audi Club
Team WRT
Ryuichiro Tomita (JPN), Kelvin van der Linde (RSA)
3. 3.
PRO
107 Bentley Continental GT3 CMR Jules Gounon (FRA), Nelson Panciatici (FRA)
11. 1.
PRO-AM
93 Ferrari 488 GT3 SKY – Tempesta Racing Edward Cheever (GBR), Chris Froggatt (GBR)
12. 2.
PRO-AM
20 Mercedes-AMG GT3 SPS automotive performance Dominik Baumann (AUT), Valentin Pierburg (GER)
14. 4.
PRO-AM
44 Mercedes-AMG GT3 SPS automotive performance Christian Hook (GER), Tom Onslow-Cole (GBR)

Result GT World Challenge Europe Misano Race 2*:

POS
overall
POS
class
Nr. Car Team Driver
1. 1.
PRO
88 Mercedes-AMG GT3 AKKA ASP Team Timur Boguslavskiy (RUS), Raffaele Marciello (ITA)
2. 2.
PRO
4 Mercedes-AMG GT3 HRT Maro Engel (GER), Luca Stolz (GER)
3. 3.
PRO
25 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Sainteloc Racing Christopher Haase (GER), Arthur Rougier (FRA)
13. 1.
PRO-AM
52 Ferrari 488 GT3 AF Cource Andrea Bertolini (ITA), Louis Machiels (BEL)
14. 2.
PRO-AM
93 Ferrari 488 GT3 SKY – Tempesta Racing Edward Cheever (GBR), Chris Froggatt (GBR)
16. 3.
PRO-AM
20 Mercedes-AMG GT3 SPS automotive performance Dominik Baumann (AUT), Valentin Pierburg (GER)
18. 4.
PRO-AM
44 Mercedes-AMG GT3 SPS automotive performance Christian Hook (GER), Tom Onslow-Cole (GBR)

Result GT World Challenge Europe Misano Race 3*:

POS
overall
POS
class
Nr. Car Team Driver
1. 1.
PRO
32 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Dries Vanthoor (NED), Charles Weerts (BEL)
2. 2.
PRO
25 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Sainteloc Racing Christopher Haase (GER), Arthur Rougier (FRA)
3. 3.
PRO
31 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Ryuichiro Tomita (JPN), Kelvin van der Linde (RSA)
11. 1.
PRO-AM
93 Ferrari 488 GT3 SKY – Tempesta Racing Edward Cheever (GBR), Chris Froggatt (GBR)
12. 2.
PRO-AM
20 Mercedes-AMG GT3 SPS automotive performance Dominik Baumann (AUT), Valentin Pierburg (GER)
DNS DNS 44 Mercedes-AMG GT3 SPS automotive performance Christian Hook (GER), Tom Onslow-Cole (GBR)

* excerpt subject to confirmation by the organisers

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