Gipimotor makes winning start to 2019 Peter Auto season in Barcelona
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Running eight cars for the opening Peter Auto round at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Gipimotor enjoyed a strong weekend, with victories in the Sixties’ Endurance class and Heritage Touring Cup. Alongside its two wins, Gipimotor cars enjoyed positive performances across all four classes it entered, which also included the Greatest’s Trophy and Porsche 2.0L Cup.
Starting from row six on the grid in the Heritage Touring Cup on board the #51 “Wooding” Ford Escort MkI, Thierry de Latre Du Bosqueau weaved his way through the field, consistently setting fast lap times on his way to third position.
Benefiting from this was the #46 Ford Mustang driven by Christian Dumolin and Pierre-Alain Thibaut, who finished 18thoverall and topped their class but, after factoring in the performance index they were promoted to first overall in the final classification.
Driving the #2 “Valtellina” Ford Escort MkI was Geoffroy Peter, rising from his starting position of 21stto finish 12th. The car is currently for sale at Gipimotor and carries great history, having been driven by former Formula 1 driver Arturo Merzario.
Finally, the #20 “Alpina” BMW 3L CSL, driven by Christophe Van Riet, went fastest in wet free practice ahead of the more powerful 24-valve 3L CSL cars. After qualifying third, they ran strongly but were forced to retire in the last lap even if he finished at the 11st position. It showed race-winning potential though and they will be at Spa Classic for the next event.
In the Sixties’ Endurance class, de Latre Du Bosqueau and Van Riet shared the #22 Shelby Cobra 289 that won at the Imola-Classic last year. Having qualified fourth, the duo ran a clean race to claim another sublime victory, de Latre du Bosqueau’s second on his debut weekend.
The #161 Austin Healey 3000 MkII was also in action, with driver Serge Libens qualifying 30thin a heavy rain-affected session. Climbing back up the order lap after lap, the car retired at half distance with a damaged part.
In the Greatest’s Trophy, Christian Dumolin, driving the #20 Ferrari 250 SWB, scored a pair of eighth place finishes, resisting the pressure of faster cars behind. The Belgian will be back in the magnificent Ferrari 250 Drogo for the Spa-Classic.
Van Riet also entered the Porsche 2.0L Cup, driving the #55 Porsche 911 2L for the 90-minute race. With 24 cars on the grid, Van Riet qualified sixth in this specialist series and was running in third, lapping on the same pace as the leaders before retiring with a gearbox issue.
Gipimotor is delighted with the chassis set-up and the engine, and a new gearbox will be fitted for the Spa-Classic on 17-19 May, as the Belgian-based company looks to fight for victory once more.
Next meeting : Gipimotor will be the Tour Auto Optic 2000 on the 29 April – 4 May, which starts from the Grand Palais, Paris, and finishes in Deauville with five legs in between.
