Double podium finish at Brands Hatch brings back the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT to the fore-front

Double podium finish at Brands Hatch brings back the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT to the fore-front

07/05/2017

It’s done: the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT has put the 2017 season back on the right course, taking a beautiful double podium finish at Brands Hatch, in the second round of the Blancpain GT Sprint Cup. Robin Frijns-Stuart Leonard took second in the Main Race ahead of team mates Will Stevens-Markus Winkelhock. More points finishes came for Dries Vanthoor-Marcel Fässler (6^th) and Pieter Schothorst–Jake Dennis (10^th). It is definitely an excellent result for the team, taking into account the positions on the grid and in the qualifying and the difficulty to overtake on a track like Brands Hatch. Once again, excellent pit stops were a key factor, and the solid performance of all drivers rounded a great day. Enzo Ide-Christopher Mies were the only exception today: after securing an excellent first-row position on the grid, a contact in the Qualifying Race ruined their chances. This didn’t impact the take-away of this first British event: the bitter start of the season is definitely forgotten!

Team Principal Vincent Vosse was clearly very happy when leaving the Kent track: “It’s just what we needed, after a difficult Italian campaign. I want to congratulate the entire team for a result that proves that we are back where we should be. Everyone, from the drivers to the crews, has done a terrific job. It’s just the kind of weekend I was hoping for when arriving here!”.
Sporting Director Pierre Dieudonné was no less impressed: “After Qualifying and the Qualifying Race, our weekend didn’t look that good, but the entire team reacted and proved its ability to overturn a situation, even on a very difficult track like this. And when it comes to pit stop, I can just say the guys were magical…”

The weekend started promisingly, with all the cars competitive in free practice, with car #5 of Dries Vanthoor fastest in FP1 and car #1 of Christopher Mies second-fastest in FP2. Qualifying, always a very competitive exercise with so many cars on track and such close gaps, revealed itself a little bit frustrating, with only two cars making it to Q3. Mies qualified an excellent second in car #1, and Frijns was 8^th in car #17. The other three cars were further back, with Schothorst-Dennis in P18, Stevens-Winkelhock in P20 and Vanthoor-Fässler in P21.

The Qualifying Race was relatively uneventful, on a track were overtaking is very difficult. Unfortunately, the best-placed of the Belgian Audis, #1, saw its race ruined by a contact at the start between Mies and the other R8 of Haase, which resulted in a puncture and a lot of ground lost. The car later retired because of electrical problems. Leonard-Frijns took an excellent seventh after a solid race, with Stevens-Winkelhock finishing 11^th, Schothorst-Dennis 13^th and Fässler-Vanthoor 18^th, after the Swiss was obliged to a long off-track to avoid an incident in front of him.

Main Race started under threatening skies, which later broke into sunshine, and saw an early safety-car period to rescue a car stuck in the gravel. Leonard (7^th) and Winkelhock (10^th) were the team’s best-placed cars in the initial moments, but the race only unfold really at the pit stops. Again, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT crews were outstanding in strategy and fastness. A very early stop of cars #2 and #17 allowed Stevens and Frijns to climb positions and take back the track in second and third. Frijns, on fresher tires, would eventually pass Stevens to net a great double podium. “When I came out of the pits, I didn’t know in which position I was, I was just pushing as hard as I could”, explained the Dutchman, “I saw I was behind our green sister car. It’s always sensitive to fight against a team mate and I didn’t want to take any risk, but I was able to pass Will.” Stevens and Winkelhock were nonetheless extremely happy with their third position: “Getting on the podium after starting from P20 was pretty unexpected and not bad at all”, admitted the German. Vanthoor also climbed positions to finish 6^th, with Jake Dennis crossing the line in 10^th. Ide-Mies were on the same course but the Belgian was hit from the back in his return lap losing some ground. The car eventually took P15 after a very strong second stint by Mies.

The Blancpain GT Series will continue its British campaign with the Silverstone 3 Hours next week, valid for the Endurance Cup. The Sprint Cup will be back on 3-4 June with the team’s home round at Zolder. .

Blancpain Sprint Series - Round 2

Brands Hatch, United Kingdom

6-7 May 2017

Qualifying Race results:

1. Engelhart-Bortolotti (Lamborghini Huracan) 40 laps
2. Palttala-Krohn (BMW M6) + 3s752
3. Companc-Siedler (Lamborghini Huracan) + 4s744
4. Serralles-Juncadella (Mercedes AMG) + 5s113
5. Da Costa – Eng (BMW M6) + 5s859
6. 7. Leonard-Frijns (Audi R8 LMS) + 9s221

11. Winkelhock-Stevens (AudiR8 LMS) +11s566

13. Scothorst-Dennis (Audi R8 LMS) +13s323

1. 18. Fässler-D.Vanthoor (Audi R8 LMS) +20s534

DNF Ide-Mies (Audi R8 LMS) 20 laps

Main Race Race results:

1. Engelhart-Bortolotti (Lamborghini Huracan) 41 laps

2. Leonard-Frijns (Audi R8 LMS) +18s974

3. Stevens-Winkelhock (audi R8 LMS) +24s955

4. Szymkowiak-Schiller (Merceds AMG) +25s306

5. Palttala-Krohn (BMW M6) +25s909

6. Vanthoor-Fässler (Audi R8 LMS) +26s343

10. Dennis-Schothorst (Audi R8 LMS) +31s616

15. Ide-Mies (Audi R8 LMS) +41s733