A stunning victory for Gran Turismo World Series rookie Mohamed Buhdeima pole-vaults Ferrari to Manufacturers Cup title contention.
Rookie Mohamed Buhdeima has won the second round of the 2024 Gran Turismo Manufacturers Cup, following a race with changing conditions and tyre gambles.
With the likes of Brno and Most absent from Gran Turismo 7, the competition instead visited a virtual neighbouring Austria.
Qualifying
It was a sodden Red Bull Ring, as the Gr.3 equipped drivers hit the track for one-lap qualifying. In a surprise showing it was two British debutants claiming two of the top four spots – Mohamed Buhdeima quickest for Ferrari, Daniel Fenton third for AMG.
They were split by Porsche driver Benjamin Hencsei, with Subaru driver Kylian Drumont fourth.
Honda’s Mateo Estevez would pick up a one-second track limit violation penalty to lineup in 11th, one position ahead of Coque López in a Lexus – one of the pre-race favourites starting at the back.
Race
As the 28-lap race began around the saturated venue, the top two positions remained stable.
In third, Fenton ran slightly wide, bunding up the field behind. Drumont tried to capitalise but was overtaken by, first, Chevrolet’s Rayan Derrouiche followed by Mazda’s Pol Urra.
The Spanish drive would soon lose momentum coming out of the final corner, allowing Drumont back through along with BMW’s Thomas Labouteley.
One lap later, the two French drivers would collide at Remus, the Subaru spinning around and the stewards dishing out a three-second penalty to the M6 driver.
The trio of Urra, Estevez and Labouteley would battle four fifth, with contact and penalties issued.
The Honda would dive into the pitlane with 10 laps remaining, the first participant to switch from wet to intermediate compound tyres.
Leader Buhdeima would follow one lap later, which would prove to be a pivotal move. Second-placed Hencsei would wait four laps later to pit, and instead of grooved rubber, followed the lead set by Genesis’ Nicolas Romero by opting for soft slicks.
The Porsche was 10 seconds behind with five laps remaining, chasing down the leading Ferrari.
For third, Drumont rolled the dice by trying to complete the race without pitting. But, the wet tyres on a drying track meant a gaggle of cars running slicks were trying to power past.
Pandemonium ensued, as Fenton speared off the track backwards at high speed. Drumont dropped down the order, and after a dramatic race, Labouteley would grab third from Derrouiche.
Toyota’s Jose Serrano would spin out of contention early on, compatriot López also running off the track in the initial running.
Buhdeima would hold on to win during his inaugural in-person Gran Turismo event, but by a scant 0.092s, defending from a hard-charging Hencsei.
“It wasn’t easy… I feel like I’m dreaming,” said Buhdeima post-race.
“As I was leading into the last few laps I just thought to myself ‘keep it together’, worst case scenario is P2.”
It now means that Porsche leads the Manufacturers Cup standings following two podium results, ahead of Lexus and Ferrari. The next round is in Tokyo, Japan, 28th September, with title-deciding World Finals in Amsterdam this December.
Gran Turismo World Series 2024, Round 2, Prague, Manufacturers Cup race results
- Mohamed Buhdeima – Ferrari – 28 laps
- Benjamin Hencsei – Porsche +0.092
- Thomas Labouteley – BMW +8.069
- Nicolas Romero – Genesis +17.715
- Pol Urra – Mazda +19.263
- Coque López – Lexus +19.739
- Mateo Estevez – Honda +21.712
- Jose Serrano – Toyota +21.793
- Rayan Derrouiche – Chevrolet + 23.620
- Kylian Drumont – Subaru +29.121
- Daniel Penco – Audi +35.547
- Daniel Fenton – Mercedes-AMG +51.571
Gran Turismo World Series 2024, Manufacturers Cup standings after Round 2
- Porsche – 9 points
- Lexus – 7 points
- Ferrari – 6 points
- Honda – 5 points
- BMW – 4 points
- Mazda – 4 points
- Genesis – 3 points
- Mercedes-AMG – 3 points
- Toyota – 1 point
- Subaru – 0 points
- Chevrolet – 0 points
- Audi – 0 points
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