Miguel Ramos is the 2022 Fanatec GT World Challenge Pro-Am Driver’s Champion, retaining the title he won with Henrique Chaves last year. Miguel was the only Garage 59 driver to race the #188 McLaren in both the full Sprint and Endurance Cup this year so he takes a solo title with 11 podium finishes, including four race victories.
“I’m very happy to retain the driver’s title and I’m happy to do it with Garage 59,” said Ramos. “The race was difficult for us today but it all worked out in the end. I want to say thank you to my team mates Dean (in Sprint Cup), Alex and Henrique (in Endurance Cup) and to everyone at Garage 59.”
In the Silver Cup class, Nicolai Kjærgaard, Manuel Maldonado and Dean Macdonald looked set for their first win of the season after taking a brilliant class pole position but they were pipped to the post at the end of the three-hour season finale in Barcelona, crossing the line in second place.
The run to the title wasn’t straightforward for Miguel as a spinning Audi almost ended the race for the #188 McLaren on the opening lap. Alex West started the race from the Pro-Am pole position but had to take rapid avoiding action when he was left with nowhere to go, clipped the Audi and had to pit with damaged suspension. The team leapt into action and got the #188 back into the race, six laps down but still in the title hunt.
After strong stints from West and then Ramos, Henrique Chaves jumped into the #188 McLaren and immediately set a purple sector time, signalling that he was ready for the fight! In the end, the battle was won due to the position of the championship rivals in the #52 Ferrari. Chaves finished the race fourth in class and Ramos was Champion!
For the Silver Cup crew, they came so close to victory that taking second place felt like a tough break. Their qualifying pace was extraordinary with Dean Macdonald posting the fastest lap time of anyone, in any class! This put them fourth overall on the grid and in first place in their class.
Kjærgaard took the start and spent the opening stint in a dogfight with ex-F1 driver Christian Klien but he held onto fifth place overall throughout his run. Maldonado had a tough middle stint battling with the Pro class cars before handing the car over to Macdonald for the run to the flag. Dean started his stint in the same way as Chaves, immediately setting a purple sector. He fought hard throughout his run to keep the #30 Audi behind him but it managed to slip past just before the finish, stealing away the win.
Garage 59 scored 13 podium finishes during the 2022 GT World Challenge Europe season, including four wins taken by the #188 McLaren drivers. Watch this space to find out what is coming up next for the team.
ENDS
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