SPS automotive performance and its drivers Valentin Pierburg (GER) and Dominik Baumann (AUT) secured the second place in the Pro-Am class of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup with a victory and a podium at Circuit Ricardo Tormo. The final race weekend of the high-class SRO series featured two eventful races, as the battle for the title came down to the final race of the season.
The two drivers in the black #20 Mercedes-AMG GT3 were in fine fettle in the practice sessions, and Valentin Pierburg and Dominik Baumann carried that form into qualifying. The duo secured pole position in the Pro-Am class for both races, scoring two valuable points in the process. Baumann produced a brilliant lap to qualify fourth overall and ensure they started the final race of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup from the second row of the grid.
Pierburg was first behind the wheel in race one, and initially surrendered the lead in the Pro-Am class in a turbulent start with a number of incidents. The battle for positions was also halted by two safety car phases. Shortly before the pit stop window opened, allowing teams to come in and change their tyres and drivers, Pierburg was forced into the pits for an unscheduled stop by a puncture. This additional stop put the class victory out of reach. Although Dominik Baumann, who had taken over at the wheel of the #20 Mercedes-AMG GT3, consistently set by far the fastest lap times in the Pro-Am class during his stint, they eventually had to settle for third place.
At the start of race two, Baumann stayed clear of all the battles for position at the top of the overall standings, giving precedence to his rivals in other classes whilst superbly maintaining his lead in the Pro-Am category. After the first safety car phase, Baumann was sixth overall. The Austrian managed the lead in his class throughout his entire stint, before handing the Mercedes-AMG GT3 to Pierburg in first place in the Pro-Am class at the pit stop. During his stint, Pierburg continued to pull away from the chasing pack and ultimately crossed the finish line with a big lead to take Pro-Am victory at Circuit Ricardo Tormo. The win in the final Sprint Cup race of the GT World Challenge Europe was the Willsbach-based team’s second victory of the season and secured second place in the Pro-Am Sprint competition in this high-class series.
SPS automotive performance is back in Spain in two weeks’ time. From 8th to 10th October, Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona hosts the final round of this season’s Endurance Cup in the GT World Challenge Europe, at which the team from Willsbach will again line up with two Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Dominik Baumann, Mercedes-AMG GT3 #20: “We can be very happy with the weekend, but are obviously a little disappointed that the puncture denied us a possible puncture in race one. That lost us a lot of points in the title race. Nevertheless, we produced an impressive and flawless performance this weekend and have once again made great progress over the course of the whole season. We want to back this performance up at the finale in Barcelona and to end the season with a success.”
Stephan Sohn, Team Principal SPS automotive performance: “Firstly, I would like to thank the drivers and the whole team, who did a flawless job this weekend. We were right up there among the front-runners all weekend at the finale in Valencia, and produced our strongest performance of the season. Unfortunately, the unscheduled pit stop dashed any hopes of victory in race one. Had that not happened, we could have been looking at even more in the overall standings. But that is motorsport. There has been a clear upwards trend in terms of performance throughout the entire season, which obviously pleases me as team principal. We are now looking forward to Barcelona, where we will hopefully continue this form.”
