It was a contest between two Princes for victory at Navarra in Round 5 of the FIA GT3 European Championship as Prince Albert von Thurn und Taxis in the Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Gallardo managed to hold off the challenge of Prince Abdulaziz Al Faisal in the no6 Need for Speed Team Schubert BMW Z4. On lap 30 the gap between the two rivals was 4.7 seconds but by the time the checkered flag was shown at the end of lap 35 this was down to 0.459s as the Lamborghini struggled for grip on worn Michelin rear tires. However an elated Albert von Thurn und Taxis, who is the reigning GT Masters Champion, celebrated his first FIA GT3 win with co-driver Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof on the podium.
At the start Mayr-Melnhof swept into the lead from P2, moving ahead of pole sitter Francesco Castellacci in the no50 AF Corse Ferrari at the first turn and then opened up a comfortable 10 second gap by the time the pit window opened.
Third place went to Round 4 winners Hoevert Vos and Jeroen den Boer in the no35 Faster Racing by DB MOTORSPORT BMW Z4. Having sat in the pitlane for an extra 15-seconds for winning at Silverstone, the BMW rejoined in 7th place and the Dutch driver spent most of his stint fighting his way past the cars ahead to secure the final podium place at the flag.
1 – no24 – GT3 – Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof / Albert von Thurn und Taxis – Lamborghini Gallardo LP560
2 – no6 – GT3 – Edward Sandstrom / Abdulaziz Al Faisal – BMW Z4 GT3
3 – no35 – GT3 – Hoevert Vos / Jeroen den Boer – BMW Z4 GT3
4 – no44 – GT3 – Dominik Baumann / Brice Bosi – Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3
5 – no45 – GT3 – Filip Sladecka / Patrick Hirsch – Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3
6 – no33 – GT3 – Enzo Ide / Greg Franchi – Audi R8 LMS
7 – no50 – GT3 – Francesco Castellacci / Federico Leo – Ferrari 458 Italia
8 – no38 – GT3 – Giacamo Petrobelli / Carlos Iacomelli – Ferrari 458 Italia
9 – no15 – GT3 – Jerome Demay / Dino Lunardi – Audi R8 LMS
10 – no36 – GT3 – Harrie Kolen / Nicky Catsburg – BMW Z4 GT3
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