HOCKENHEIM, Germany: Oman’s Al Faisal al Zubair, German team-mate Fabian Schiller and Zimbabwe’s Axcil Jeffries finished fifth in their category and 13th overall in a 49-car field at the three-hour round of the 2022 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS – Endurance Cup at Germany’s Hockenheim circuit on Sunday.
After qualifying their Al Manar Racing by HRT Mercedes-AMG GT3 in seventh place, they were able to make up two places in the Silver Cup category and finished the race in fifth, a mere 15 seconds off the winners after the grid bunched up in the latter part of the race. The result dropped the trio to fourth in the Drivers’ points standings.
Al Zubair said: “P5 in Silver class and P13 overall out of 49 cars. Honestly, it was not so bad but we were aiming for a win or the podium this race weekend. Coming into the race we realised that the balance of the performance of the Mercedes was not as strong as the Audis. In the race, it was even more difficult for the Mercedes teams.
“Nonetheless, P5 on a very competitive grid is something to be happy with. I am just excited now for the last round in Barcelona. Hopefully we get a good result there and see how it goes.”
Al Zubair drove the first stint and handed over to Jeffries after around 55 minutes.
By the mid-point, after 50 laps had been completed, Konsta Lappalainen, Mick Wishofer and Stuart White led the Silver Cup Endurance category in their Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini. Aurelien Panis, Cesar Gazeau and Nicholas Baert held second position and the Al-Manar Racing by HRT Mercedes was down in seventh place, just under 35 seconds off the category lead.
With a little over an hour to go and 83 laps on the board, Lappalainen, Wishofer and White continued to top the Silver Cup standings from Nicolas Scholl, Alex Aka and Marius Zug in the Attempto Racing Audi R8. Al Zubair, Schiller and Jeffries had bunched up with the leaders, moved up a place to sixth and were running around seven seconds off the pace-setters.
Lappalainen, Wishofer and White held on to claim victory when the chequered flag was waved after 101 laps. Zug, Aka and Scholl came home in second place and Al-Zubair, Jeffries and Schiller crossed the finish line in fifth.
Benjamin Goethe, Thomas Neubauer and Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer topped the Silver Cup times in free practice with a best lap of 1min 54.558sec in a session where the Al Manar Racing Mercedes finished eighth with a best run of 1min 56.104sec.
After a further pre-qualifying stint on Saturday afternoon, competitors took part in three 15-minute qualifying sessions on Sunday morning.
Al Zubair, Schiller and Jeffries were classified ninth in Q1 in a stint where the Silver Cup’s fastest lap was set by Lappalainen’s, Wishofer’s and White’s Lamborghini.
The Garage 59 McLaren of Vargas Maldonado, Nicolai Kjaergaard and Dean Macdonald claimed the top spot in Q2 and the second fastest time amongst all the entrants. Meanwhile, the Al Manar Racing Mercedes slotted into sixth with a best lap of 1min 38.298sec.
The Garage 59 McLaren again topped the Silver Cup times in Q3 and Al Manar Racing by HRT slipped into seventh place. With the times from the three sessions combined, Silver Cup pole position fell to Goethe, Neubauer and Simmenauer but Al Zubair, Schiller and Jeffries had to settle for a disappointing seventh place on the Silver grid.
The final round of the 2022 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS – Endurance Cup takes place in Barcelona on October 1 and 2.
2022 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe – Endurance Cup
Silver Cup – current positions (Drivers):
1. Benjamin Goethe/Thomas Neubauer/Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer 100pts
2. Nicolas Scholl/Alex Aka/Marius Zug 68pts
3. Stuart White/Konsta Lappalainen 58pts
4. Al Faisal al Zubair/Axcil Jeffries/Fabian Schiller 54pts
5. Tuomas Tujula/Aurelien Panis/Cesar Gazeau/Nicolas Baert 33pts
6. Thomas Drouet/Tommaso Mosca/Casper Stevenson 32pts
5. Jordan Love/Alain Valente/Jannes Fittje/Juuso Puhakka 31pts
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