Either end of success spectrum for AMR runners at Catalunya last weekend

Thursday, September 05, 2019


Catching up with some of the final aspects of motor racing that took place across Europe over last weekend we make our way back to the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona where both the Creventic 24H Series was holding their final round of their European Championship with the SRO sanctioned GT4 South Europe Series running in support.

Firstly in the 24H Series, German based team PROsport Performance were seeing out what turned out to be a full, six round season for their #1 Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4 pairing of Rodrigue Gillion and Nico Verdonck who would be joined for the final round by Jon Aizpurua and Nicholas Silva in lieu of usual third man Akhil Rabindra who was otherwise detained at the GT4 European Series finale.


Having lead the GT4 class going into the penultimate round of the European Championship side of the 24H Series going into the penultimate round at Portimao in early July, an untimely retirement just after the half way point of the race in Portugal put the number #1 car back 45 points behind with just the 24Hrs of Barcelona to go. Double duties for their own pair of GT4 cars back at the Nurburgring in the GT4 European Series meant that the team had to borrow a car from Spanish local team, Team Virage as well as two drivers from their own stable who would share the car with both Gillion and Verdonck.

Sadly for the #1 car, Spain wasn't to be any farer on them than Portugal was with setbacks hitting them as early as the second hour as both suspension and overheating issues became a real issues despite having led the class at the start. From then on, things on track went from bad to worse as lap after lap - hour after hour were lost to these continuing issues before ultimately the car was retired after just 340 laps compared to the class winners 605. Two DNF's meant that the team finished way down the final season classification.


For Team Virage and Generation AMR SuperRacing cars running in the GT4 South Europe Series support races however, there was some better news with both cars taking class podiums in both races for that Series.

The David Appleby Engineering prepared AMR Vantage GT4 of James Holder and Matt George were out in Spain checking out potential programmes for next year, deciding against seeing out their Pro-Am slot in the sister GT4 European Series. For the #95 Team Virage entry, they just had a single Am driver entry for Diogo Ferrão what with their other car and drivers already committed with PROsport in the 24H Series.


Two fifty minute races for these guys over Friday evening and Saturday morning proved to be very productive with the #44 Generation AMR car starting P3 on the grid before ultimately finishing P2 in their chosen Pro-Am class with the #95 finishing P5 overall and P3 in class on Friday.

Saturdays race was better at the start for the #44 crew starting from pole position before ultimately finishing P4 overall and P3 in Pro-Am. The #95 went some better than the previous race with a P2 Am Class podium.



The GT4 South Europe Series still has rounds left to run, firstly at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao at the end of October before the season finale at Estoril at the end of November. Maybe we will be seeing both Team Virage and the Generation car at these events and with many series now concluding - hopefully more entries.

Photo credits - 24H Series / GT4 South Europe 
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