At the penultimate race weekend of the International GT Open at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, SPS automotive performance celebrated its next podium success. Reece Barr (IRL) and Mikaeel Pitamber (RSA) raced the #20 Mercedes-AMG GT3 to second overall in a dramatic second race. Dexter Müller and Yannick Mettler in the #54 Mercedes-AMG GT3 collected further championship points with a fifth-place finish in the PROAM category.
A race weekend initially marked by heavy rainfall on the Italian Grand Prix circuit posed major challenges for all participants. In the still wet first qualifying session, Mikaeel Pitamber in the #20 Mercedes-AMG GT3 did not cope so well with the conditions and only finished 13th on the grid for the first, 70-minute race. In the rather turbulent opening phase of race one, Pitamber initially lost a few positions. However, the young South African fought his way back to the front in the further part of his stint. Reece Barr, who was at the wheel of number 20 after the pit stop, continued his teammate's strong recovery. At the end of the 70-minute race, Barr crossed the finish line in sixth position overall. In Sunday's second race, lasting 61 minutes, Reece Barr entered the race from second place after an exciting qualifying session from the front row of the grid. At the start, Reece Barr shortened slightly in the first chicane, which is known for incidents, to avoid a collision. As a result, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 dropped back to fifth for the moment. After the obligatory pit stop and a safety car phase, where Barr used the restart to improve his position, the number 20 car was already in third overall. After another safety car, Pitamber also overtook a competitor after the restart and thus secured second place. In a thrilling final phase, Pitamber fought for the lead in the overall classification, but could no longer make the decisive attack on the leader and was flagged off in second position. This result is Reece Barr and Mikaeel Pitamber's best result in the International GT Open to date.
Dexter Müller and Yannick Mettler qualified for the first race in the #54 Mercedes-AMG GT3 for sixth on the grid in the PROAM class. Dexter Müller, as the starting driver in the first race, maintained his position on the wet track and finally handed over the #54 to his teammate Yannick Mettler. On the more and more drying track, Mettler's tyre choice at the previous pit stop proved to be not optimal. Despite a strong performance, the Swiss lost positions and had to settle for ninth in class at the end of the first race. In race two, the Swiss duo took to the track from third position in the PROAM. Mettler, as the starting driver, also took advantage of the turbulent race and handed over the Mercedes-AMG GT3 to Dexter Müller in second place. At the end of the pit stop window, Müller initially held a comfortable lead, but a safety car period wiped out that advantage. After the restart, Müller fought for the leading positions for a long time on the high-speed circuit, but in the end had to admit defeat to the more strongly classified drivers in his class and finished fifth in class, which, however, meant further championship points for the Swiss.
The season finale of the International GT Open will take place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya at the end of October. From 20 to 22 October, the last championship points in the 2023 season will again be awarded in two rounds.
Reece Barr, #20 Mercedes-AMG GT3: "I'm obviously very happy with second place. P3 last time, now P2. We continue to move up the field. Qualifying was already very good. Everyone was quite aggressive at the start, so I tried to avoid any contact. We lost a few positions because of that, but we were able to make them up. Thanks to Mikaeel and the whole team, who all did a great job."
Mikaeel Pitamber, #20 Mercedes-AMG GT3: "I'm super happy with the race. The strategy from the team was spot on. Reece did a super preliminary job, which I was then able to finish. Now, of course, we want to try and race for the win in Barcelona as well. Thanks to the team for the great performance."
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