BELGIAN AUDI CLUB TEAM WRT EAGER TO SHINE IN THE ‘BLANCPAIN’ AT SILVERSTONE

BELGIAN AUDI CLUB TEAM WRT EAGER TO SHINE IN THE ‘BLANCPAIN’ AT SILVERSTONE

30/05/2012

The race season of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT is going through one of its busiest periods, as the team heads to Silverstone for a third international event in three weeks. After the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring and the Navarra round of the FIA GT1 World Championship, it is now time to get reunited with the Blancpain Endurance Series, whose next stop will be at Silverstone. The British circuit, one of the iconic temples of speed in the world, will host the round 2 of the endurance series based on 3-hour races, and the entire Belgian squad is determined to go for a good result and defend and improve the current positions (2^nd and 6^th) in the championship. The R8s will be entrusted to Sandström-Vanthoor-Piccini and Haase-Mies-Ortelli, with the only novelty of Andrea Piccini replacing his country fellow Marco Bonanomi, who is taken this weekend by his Le Mans commitment with Audi Sport.

Following a not entirely satisfying couple of outings, there is even greater determination to do well n the Belgian camp. Team Principal Vincent Vosse speaks quite clearly about the team’s mood: “It is about time that we have a proper, good event and to bring back home a good result, such as a podium finish”, he states. “We have gone through a couple of frustrating events in the FIA GT1, and we are eager to correct that. The Blancpain is certainly a series where the Audis are less penalized in terms of balance of performance, and we clearly want to be at the forefront. I am sure the team will do excellent work, as usual, and I feel everybody is anxious ahead of this weekend at Silverstone, a circuit that we know well and where have been competitive last year.”

The main change ahead of the British race regards the driver line-up. With Marco Bonanomi taking part in the preliminary tests of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he will be part of the Audi Sport team, it will be another Italian joining Laurens Vanthoor and Edward Sandström at the wheel of the #1 Audi. The Tuscan, unanimously appreciated in the team, is delighted: “I am very happy to be racing again for WRT, it is always a pleasure, and even more so to do it at Silverstone. I know the circuit well and I like it a lot, it remains one of the most beautiful tracks around. While the R8 is not the fastest car in the Blancpain, I think it will be competitive, as the aerodynamics updates of this year are really effective. Given that I’m not involved full-time in the championship, my role will be to support the team as much as I can and to contribute my experience of Silverstone to work out the best set-up for the car.”

The #2 Audi will see racing its usual line-up, with Stéphane Ortelli, Christopher Haase and Christopher Mies, who will seek revenge after an unlucky start of the season in Monza, marked by a technical issue.

The Silverstone round will follow the usual Blancpain format, with all practice and qualifying sessions on Saturday, and the 3-hour race starting at 12:45 (local time) on Sunday.

Blancpain Endurance Series - Round 2

Silverstone, UK

2-3 June 2012

Timetable

Saturday 2 June 2012

09:00-10:00 Testing

11:20-12:50 Free Practice

14:40-15:40 Pre-qualifying

16:40-17:35 Qualifying

Sunday 3 June 2012

12:45-15:45 Race

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT

#1 Christopher Mies (DE) – Christopher Haase (DE) – Stéphane Ortelli (MC) Audi R8 LMS ultra

#2 Edward Sandström (SE) – Laurens Vanthoor (BE) – Andrea Piccini (IT) Audi R8 LMS ultra

Championship Standings (Pro) after Round 1 of 6

1. Palttala-Leinders-Martin 25 points

2. Bonanomi-Sandström-Vanthoor 18

3. Wauters-Wendlinger-Kumpen 15

4.Gattuso-Rigon-Zampieri (Ferrari 458 Italia) 12

5. Hennerici-Maassen-Goossens (Porsche 997) 10

6. Mies-Haase-Ortelli (Audi RB LMS) 8

For more information on the B.E.S.: www.blancpain-endurance-series.com