WINWARD sets up a title showdown
Lucas Auer and Maro Engel celebrate their third win of the season and two podiums in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup at Magny-Cours.
With podiums six and seven at the year’s fourth double-header in Magny-Cours, the WINWARD Racing Team MANN-FILTER has set up a real title showdown in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup. After second place in the Saturday race, Maro Engel (38, Monaco) and Lucas Auer (29, Kufstein) steered their Mercedes-AMG GT3 to their third win of the season the following day. In both the Sprint Cup standings and the overall GT World Challenge Europe standings, the WWR duo is thus the same two points behind as when they travelled to France. In the Sprint Cup teams’ standings, WINWARD Racing is also second, 5.5 points behind.
Reece Barr and Magnus Gustavsen, entered in the Silver Cup, had to throw in the towel early after the Norwegian was injured while training at home. The #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 is due to be back on the grid for the Sprint Cup finale in Barcelona.
The first race on the 4.4-kilometre former Grand Prix circuit near Nevers, which ran into darkness on Saturday evening, was once again marked by an outstanding team performance from the WINWARD squad. From eleventh on the grid, Lucas Auer drove the “MANN-FILTER Mamba” up to ninth in the first stint. Thanks to a strong in-lap from the Tyrolean, a lightning-fast pit stop by the WWR crew and an equally strong out-lap from Maro Engel, the #48 Mercedes-AMG GT3 found itself in third when the pit window closed.
Engel then steadily reduced the gap to the title rivals’ BMW ahead of him, closed up on the penultimate lap but could not find a way past. The fact that the winning car later received a time penalty, promoting Engel/Auer from third to second, was only good news at first glance. Because it also increased their deficit to the winning championship leaders from 4.5 to 6.5 points.
In the Sunday race too, the title rivals fought for the win among themselves – this time the other way round. Maro Engel held third from the start until the mandatory pit stop. Once again it was the WINWARD pit crew who put their drivers in position to attack with a perfect stop. And Luggi Auer seized the chance. With a bold move, the Tyrolean squeezed past the leading fellow Mercedes driver, former WWR driver Maximilian Götz, and then confidently withstood the pressure from the championship leaders’ BMW behind.
“It was a mega weekend,” said a delighted Auer. “Today in particular was an incredible fight, and we were rewarded for it. And now a really awesome title showdown awaits us in Barcelona. I’m looking forward to it!” Team-mate Engel added: “That was a great team performance. Today’s win was particularly important to stay in the title race. Thanks to Luggi and the whole team. Strategy, pit stops, car – everything was absolutely top once again!”
That sets up a real nail-biting Sprint Cup finale at the Circuit de Catalunya on 12 and 13 October. WWR team principal Christian Hohenadel is in good spirits: “We’ve been on the podium seven times in eight races and once again delivered an excellent team performance here at Magny-Cours. The whole team deserves my praise and thanks for that. If we work just as focused at the finale in Spain and use our full potential, anything is possible!”
Before that, the fourth of five rounds of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup takes place in Monza, Italy, on 22 September. As in all of this year’s endurance races, the third driver in the “MANN-FILTER Mamba” is 34-year-old Canadian Daniel Morad. The sister car entered in the Silver Cup is driven by Thai Tanart Sathienthirakul (31, Bangkok) and the two Dutchmen Daan Arrow (21, Amsterdam) and Colin Caresani (20, Aerdenhout).
The next outing for the Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD, however, is already on 7/8 September, when Auer and Engel face the sixth race weekend of the 2024 DTM at the Sachsenring near Hohenstein-Ernstthal.