The Ferrari team overcame an intense Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS season finale to capture the coveted Endurance Cup drivers’ title.
There was also success for Team WRT Audi, who took the teams’ championship. The #51 Iron Lynx Ferraro drivers, Alessandro Pier Guidi, Côme Ledogar and Nicklas Nielsen finished seventh, which helped them bank enough points to seal the championship at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. It was a nerve-wracking day for the team however, as the #88 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG dominated the race from pole to nearly steal the crown.
During the opening stint, the Iron Lynx Ferrari team struggled to make progress. With #88 on course to take maximum points, the pressure was on the #51 drivers to secure a ninth-place finish at least.
After finishing tenth in the previous round, Nicklas Nielsen took the start from 11th and was able to break into the top 10 – just in time before the first round of pit stops. However, at this point in the race the title was still heading towards the AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG team. During the second hour, the Iron Lynx Ferrari crew regained control finishing in a steady seventh by the conclusion of the middle stint.
The final racing session began in a dramatic fashion with a safety car period on the 40-minute mark. When the race finally resumed there was a little under half an hour remaining and the #88 Mercedes-AMG drivers were still clear of the pack.
There was just enough time left for three laps and the Iron Lynx Ferrari crew could only risk to lose two more positions at absolute most before they’d lost the title. Luckily they had the best man for the job in Pier Guidi – who managed to bring home seventh place to secure his second consecutive Endurance Cup drivers’ title (as well as a second for Ledogar following his triumph in 2016 and a first for Nielsen).
Speaking after the racing, Guidi stated: “It was one of the most difficult stints of my career. I struggled a lot fighting with everyone and trying to defend, but in the end, we put it all together and extracted the maximum from our car. To achieve this incredible result required a lot of hard work, and in the end, if you look at the season I think we deserved this title.”
The final race at Barcelona brought an end to the 2021 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS season, which began back in April at Monza in Italy.
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