Precote Herberth Motorsport Porsche wins 12H Zandvoort after faultless race
Three different manufacturers were present on this year's podium.
Zandvoort - With a remarkable four-lap-margin, the Precote Herberth Motorsport Porsche 991 GT3 R (#911, Daniel Allemann/Ralf Bohn/Robert Renauer/Alfred Renauer) won the Hankook 12H Zandvoort, the fourth round of the 2016 24H Series powered by Hankook. 476 laps on the 4.307 kilometres circuit in the Dutch dunes equal a total distance of 2,050.132 kilometres. After Mercedes had locked out the first four positions in the 2015 edition, three different manufacturers were present on this year's podium.
The Massive Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 (#55, Casper Elgaard/Kristian Poulsen/Nicolai Sylvest/Roland Poulsen) scored second place. A further four laps down, the Hofor-Racing Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 (#10, Michael Kroll/Chantal Kroll/Kenneth Heyer/Christiaan Frankenhout/Lance-David Arnold) came home third after their victory in the past year.
After the intervention after three hours yesterday, the remaining nine hours were driven today under even warmer conditions. The Precote Herberth Motorsport Porsche was the only A6 class car to overcome the second part without major issues. Finally, Ralf Bohn drove the Porsche over the line to take the victory. Slight electrical problems thwarted the Massive Motorsport Aston Martin's ambitions to fight for the win. The Hofor-Racing Mercedes' efforts to replicate last year's win came short due to time loss throughout the race, caused by refuelling problems.
The Ram Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 (#30, Tom Onslow-Cole/Paul White/Stuart Hall) managed to score fourth place, despite the ten-lap-penalty they received after the first part of the race. In the last hour, Tom Onslow-Cole tried everything to catch up to Kenneth Heyer in third place, shrinking the gap to one lap. The car finished nine laps down on the winner.
SP2 and 991 class
The HRT Performance Porsche 991 Cup (#73, Fabian Engel/Stephen Borness/Kim André Hauschild/Renger van der Zande) led the 991 class after the resumption, but quit with four hours still to go. HRT Performance was still lucky as the sister car (#72, Rene Ogrocki/Artem Soloviev/Kim André Hauschild/Renger van der Zande) took the win. The APO Sport Porsche 991 Cup (#68, Alex Osborne/James May/Paul May) became second in class ahead of the B2F compétition Porsche 991 Cup (#35, Benoit Fretin/Bruno Fretin/Michel Mitieus). The MRS GT-Racing Porsche 991 Cup (#78, Charles Putman/Charles Espenlaub/Xavier Maassen) crossed the finish line in front, but was later excluded as scrutineering revealed that the car didn't comply with the technical regulations.
The LMS Engineering Audi TTRS2 (#206, Chris Tiger/Ulrich Andree/Stéphane Kox) managed to stay ahead of two Porsche in the SP2 ranking. Two laps behind the leader, the Porsche Lorient Racing Porsche 991 Cup (#64, Philippe Polette/Frédéric Lelievre/Pascal Gibon) took second position ahead of the Speedlover Porsche 991 Cup (#84, Pierre-Yves Paque/Philippe Richard). Handling the twelve-hour-distance with two drivers only, the points-leading SP2 crew finished seven laps behind the winner.
TCR class
In the TCR class, the NKPP Racing Seat Leon Cup Racer (#125, Gijs Bessem/Harry Hilders/Bas Koeten) stayed on top clearly. Being 13th overall, NKPP Racing built up a margin of 22 laps towards the second-placed Team Bleekemolen Seat Leon Cup Racer (#127, Sebastiaan Bleekemolen/Melvin de Groot). The remaining Red Camel-Jordans.nl Seat Leon Cup Racer (#303, Ivo Breukers/Rik Breukers) lost much time due to suspension repairs.
SP3 class
The Tischner Motorsport BMW E46 M3 Coupe (#104, Michael Tischner/Matthias Tischner/Ulrich Becker) brought home a four-lap-lead in the SP3 class. Second was the Nova Race Ginetta G55 GT4 (#284, Luca Magnoni/Roberto Gentili/Michael Hofmann/Luca Rangoni) ahead of the RIMO Honda Civic (#143, Rimantas Blazulionis/Robertas Kupcikas/Martynas Samuitis).
A3 class
The championship-leading Team Altran Peugeot 208 GTi (#208, Kim Holmgaard/Guillaume Roman/Stéphane Ventaja) led to the victory in the A3 class ahead of their sister car. The second Team Altran Peugeot 208 GTi (#205, Thierry Boyer/Stéphane Cristinelli/Gonzalo Martin de Andres) finished two laps down. A further lap behind, the Sorg Rennsport BMW M235i Racing Cup car (#151, Maciej Dreszer/Kevin Warum/Heiko Eichenberg) reached third spot.
A2 class
In the A2 class, the RKC/TGM Honda FD2-Civic Type-R (#99, Ricky Coomber/Thomas Gannon/David Drinkwater) fought its way back to the top and remitted the Team K-Rejser Peugeot RCZ (#171, Jacob Kristensen/Jan Engelbrecht/Jens Mølgaard), that had taken over the lead yesterday, into second place with a one-lap-margin. Third was the Team Sally Racing Renault Clio Cup III (#172, Martin Sally Pedersen/Peter Obel/Mads Christensen/Jannik Larsen).
The upcoming round of the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook will be the second edition of the Hankook 24H Circuit Paul Ricard, held from 15 to 17 July. In the meantime, the Hankook 24H Slovakia Ring, held from 14 to 16 June, will feature the second round of the new Touring Car Endurance Series powered by Hankook.
24H Series
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