Marcus Clutton secured victory in Race 2 of the GT Winter Series weekend at MotorLand Aragón, converting pole position into a controlled win with the #67 Orange Racing by JMH McLaren 720S GT3 on a dry track that offered a stark contrast to Saturday’s rain-soaked opening race.

Clutton controls the early phase

Starting from pole, Clutton maintained the lead into Turn 1 as the field got away cleanly. Jay Mo Härtling, driving the #11 SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm Mercedes-AMG GT3, moved into second ahead of Felix Hirsiger in the #19 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Lamborghini Huracán GT3.

Clutton quickly built a small margin during the opening lap, while Guy Albag in the #64 Antonelli Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo and Seweryn Mazur in the #79 Sendom Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 followed behind in fourth and fifth respectively. Mazur’s race, however, ended early after he stopped the car on track after only a handful of minutes.

At the front, Clutton settled into a steady rhythm. Härtling and Hirsiger shadowed the McLaren within roughly two seconds, while a separate battle developed behind them as the #71 Juta Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 of Arūnas Gečiauskas attacked Albag. The Lithuanian eventually moved ahead of the Mercedes-AMG with the help of traffic.

Härtling’s charge ends abruptly

Around the midway point of the race, Härtling began to reel Clutton in. The German driver set the fastest lap of the race and reduced the gap to around half a second, putting the McLaren under real pressure.

However, the challenge ended suddenly when Härtling overshot a corner with what appeared to be a suspension issue. The Mercedes-AMG was forced into retirement, dealing a major blow to the SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm team’s championship hopes while also strengthening Orange Racing’s position in the standings with Marcus Clutton and co-driver Simon Orange now leading the charts.

Late pressure from Hirsiger

With Härtling out of contention, the race appeared to be firmly in Clutton’s hands. Yet the closing minutes brought renewed tension as Hirsiger began to close rapidly.

The Swiss driver, already a race winner earlier this season at Estoril, applied sustained pressure to the rear wing of the McLaren. Clutton later admitted he had been saving fuel in the final phase of the race, which allowed the Lamborghini to close the gap.

Despite the late surge, Hirsiger ultimately fell 0.675 seconds short at the finish. Clutton crossed the line to secure victory, while Arūnas Gečiauskas completed the podium.

Class results

Igor Klaja finishing eighth overall in the #7 PTT Racing Team Porsche 992 GT3 Cup to take the Cup 2 class victory, ahead of the #4 Nacente Racing Porsche 992 GT3 Cup driven by Alexandre Martins. The other classes were represented with single entries: Petar Matić in the #32 Auto Sport Racing Lamborghini Huracán ST finished fifth overall ahead of the Cup 1 entry of Giacomo Rinaldo in the #75 Rossocorsa Ferrari 296 Challenge in sixth place, and GTX entrant Michael Fischbaum in the #18 Auto Sport Racing Lamborghini Huracán ST finished eleventh.

Final race ahead

Race 3 of the GT Winter Series weekend at MotorLand Aragón will take place later on Sunday at 16:05 CET, with the final race scheduled to run for 55 minutes including a mandatory pit stop and driver change.

GT WINTER SERIES ARAGÓN | LATEST NEWS | ENTRY LIST | RACE 1 REPORT | RACE 2 REPORT | RACE 3 REPORT | PHOTO GALLERY