Ferrari finishes first and third in class at Paul Ricard

The 6 Hours of Paul Ricard, the season-opener of the GT World Challenge Europe – Endurance Cup, ended with victory in the Bronze Cup for the number 74 Ferrari 296 GT3 of Kessel Racing, driven by Dustin Blattner, Dennis Marschall and Conrad Laursen. Also on the podium their teammates in the number 8 car – Nicolò Rosi, Niccolò Schirò and David Fumanelli – who claimed third place after a strong comeback.

In the Pro class, the two AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors entries concluded the race with a 15th-place finish for the number 51 Ferrari 296 GT3 crewed by official drivers Alessio Rovera and Alessandro Pier Guidi alongside Vincent Abril, while the number 50 – driven by official drivers Antonio Fuoco and Arthur Leclerc with Eliseo Donno – took 16th place.

Pro class. From the outset, the opening round of the championship was expected to be a challenging one for the Maranello-based manufacturer, with the 296 GT3s unable to challenge for the leading positions, as confirmed by the race outcome. The Prancing Horse cars were forced to play catch-up after qualifying had yielded 14th and 15th places respectively for the number 51 and 50 Ferraris.

The 6 Hours of Paul Ricard – which got underway at 6 p.m. on a dry track, with the exception of light rain during the final lap – saw the Rovera–Abril–Pier Guidi crew enjoy a positive start, climbing as high as sixth place thanks to both excellent driving and clever stint management during the Full Course Yellow phases. However, as night fell over Le Castellet, the number 51 Ferrari 296 GT3 lost ground, finishing in 15th place overall.

One place further back at the chequered flag was the sister car, number 50, which started with Leclerc – making his debut in the European series after winning the 2024 Italian Gran Turismo Endurance Championship – at the wheel, then handed over to Donno, 2023 Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Europe champion, and finally to Fuoco.

Bronze class. In the category reserved for line-ups of professional and gentleman drivers, a superb double podium was delivered by the two Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 cars.

Victory went to the number 74 of Blattner–Marschall–Laursen, who remained among the front-runners throughout the six hours, skilfully managing the various race situations. The crew secured the win despite serving a 20-second penalty for failing to respect the refuelling time. Meanwhile, the Rosi–Schirò–Fumanelli Ferrari mounted a fine comeback to finish on the third step of the podium, having dropped back following contact in the opening laps. Persistence enabled the number 8 crew to recover from 13th place – where they had found themselves early on – completing their climb up the order in the final minutes.

Ninth in class went to the number 12 Rinaldi Racing entry, with official driver Davide Rigon alongside Christian Hook and David Perel. The number 52 AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors car, featuring official driver Andrea Bertolini with Jef and Louis Machiels, crossed the line in tenth place after starting 13th.

Completing the line-up of the seven Ferraris entered was the number 93 of Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing, with Chris Froggatt, Eddie Cheever III and Marco Pulcini, who finished 13th after receiving several penalties for race infractions.

Calendar. The next round of the GT World Challenge – Endurance Cup is scheduled to take place at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza from 30 May to 1 June. In the meantime, the first two legs of the Sprint Cup will be held – both in May – from 3 to 4 at Brands Hatch and from 16 to 18 at Zandvoort, along with the prologue for the 24 Hours of Spa from 13 to 14 May.