Excellent 2nd in epic Spa 24 Hours for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, on the podium for the fifth year in a row

Excellent 2nd in epic Spa 24 Hours for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, on the podium for the fifth year in a row

26/07/2015

The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT added another podium finish to its collection of successes at the Total 24 Hours of Spa, thanks to Frank Stippler-Stéphane Ortelli-Nico Müller, who took an excellent 2^nd final position after a very consistent and solid race started from the pole. The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT has been on the podium of Spa for five consecutive years now, and twice on the highest spot. This year’s was an epic edition of the world’s most prestigious GT race, especially in the first hours, where dreadful weather conditions provoked numerous incidents and safety-car periods. Trouble did not spare the other cars of the Belgian squad. An off-track in the early stages and the change of the gearbox in the closing hours relegated the other new Audi R8 LMS of Vanthoor-Rast-Winkelhock to a final P21 overall, while the R8 LMS ultra of Vernay-Richelmi-Frijns had to retire during the night after an accident.

For Audi Sport, there was the satisfaction to see all four new R8 LMS to finish the race, with three of them in the top five.

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT team principal Vincent Vosse was all in all satisfied at the end of long race: “First of all, I want to congratulate BMW and Marc VDS for their well-deserved win. They were the strongest. To come second always leaves you with some disappointment, as we all want to win, but it is not a bad result, considering it was the first time at Spa for the new car and the difficult beginning of the race. Frankly, there is nothing for which we could have regrets: the drivers and the team did a fantastic job. And it means something to be again on the podium, for the fifth year in a row.”

It was clear even before practice that this edition of the 24 Hours would be very close, with many brands in a position to compete for top honors. The new R8 LMS though proved quick in practice and qualifying and put a stunning show in the Superpole exercise, thanks to car #2 and Frank Stippler, who took the pole in 2.18.130, with Vanthoor in car #1 in P6, while car #3 shortly missed the top 20, with Frijns in P23.

Stippler was, of course, very happy but did not lose his natural calm: “It’s always a matter of pride to take the pole at Spa”, commented the personable German, ‘but it doesn’t mean much towards the race. I simply had a perfect lap, and the result is very encouraging for the whole team.”

The first hours of the race, were going to be everything but encouraging for the Belgian Audi Club boys. With rain, wind and poor visibility, conditions at the start and during the first five hours were something close to a nightmare, and the various incidents that marred the first quarter of the race brought the safety-car in several times, for a total of almost three hours. Poleman Stippler had adopted a cautious approach, leaving others to fight at the front, but the car got unfortunately delayed by the effects of a safety-car coming in right in front of it. René Rast took an excellent start on car #1, which took P2 in the second hour and later the lead. Unfortunately, Laurens Vanthoor could not avoid going off the track and hitting the barriers while in the lead. “It was a mistake”, admitted the Belgian, “I was running behind the lapped BMW of Buurman, who was much slower and he did not give way for many laps. I got a little bit nervous and tried to pass, getting out of the dry line and losing control on the slippery part of the track”. The incident’s toll was five laps lost for repairs. Car #3 also had its share of trouble, as Jean-Karl Vernay, who took the start, couldn’t avoid aquaplaning at the “Raccordement”. By the 6^th hour mark, the situation was not idyllic, with car #2 in P9, car #1 in P28 and car #3 in P50…

From there on, the race was a long catch, with the squad losing the #3 car in the 11^th hour, as Stéphane Richelmi was surprised by a humid spot at the “bus stop”. For the remaining two R8 LMS cars, the charge continued relentlessly throughout the night and the morning, with car #2 stabilizing in the top 3 after mid-race and fighting closely with the top BMW and Mercedes cars, with a drive-through as the only thing to report. Car #1 made it back to the top 10 by the 18-hour mark, but two hours from the end, when it was in P9, the car had to stop for a gearbox change, losing 20 laps to finish 21^st.

Luckily enough, car # 2 had a trouble-free end of the race, eventually taking an excellent second only one lap behind the winner. Nico Müller summarized the feelings of the trio: “We are happy, it’s a very good result for the new car in its first year at Spa”, commented the young Bernese, “it’s a pity we were stuck behind a safety-car at the beginning, we lost quite some time, but frankly, I don’t think that made a big difference. We couldn’t beat the BMW today and the balance of our car on the dry was not ideal.”

The Blancpain GT community will now enjoy a well-deserved summer break. Activity will resume on 5-6 September with the Algarve round of the Sprint Series, while the Endurance Series will come back on 19-20 September at the Nürburgring for the closing event of the season.

Blancpain Endurance Series – Round 4

Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium (24 Hours)

25-26 June 2015

Race results:

1. Palttala-Luhr-Catsburg (BMW Z4) 536 laps in 24h00m53s610
2. Stippler-Müller-Ortelli (Audi R8 LMS) - 1 lap
3. Mamerow-Mies-Thiim (Audi R8 LMS) - 2 laps
4. Lathouras-Bruni-Lemeret-PierGuidi (Ferrari F458) - 5 laps (1st in Pro-Am)
5. Fässler-Lotterer-Rockenfeller (Audi R8 LMS) - 6 laps

21. Vanthoor-Rast-Winkelhock (Audi R8 LMS) -28 laps (11th in Pro)

DNF Vernay-Frijns-Richelmi (Audi R8 LMS ultra) 178 laps (accident)