It was an absolutely dream weekend for the GRT Grasser Racing Team in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup powered by AWS: In Magny-Cours (1st to 3rd August), Luca Engstler and Jordan Pepper celebrated victory on Saturday in the #63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 and rounded off their top result with second place on Sunday. It was a historic success, as it was Lamborghini’s first victory at the French circuit in the GT World Challenge and GRT’s first Sprint Cup success in almost seven years.

 

GRT already underlined its ambitions for the weekend with the fastest time in practice on Friday. Engstler reinforced this with second place in qualifying for Race 1. Due to the polesetter being penalised, the German driver ultimately started the race from first place and confidently defended this position at the start and throughout his half of the race. The #63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 came into the pits as the leader, but lost a few seconds, meaning Pepper got back on the track in second place, not far behind, as darkness fell. He quickly caught up and a lap-long battle for the lead ensued until the South African secured the lead again with a spectacular overtaking manoeuvre and confidently defended it until the chequered flag.

 

On Sunday, Pepper once again impressed in qualifying with second place and maintained this position at the start. After the driver change to Engstler, a thrilling battle for victory ensued. The #63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 set top times until the end of the race and finally crossed the finish line in a photo finish, just 0.156 seconds behind in second place. With first and second, the #63 was the most successful car of the entire weekend at Magny-Cours. In the overall standings, Engstler/Pepper and the GRT Grasser Racing Team are in fifth place after this weekend and still have a chance of winning the title – the same applies to the driver duo in the Sprint Cup.

 

Teammates Ivan Ekelchik and Baptiste Moulin staged an impressive comeback in the #19 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 in the first race of the weekend. They worked their way up a total of twelve positions in the overall field over the course of the 60-minute race. On Sunday, the duo was also on the rise when they were first set back by an incident through no fault of their own and then by a drive-through penalty. Ekelchik and Moulin continued to fight until the finish line, earning valuable points in the SILVER CUP in both races.

 

The next GT World Challenge Europe race weekend will take place from 29 to 31 August at the Nürburgring in the Endurance Cup. The Sprint Cup final will be held in Valencia from 19 to 21 September.

Luca Engstler (GER) / Jordan Pepper (RSA)

#63 GRT Grasser-Racing-Team

PRO CUP

Qualifying 1: P1 (P2) – Race 1: P1

Qualifying 2: P2 – Race 2: P2

 

Luca Engstler: “I am incredibly happy about this weekend. I think it was one of the most successful we all have had in GT racing. Finishing first and second is simply brilliant. The team did an incredible job and the car flew from the first to the last second. We are highly motivated for the upcoming races in the GT World Challenge Europe and have a good chance in the fight for the overall title. We will give everything to maintain this until the end.”

 

Jordan Pepper: “This weekend was incredible and we really got the most out of it. It’s fantastic that we’ve finally secured our first Sprint Cup victory of the season. A double victory would have been a dream, of course, but the way we fought back after Misano was superb. Now we’ll stay calm and try to fight for the championship until the end, even though it won’t be easy, of course. We need to carry the momentum into the next two important endurance races and the Sprint final in Valencia and see what we can achieve. We’ve won in all the championships we’ve competed in this year – that shows the strong team performance, which I’m really proud of and for which I’d like to thank the entire team.”

 

Ivan Ekelchik / Baptiste Moulin (FRA)

#19 GRT Grasser-Racing-Team

SILVER CUP

Qualifying 1: P9 – Race 1: P8

Qualifying 2: P8 – Race 2: P9

 

Gottfried Grasser, Team Principal GRT: “It was a perfect weekend for our #63. Luca and Jordan scored more points than any other duo. That was a truly impressive performance by both drivers and our entire team. The pit stop also went really well in the second race. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite so easy for our #19 at Magny-Cours. The two struggled a bit to get to grips with the track and the car. Now it’s time for them to roll up their sleeves, continue with the support of the entire team and fight back in the next race.”