Ferrari squad AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors has secured the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS teams’ and drivers’ titles after an astonishing finish to the 6 Hours of Jeddah.
The season-closing race was won in commanding fashion by the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter entry of Maro Engel, Lucas Auer and Daniel Morad, who emerged as leaders during the third hour and ran a faultless race thereafter. Behind them, a late Full-Course Yellow and Safety Car shuffled the pack and paved the way for an incredible conclusion.
Crucially, the late neutralisation allowed the #51 Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi, Alessio Rovera and Davide Rigon to move back into title contention. The pole-sitting car led early on but slipped down the order during the middle phase of the race and looked to be out of the hunt when it received a 30-second stop-go penalty for track limits violations.
But by making its final stop during the Full-Course Yellow the Ferrari vaulted to sixth for the late restart. Pier Guidi was at the wheel for a typically inspired charge through the order, the Italian ace overhauling the #7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin, the #46 Team WRT BMW and the #32 Team WRT BMW to snatch third.
This was enough to secure Pier Guidi a record third Endurance Cup crown and Rovera his first while Rigon, who was absent from the Monza round, joined his teammates in their celebrations. The #163 Grasser Racing Lamborghini of Mapelli/Pepper/Perera finished as runner-up on the road and in the drivers’ standings.
The final run to the flag saw the #51 Ferrari under significant pressure from Dries Vanthoor in the #32 BMW. The Belgian needed to take the place to wrestle the overall Fanatec GT Europe drivers’ title away from Engel and Auer but could not find a way past. Despite this, WRT was able to capture the overall teams’ championship for a record-extending fifth time.
Saintéloc Racing secured the Gold Cup teams’ and drivers’ titles with its crew of Gilles Magnus, Jim Pla and Paul Evrard. They did so in style, winning a competitive class battle ahead of the #777 AlManar Racing by GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG and the debuting #85 Imperiale Racing Lamborghini.
The Silver Cup title was settled last time out at Monza in favour of Winward Racing. As such this class fight was about pride and Saintéloc Racing rose to the occasion with one of the most impressive performances of the weekend. The #26 Audi of Ezequiel Perez Companc, Lucas Légeret and Kobe Pauwels led the entire race and finished 13th overall, beating the #10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG and the #12 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin.
Finally, the Bronze Cup victory went to Rutronik Racing with its #97 Porsche crew of Dustin Blattner, Loek Hartog and Dennis Marschall. This would not be quite enough to secure the Endurance Cup crown, which was retained by the impressively consistent Chris Froggatt, Jonathan Hui and Eddie Cheever. The latter pair also secured the overall Bronze Cup title, but Rutronik’s win gives them the teams’ championship on a tie break.
The race was punctuated by a long Full-Course Yellow and Safety Car period around the one-hour mark, which was caused by a heavy crash involving the #111 CSA Racing Audi and the #8 Kessel Racing Ferrari. Arthur Rougier was at the wheel of the Audi and has been taken for further medical checks, while Nicolo Schiro was able to exit his Ferrari unaided.
The 6 Hours of Jeddah took Fanatec GT Europe to a new and highly impressive venue, one that received universal praise from the drivers. It proved popular with the public too, as 11,500 people were present to witness the nation’s first GT endurance race. Given the action that unfolded, they will not have left disappointed.
It marks the conclusion of an unforgettable 2024 campaign which was highlighted by the centenary CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa and this weekend’s maiden trip to Saudi Arabia. Though the celebrations have just begun, preparations for 2025 will begin soon. Indeed, in less than 100 days cars will be back on-track for the official Prologue at Circuit Paul Ricard.
