Lance Stroll ’s debut in the GT World Challenge Europe at Paul Ricard ended in a low-key fashion, as his #18 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin squad took 48th place out of 49 cars at the finish.
In this six-hour race, Stroll’s co-driver Mari Boya started the event and was followed by Roberto Merhi. Lance Stroll drove his only stint in the final part of the race, after dark, under conditions he was not fully accustomed to, as technical issues had prevented him from getting much night practice during the Friday evening session.
Boya had dropped back in the first part of the race, falling out of the top 30 after starting in 15th, while Merhi was a distant 38th when he handed over to Stroll, with just under two hours remaining.
The Canadian hoped to move up the standings and post some good lap times, but he could only manage 48th place out of 49 cars at the finish.
The Aston Martin driven by Lance Stroll, Roberto Merhi, and Mari Boya finished 48th at Paul Ricard.
Photo by: SRO
The trio also picked up penalties, for both going off-track and failing to respect blue flags, with Boya also receiving a stop-and-go penalty for being deemed responsible for a collision.
Another Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo from the Comtoyou team, the #7 entry driven by Mattia Drudi, Marco Sorensen, and Nicki Thiim, took the win.
Fellow Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen was also present at Paul Ricard in his capacity as team principal for his own team, with his Mercedes-running squad driven by Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon and Chris Lulham taking ninth place overall.
Verstappen himself will be back in action in a Mercedes later this month when he will compete in two four-hour preparatory races for the Nurburgring 24 Hours, teaming up with Lucas Auer, who was part of the Mercedes Mann-Filter crew that finished second in Paul Ricard on Saturday.
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