After two days of racing at Yeongam in South Korea, the Ferrari of HubAuto Corsa and its driver Yuya Sakamoto are still in the running for the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia.
The two Ferrari 488 GT3s of HubAuto Corsa and T2 Motorsport had to cope with searing temperatures and high humidity along with big tests in their respective classes, in round 10 of the championship.
At the green light, Marcos Gomes defended eighth position coming out of a first turn where there were contacts, while Haryanto went on the attack to recover from 18th position on the grid. In the early stages, the Brazilian of HubAuto Corsa steered clear of unnecessary risks against opponents in other classes so as not to damage the car and, with it, his title chances. Haryanto, on the other hand, used all his experience to quickly climb the standings, gaining five positions during the first lap alone.
Thirty-three minutes from the chequered flag, the HubAuto Corsa car was the first Ferrari to return to the pits for the driver change, with Gomes still in fifth position overall and second in his class. His crewmate Yuya Sakamoto took over. Haryanto stopped his 488 GT3 opposite the T2 Motorsport pits five minutes later, handing over to Tjiptobiantoro.
Taking account of the penalty for third place in Race-1, Sakamoto was in seventh place and Tjiptobiantoro in 13th. At that point the Ferraris were locked in two duels, one pitting Tjiptobiantoro against Lee and Sun, and the other between Sakamoto and Ibrahim and Bruins. Two minutes from the flag, while Sakamoto was looking for a way past Ibrahim, he veered slightly off the ideal trajectory, allowing Bruins to power past him with a very decisive manoeuvre. At that point, the Japanese driver of HubAuto Corsa tried to attack Ibrahim for fifth but crossed the line two-tenths of a second behind the Mercedes man. Tjiptobiantoro, however, finished his race in 13th place overall and sixth in his class.
With a sixth overall and third position in his class, Sakamoto and the 488 GT3 of HubAuto Corsa remain in the fight for the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia with two races still to run in the final round on 27 and 28 September at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Source. Ferrari
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