Heiko Neumann closed the first GT3 Revival Series season at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as Am Gen II champion and overall race winner in the #65 Team Motopark Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. A day before Neumann’s win, Pascal Huteau had taken the rain-shortened opener in the #62 Fanta Racing Legend by Code Classic Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3.
Jean-Luc Beaubelique had already secured the overall title at the Nürburgring and Eric Debard was confirmed as Am Gen I champion, which left Am Gen II as the main championship still open in Barcelona. There, Neumann’s main rival was Benjamin Ricci in the #10 Storic and Race Cars Ferrari 458 GT3.
Race 1: Huteau’s Aston Martin wins in the rain
Heavy rain forced a safety car start on Saturday. Once the field was released, Huteau and Eric Debard swapped the lead several times until the #20 Debard Automobiles by Racetivity former Matech Ford GT3 slowed with a puncture. Shortly afterwards the rain worsened and the race was stopped.
Because the result was counted back to lap seven, Debard kept second place and Huteau won by just 0.755sec aboard his ex-R-Motorsport Aston. Behind them, Mark Cole and Álvaro Parente finished third overall and took the Pro-Am win with the former WRT #47 Quinntech Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT3.
Race 2: Neumann’s Mercedes beats the Pro-Am cars
The amended timetable meant some drivers were unable to compete on Sunday, including the Storic and Race Cars Ferraris. With Benjamin Ricci’s #10 Storic and Race Cars Ferrari 458 GT3 out, Neumann was champion before the dry race began. He then jumped polesitter Parente off the line, only to lose the lead again a few corners later. After the pit stops, however, the German caught Cole and passed the Audi with six minutes left to take his first overall win.
Christoph von Oeynhausen then passed Cole on the final lap to take the Pro-Am win in the #888 Classic & Speed BMW Z4 GT3, leaving Cole and Parente third overall. Meanwhile, Stéphane Ortelli was back in the Audi R8 LMS he raced more than a decade ago and now owns. He ran second early on fighting with Parente reminiscent of their 2010s Blancpain GT battles, but a 31-second penalty dropped the #3 Ortelli Racing car to seventh.
The 2027 season starts at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya during Espíritu de Montjuïc on 2-4 April.
Photos by Daniel González
