17
May 2017
Victory in the Am class at Silverstone
The second race event in England was on the agenda for Rinaldi Racing, and it was at the tradition-steeped Silverstone circuit.
Among them was the number 333 Ferrari 488 GT3 with Alexander Mattschull, Rinat Salikhov and Daniel Keilwitz, who started in the ProAm class. On the sister car with start number 488, Pierre Ehret and Rino Mastronardi shared the steering wheel work in the Am class.
Already in the practice sessions on Friday and Saturday, the drivers could get used to the track in changing conditions. The lap times and the speed were right and so they were well prepared for the qualifying.
On Sunday morning, the qualifying session started immediately. The number 333 car made good progress in the first two sessions. In the third qualifying session, Daniel Keilwitz managed to qualify the Italian car in a very good third place in the ProAm class. In the overall starting field, he achieved tenth place. A good starting point for the race. The Ferrari with the starting number 488 also managed a good qualifying. In the end, the result was second place in the Am class for the three-hour race.
On Sunday afternoon, the 55 cars started the race. Daniel Keilwitz had a very good start and was able to make up two positions. With very good overtaking manoeuvres, he even managed to move up to the fourth position in the overall starting field. With this, he also secured the lead in the ProAm class. Pierre Ehret also secured his position at the start and moved up a few places until the pit stop.
In the second stint, the #333 changed to Rinat Salikhov. Due to a safety car phase, they lost some places and had to work their way up from the seventh position in the ProAm class. The #488 was able to make better use of the phase, as the safety car was sent out on the track shortly before. Pierre Ehret pitted immediately and handed over to Rino Mastronardi. Mastronardi secured first place in the Am class. With very good lap times he defended his position and was able to extend his lead over the competitors.
At the next pit stop of the #333, they changed from Rinat Salikhov to Alexander Mattschull. Unfortunately, the team had to bring the Ferrari into the pits due to adverse conditions. That was the end of the race. It was different with the #488. Rino Mastronardi handed over the wheel again to Pierre Ehret, who was to drive the final stint. Ehret was able to maintain the lead until the end of the race and thus secured the victory in the Am class with one lap ahead of the runner-up.
Michele Rinaldi: “It was a very mixed race weekend. We are very happy about the victory of Pierre Ehret and Rino Mastronardi in the Am class. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as well with the sister car as we had hoped, although the drivers put in a very good performance and the speed was right. Of course, we will attack again at the next race.”
Rinaldi Racing continues next week with the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring before heading to Zolder for the third round of the Blancpain Sprint Series.