Daniele edges Egidio as Perfetti brothers finish 1-2 at Circuit Paul Ricard

Daniele Perfetti resisted a late challenge from his brother Egidio to claim a second Blancpain GT Sports Club victory of the day at Circuit Paul Ricard, while Martin Lanting also made it two Iron Cup wins in as many outings.

Perfetti’s Qualifying Race victory earlier in the day owed much to the drive-through penalty that Egidio and several others incurred while leading the opening laps. That translated into a healthy grid advantage for the AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3 over its likely Main Race victory rivals.

Daniel Vogt’s strong start from the front row initially helped him nose ahead, but Perfetti was almost immediately back in front, a position he would maintain over the following 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, Michal Broniszewski - who started out of position as a result of his Qualifying Race drive-through penalty - wasted little time making up for lost time by carving his way through from eighth to second in the opening lap-and-a-half. However, he was unable to reel in Perfetti whose lead of 3.7s only increased further thereafter.

Indeed, Broniszewski was soon looking backwards rather than forwards thanks to the progress made by Egidio Perfetti. The Mentos Racing Porsche was a little slower out of the blocks but had climbed from seventh to third by quarter distance. He would soon catch the Kessel Ferrari ahead but took several laps to find a way through before setting off in pursuit of the leading Mercedes which, by then, had established a significant seven second advantage.

That did not prevent Egidio from throwing everything at his brother over the final 15 minutes before ultimately having to settle for second, less than two seconds behind Daniele.

Broniszewski never had the pace to run with the Perfettis and eventually came home a distant third, albeit comfortably clear of Vogt who similarly enjoyed a lonely race in fourth.

Coach McKansy’s scrap with Martin Lanting was a highlight of the opening laps before the Lamborghini Gallardo finally found a way past the AF Corse Ferrari 458 GTE en route to fifth, just 1.6s behind Vogt’s Mercedes.

Maurice Ricci, along with Perfetti and Broniszewski, was the third driver to be penalised for corner cutting at the start of the Qualifying Race and spent much of the second fighting his way through from 16th. A total of 10 places gained underlined his pace en route to sixth, one position clear of Lanting’s Ferrari which picked up the Iron Cup honours for the second time today.

Nicolas Vandierendonck’s Corvette C6 ZR1 GTE came out on top in its battle with Marc Sourd’s Mercedes, which finished second in the Iron Cup, while Stephen Earle completed the over-60s' podium and outright top-10.

All of that sees Broniszewski now leading the Overall classification by 10 points from Mario Cordoni whose earlier accident eliminated him from both races, while Perfetti’s maximum score means he is just five points further back in third. Meanwhile, reigning champion Lanting moves back to the top of the Iron Cup standings, just two points clear of Earle.

Daniele Perfetti, #87 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I was a little lucky because in turn one Daniel [Vogt] got me, but then I was just able to grab the lead again, and I needed it! Had I lost time there then maybe I would not have won - the gap was just two seconds at the finish. We had new tyres and it was pedal to the metal after that! Had my brother not picked up the drive-through this morning I think he would have been ahead. He was definitely quicker, but such is life so I will take it! I have had so much fun this weekend so hopefully I will be back again.”

Martin Lanting, #48 AF Corse Ferrari 458 GTE: “There was quite a difference between this and race one because you had to really work the tyres over the second half. I made a very good start and got away in third, but the Iron Cup was my focus this weekend so I was happy to let faster Overall classification cars past. Seventh is therefore very satisfying but first in the Iron Cup is much more important. I said at the start of the weekend that I needed to drive with my brains more than my feet! Two wins is perfect.”

The Blancpain GT Sports Club returns for its fourth round of the season at Spa-Francorchamps on July 29/30.

Click here for the complete Main Race classification.