Jose Serrano has taken his first individual title in the Gran Turismo World Series 2024, winning the Toyota Gazoo Racing GT Cup as part of a Spanish 1-2-3.
Serrano was part of the Team Spain squad that won 2023’s one-off, team-based Nations Cup event, and a pre-event favorite for 2024 having carried that form through to the online qualification for this event to finish first overall. However he’d also be joined by his team-mates in the event: Coque Lopez and 2023 Toyota GR GT Cup winner Pol Urra.
The 24-driver field — 21 online qualifiers, and three from special events in Asia — was split into two groups for the semi-finals, depending on their qualification performances. It was perhaps a surprise name at the top of the rankings (although not to us!), as Indonesia’s Andika Rama Maulana took first by just under a tenth from France’s Antonio Santos. Daniel Alunni (Italy) and Joshua Struik (Australia) were third and fourth.
Unfortunately, Rama flubbed his start somewhat, as did Alunni, and the Spanish duo of Serrano and Coque Lopez immediately hit the front. It didn’t take long for them to make the race their own and open up a huge gap to Marco Busnelli behind.
The real star of the race was Ryota Kokubun, who had a torrid qualifying to start 11th but carved through the pack to finish third ahead of Busnelli. Takuma Sasaki and Rama rounded out the qualifiers from the first race.
Semi-final B took a little longer for the Spanish drivers to take the lead. Santos and Struik tangled with each other initially, but remained in the lead quartet with Alex Lopez and Urra. Struik began to fall away over the opening few laps though, as Lopez hit the front.
A track limits penalty for Lopez saw Urra retake the lead and Santos move into second before a thrilling battle over the final two laps which ultimately resulted in no overall position changes. Guy Barbara placed just off the podium, ahead of Adriano Carrazza and the recovering Struik who just held off Taj Aiman.
Semi-Final A
- 1 – Jose Serrano (Spain) – Super Formula SF23/Toyota – 12 laps
- 2 – Coque Lopez (Spain) – Super Formula SF23/Toyota – +0.741s
- 3 – Ryota Kokubun (Japan) – Super Formula SF23/Toyota – +8.183s
Semi-Final B
- 1 – Pol Urra (Spain) – Super Formula SF23/Toyota – 12 laps
- 2 – Antonio Santos (France) – Super Formula SF23/Toyota – +0.502s
- 3 – Alex Lopez (Spain) – Super Formula SF23/Toyota – +0.757s
With the final grid line-up set by the semi-final finishing positions, that meant a Spanish 1-2-3. However there were eight laps of the Circuit de la Sarthe between the start and finish, as well as the requirement to use all three racing tire compounds and — as it turned out — rain.
That meant a mixture of strategies, but all 12 drivers started on the hard or medium compound. Urra would be the odd one out among the front three in starting on the hards.
The pace difference between the tires didn’t immediately seem apparent, though, and for the most part the entire field made the switch to the opposite tire — leaving the soft for the final stint — without too many changes of position.
Takuma Sasaki was the only one to roll the dice from the top end, taking softs on his middle stint and hitting the front as the Spanish trio made their second stop. It was at this point though that the rain came in from the north of the circuit, covering the stretch from the Dunlop Esses to Tertre Rouge with a little moisture.
The overcut didn’t play into the Japanese driver’s hands then, as his worn softs saw him lose almost two seconds on his in-lap to the Spanish drivers, and coming out on hards also dropped him behind Alex Lopez. Meanwhile the rain at Tertre Rouge accounted for both Santos and Kokubun, with unforced spins.
Both Serrano and Urra would have twitchy moments at the Dunlop Chicane on successive laps, but neither would be in any significant danger. Alex Lopez, running fourth, had more of an issue in the same location and would drop back behind Sasaki as a result.
With a comfortable two-second gap to his compatriot, Serrano would coast home to take his first solo title, standing on the top step of the podium alongside the two drivers who accompanied him to the 2023 Nations Cup crown.
As well as serving as the curtain-raiser for the World Finals, the Toyota event has almost always predicted the winner of either of the two main events that follow. Serrano will be racing for Team Porsche in Manufacturers and in Nations Cup this year too, so could be worth a pick in the Bonus Campaign…
Toyota Gazoo Racing GT Cup Final
- 1 – Jose Serrano (Spain) – Toyota GR010 Hybrid – 8 laps
- 2 – Pol Urra (Spain) – Toyota GR010 Hybrid – +2.310s
- 3 – Coque Lopez (Spain) – Toyota GR010 Hybrid – +8.013s
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