Race 1

The first race of the GT4 European Cup weekend at Paul Ricard was yet again a relatively open contest and a first rate, with no less than four different makes finishing in the top-six. Pier Guidi, starting from pole position, comfortably finished first ahead of championship leader Paul Meijer in the Rhesus Aston Martin, with a gap of more than twelve seconds at the chequered flag, while Michael Mallock in the RS Williams Aston Martin claimed the final podium step. Fourteen cars started and finished the race.

The opening stages of the race were very intense. Pier Guidi, Matt Nicoll Jones in the IMS Motorsport Ginetta G50 and Meijer battled it out  for first place. The blue Ginetta took leading spot in the opening laps, but the English driver couldn’t resist the advances of the Italian Maserati driver. Pier Guidi, Nicoll-Jones and Meijer: this was the race order until the pitstops, with Mallock recovering after a difficult start. Following the mandatory stop Meijer and Abott had a good fight until the Ginetta went slightly off, dropping back into fourth position. Behind the leaders, Kevin Veltman, both RJN Nissan and the Rhesus Aston Martin diced with each other as well and finally the two RJN Nissans crossed the line in fifth and sixth, with Lucas Ordonnez in front of his team mates Jordan Tresson and Alex Buncombe. In the "Supersport" class Gianni Guidici won in his Lotus 2Eleven, in front of his eternal rival Athanasios Ladas in the KTM X-Bow. Gravereaux finished thirteenth in the JMB Racing GranTurismo GT4.

“It was a very good race, with great competition from Meijer and Abott," said Pier Guidi after the race. "I like this GT4 competition a lot and I’m glad to have won the race. The car performed well, although the tyres suffered a fair amount on this track and in these very hot conditions.” Paul Meijer commented: “It was impossible to catch Alessandro, he was very quick. My main concern was my tyres and I really wanted to score more points than Michael. I’m second and that’s perfect with the championship in mind.”

Race 2

Under a bright and sweltering sun, the second race of the weekend saw a second consecutive Maserati Granturismo victory. Pier Guidi won the race, while Nicoll-Jones and Abott took a first podium in the IMS Ginetta. Championship leader Meijer took third, despite a drive through and the Dutch Aston driver now has a comfortable lead in the championship as his main rival, Mallock, was forced to retire. Fourth position went to Belgian debutants Ruben Maes and Enzo Ide in the DVB BMW M3 and Eric Charles was the best bronze driver in fifth, the best result so far for the new AUH Racing Team.  Rhesus Racing is leading the Team Championship.

The opening stages of the second race of the weekend were again very open. The MC Maserati, the IMS Ginetta, both Rhesus Astons, the RS Williams Aston and the RJN Nissan of Ordonnez put up a good show. Pierguidi managed to keep the lead to the flag, crossing the line with a 6.8 secoind advantage: “but it was not so easy," said the Maserati driver. "The car was good, but the conditions were terrible. It was very hot and the tyres suffered a lot. But anyway, I’m glad with this result and this proves that we did a good job with the car.”

Behind Pier Guidi, Paul Meijer received a drive through for crossing over the white line right after the start. “I’m a bit disappointed as nobody said anything during the drivers’ briefing, but ok, it’s not allowed. On the other hand, we still finish in third position and so we score good points for the championship and that’s very important.” Nicoll-Jones and Abott scored a well-deserved second place, the first podium for the Ginetta. “Naturally we’re very happy with this result, certainly as this was a very hard race with the heat and the very strong competition.” Gravereaux in the JMB Racing GranTurismo GT4 finished the race in ninth place.