Spa-Francorchamps, 10-11 September 2022

Two Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020s finished in the top ten in the first DTM race, held at the Belgian Spa-Francorchamps circuit in changeable weather conditions. At the chequered flag, after twenty-three adrenaline-packed laps, Felipe Fraga in the AF Corse Red Bull AlphaTauri car came seventh, while teammate Nick Cassidy crossed the line in tenth.

Race 1

The start
Race-1 set off in partly wet track conditions under a leaden sky, with the cars fitted with suitable tyres. Conditions were similar to this morning’s qualifying, held in the rain, in which Fraga’s Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 finished seventh, 760 thousandths behind poleman Olsen in a Porsche. Nick Cassidy’s blue-and-white liveried AlphaTauri started from twelfth place. Fraga and Cassidy coolly avoided collisions on lap one despite the traffic. The Brazilian driver lost two positions, while the New Zealander in the number 37 car moved up one.

The strategy

As the pit stop window opened, with the sun peeking through, the AF Corse team immediately recalled Cassidy, opting for slicks, while Fraga remained on track, climbing to seventh, delaying his tyre change for a couple of laps. On returning to the track, the number 74 488 GT3 Evo 2020 was twenty-second, ahead of number 37, both in the virtual to top-ten, considering the teams’ different strategies. With twenty-nine minutes to the chequered flag, the two Maranello drivers battled neck-and-neck, with Cassidy, fastest in the first sector during this part of the race, finally claiming twenty-first position with an excellent overtaking move.

The finale
With a quarter of an hour left, Fraga lay fifteenth ahead of Cassidy, fighting for a place at the top. At the end of the whirligig of stops, the Maranello drivers were, respectively, seventh and eighth, one second apart. In the final laps, flavoured with plenty of drama for the spectators, the AF Corse drivers performed consistently, with an excellent pace and lap times only a few tenths off the leaders. The drama of a race open to the end continued on the last lap when Cassidy tried to fend off Bortolotti’s comeback. However, he found himself in traffic and slipped to tenth place. In contrast, Fraga finished seventh at the chequered flag, 22.5 behind race winner Olsen.

Race 2

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488 Register

A Ferrari triumphed in Race-2 at Spa-Francorchamps in the third-to-last round of the DTM championship. Nick Cassidy, who set off from the second row at the wheel of the 488 GT3 Evo 2020 of Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse, claimed his first career victory in the German series after spending the entire race among the leaders. Felipe Fraga, driving the blue-and-white liveried car of the same team, started from tenth on the grid and was eighth at the chequered flag.

The race
The historic circuit in Belgium’s Ardennes Forest hosted the weekend’s second race on a Sunday of fine weather and clear skies with a dry track. Braking into the first corner, traditionally one of the crucial points at Spa, Cassidy avoided contact and maintained his position engaging in a sprint battle with René Rast, which recurred throughout the twenty-one-lap race to the benefit of the spectators. At the opening of the compulsory pit-stop window, the AF Corse team changed strategy, immediately recalling Fraga while leaving his teammate out on track to consolidate his lead. After the ‘lightning’ pit-stop, completed in 7.7 seconds with twenty-four minutes left, Cassidy returned and proved he was in the running for victory.

Twists and turns
In the closing stages, while the Brazilian Fraga fought for a top-ten position, Cassidy held off championship leader Sheldon Van Der Linde’s attacks, taking advantage of his car’s speed, particularly apparent on fast sections such as Eau-Rouge and Raidillon. A Full Course Yellow bunched the cars together down to the last lap, when the New Zealander, holding off his pursuers’ attempts to catch up, gained precious metres on the South African and celebrated his first triumph of the season. “I have dreamed of climbing the top step of the DTM for a long time”, said Nick Cassidy. “Today, I had nothing to lose. The team provided me with a perfect car. I felt a few frissons at the end when we all restarted side by side for the last lap, but I can finally celebrate a victory on a unique and fun track such as this”. Cassidy climbed to sixteenth place in the standings courtesy of the twenty-five points won in Race 2, while Fraga lies twelfth.

The programme
The DTM will be back in the spotlight at the Red Bull Ring on 23-25 September, before the season finale at Hockenheim on 7-9 October.