The first race of the French GT4 European Cup weekend was yet again open and first rate, with no less than four different makes in the top 6. Alessandro Pier Guidi finished first in his Maserati Granturismo MC GT4, ahead of championship leader Paul Meijer in the Rhesus Aston Martin and Michael Mallock in the RS Williams Aston Martin.

The opening stages of the race were very intense. Alessandro Pier Guidi, Matt Nicoll Jones in the IMS Motorsport Ginetta G50 and Paul Meijer had a good fight for first place. The blue Ginetta took first spot in the opening laps, but the English driver couldn’t resist the Italian Maserati driver Pier Guidi.

Pier Guidi, Nicoll-Jones and Meijer: this was the race order until the pitstops, with Michael Mallock recovering after a difficult start. Following the mandatory stop Meijer and Abott had a good fight until the blue Ginetta went slightly off, dropping back into fourth position.

Behind the leaders, Kevin Veltman, both RJN Nissan and the Rhesus Aston Martin had a nice battle as well and finally the two RJN Nissan crossed the line in fifth and sixth, with Lucas Ordonnez in front of his team mates Jordan Tresson and Alex Buncombe.

In the championship Paul Meijer is now leading by 8 points from Michael Mallock.

In Supersport Gianni Guidici won in his Lotus 2Eleven, in front of his eternal rival Athanasios Ladas in the KTM X-Bow.

Quotes:

Alessandro Pier Guidi: “It was a very good race, with great competition from Meijer and Abott. I like this GT4 competition a lot and I’m glad to have won the race. The car performed well, although the tyres suffered a fair amount on this track and in these very hot conditions.”  

Paul Meijer: “It was impossible to catch Alessandro, he was very quick. My main concern was my tyres and I really wanted to score more points than Michael… I’m second and that’s perfect with the championship in mind.”

Michael Mallock: “I lost some place in the opening stages of the race, the start was very messy. But after a steady and good race, I still managed to finish on the podium, which keeps my championship hopes alive. The main issue for us this weekend was the braking, we don’t have ABS and my tyres were locking up very easily.”

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