Mumbai, Jun 4 (IANS): The Haupt Racing Team of Arjun Maini of India, Sébastien Baud of France and Hubert Haupt of Germany crossed the finish line first in their class and 14th overall in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 #79 in the second round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe at the Circuit Paul Ricard 1000 Km.

The Haupt Racing Team laid the foundation for their success at the Circuit Paul Ricard in the

60-minute qualifying session over the weekend.

In the top-class field of 57 cars, the trio secured 19th place on the grid -- which also meant second position (P2) in the Bronze Cup with its 18 cars.

Start driver Hubert Haupt completed a sovereign double stint and made up some positions. After almost two hours of driving he handed over to Sébastien Baud in 14th position - who had come for his home race with a lot of support from his family.

Final driver Arjun Maini was always on course for the class podium -- and just a few minutes before the end of the six-hour race benefited from the retirement of a competitor, thus clinching the first win of the season for the team from Drees, which also meant fourteenth place overall.

The next race of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe will take place at the Crowdstrike 24 hours of Spa from June 29 to July 2.

Hubert Haupt, team owner HRT/Haupt Racing Team #79 said. "We are super happy with the victory and have now also taken the lead in the class. It´s a dream result. Top performance of the team and all drivers -- it was amazing. Now we just have to make sure that we also achieve a good result at the 24-hour race in Spa."

After the race, Arjun Maini, Haupt Racing Team #79, said, "It was a tough race - but everything worked out for us this time. Everyone did a mega job and it's a deserved result for the whole team, which has been trying to win the class since last year. This is the Third Podium this year with the team and we are definitely looking to have good Seasons with the Team HRT across the Championships."