GTWCE Brands Hatch: Feller and Drudi take race 2 win as Rossi claims second place

Having finished in second in race one, Mattia Drudi and Ricardo Feller took the win in race two of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS at Brands Hatch, whilst Valentino Rossi stole the show with his best result in the championship finishing in second place with teammate Maxime Martin.

GTWCE BRANDS HATCH: LIVESTREAM | QUALIFYING REPORT | RACE ONE | RACE TWO

It was the #27 Saintéloc Junior Team Audi R8 LMS GT3 of Christoper Mies who was starting from pole, with the #11 Comtoyou Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 of Christopher Haase lining up next to him on the front row.

As with race one, it was another tidy start with all the drivers getting through Paddock Hill Bend unscathed however at Druids as the field closed together space was at a premium and the #71 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 of Nicola Marinangeli who was the Silver class pole sitter was squeezed onto the grass.

At the front Mies held the lead from pole position and steadily pulled away from second-placed Haase who had Maxime Martine in the #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 he shared with Valentino Rossi following close behind.

There was a dramatic moment early on as the #69 Emil Frey Ferrari of Thierry Vermuelen slid into the barrier at Hawthorns after making contact with the #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi R8 LMS. Despite a gentle kiss on the barrier, the Ferrari was able to get away at the back of the field and finished in fourteenth place.

Just 10 minutes before the pit window opened the #9 Boutsen VDS Audi R8 LM of Alberto di Folco ended up in the gravel at Sheene Curve. A full course yellow was followed by a full safety car which wiped out the 6-second lead Christopher Mies had built up at the front.

There was a 2-minute delay to the pit window opening as the marshalls worked to clear the stranded Audi. Of the early stoppers, race one winner Timo Boguslavskiy was in at the first opportunity having started the race in P18. Handing over to Raffaelle Marciello with the car still way down the field, Marciello pushed hard to bring the car up to sixth place.

Race leader Mies was less fortunate as he stayed out as long as possible before coming in. With the other leaders pitting much earlier and able to put in fast laps on newer tyres, Mies handed over to Lucas Legeret who exited the pitlane to find himself down in fifth place.

Once the pit stops had fully shaken out the lead was now with Mattia Drudi in the #40 with Valentino Rossi following behind in the #46 Team WRT BMW. The sister #32 Team WRT BMW of Charles Weerts was sitting in third. Benjamin Goethe was in fourth in the #159 Garage 59 McLaren 720s GT3.

Legret would hold onto fifth place despite serious attention from Marciello who was clearly keen to take the spot for himself but Legret was equal to the challenge and kept P5 for himself.

In the Gold class, Calan Williams brought the #30 Team WRT BMW M4 home in seventh overall two places ahead of Finlay Hutchinson in the #21 Comtoyou Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 he shares with Gilles Magnus.

In the Silver class the pole-sitting #71 AF Corse Ferrari failed to finish following it’s early off at Druids. A late 10-second penalty went to Jordan Love in the #77 Haupt Racing Team Mercedes-AMG for causing a collision with the #31 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3. The penalty meant the win went to the #119 VSR Lamborghini Huracán GT3 driven by Baptiste Moulin and Marcus Paverud with the #77 finishing second.