Belgian Audi Club heads to Spa 24Hrs with great hopes, 5 cars

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July 27, 2016 in Motorsport

Belgian Audi Club heads to Spa 24Hrs with great hopes, 5 cars and a last-minute top recruit

The greatest GT race of all is knocking at the door: as the tradition wants it, the last week of July means Total 24 Hours of Spa! Everything is ready in the Ardennes to welcome the world’s most prestigious GT endurance race, which reaches this year edition number 68. For the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, it is also home race, adding a special taste to it. The Belgian squad is entering this year five cars, with its works R8 LMS, under the banner of Audi Sport Team WRT, as customary at Spa, entrusted to Laurens Vanthoor-René Rast-Nico Müller. Vincent Vosse’s troops have a clear and ambitious challenge: to continue the string of podium finishes (including two wins) that they have collected in the last five years. A good result at Spa, which gives points after the 6, 12 and 24 hours marks, is also key to stay in the race for the Blancpain Endurance Cup titles. The team has prepared thoroughly this stellar event, which will see some reshuffling in the driver line-ups, with a significant last-minute addition to the team: Bertrand Baguette, one of the top Belgian drivers of his generation.

What the Total 24 Hours of Spa mean to Audi has been perfectly summarized by Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing: “65 race cars from eleven marques on a track which is an absolute dream. This is a first-class challenge. For the many Audi fans in Belgium, the worldwide GT community as well as our customer teams and the drivers, the 24 Hours of Spa is again the season’s pinnacle event this year.” No less than 11 Audis R8 LMS will be entered this year, by four different teams, with the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT contributing almost half of them.

Team Principal Vincent Vosse is confident ahead of the big race: “We are more prepared than ever for the 24 Hours. I believe we have a very solid and competitive package and I would be very disappointed if we won’t be in a position to fight for the win or a podium position. This said, we know that in a race like that, there are thousands of variables and that the competition is very strong. We’ll know more on Thursday evening, after free practice and qualifying…”

Sporting Director Pierre Dieudonné, who will be taking care of cars #2, 3 and 4 (with Thierry Tassin directing #1 and #28), confirms: “We are well prepared, to the extent

you can be prepared for the so many unforeseens of a race like this one. What I mean is that we are ready, well-equipped in terms of competitive cars and line-ups, and that we now start to have a great deal of experience from the previous years, which is something essential in endurance racing. We are also perfectly used to work with our colleagues of Audi Sport Customer Racing, who lend us special support in key races such as the Spa and Nürburgring 24 Hours.”

As indicated, car #28, under the colors of Audi Sport Team WRT, will be entrusted to Laurens Vanthoor, René Rast (two former winners at Spa) and Nico Müller. Vanthoor will come to Spa as a fresh … husband, as he recently married long-time companion Jacqueline. “I try to approach this race in the most neutral way”, explains the Hasselt-born, “trying to avoid both being pessimistic and optimistic, and taking it as a normal race, although we know it is not. Because of the car, the team, the support from Audi and the drivers, we know #28 is among the top contenders, but so many things can happen. The fact that we need heavy points to stay in the race for the title adds a little bit of pressure, but this will not affect our strategy. At the end of the day, this is the kind of race worthier than a championship…”

A top candidate for a podium finish is also car #1, where former F.1 racer Will Stevens will be teaming up with Fred Vervisch and Dries Vanthoor. This will be the first 24 Hours race with a GT3 car for the youngest of the Vanthoor brothers, who is very excited ahead his debut: “The Spa 24 Hours race is really something”, he admits, “and I am very happy to be part of it. It’s a long week, with many activities around it, but I am trying to approach it as just another endurance race. We have a very strong package, we are ready to push but the first objective is to finish the race, knowing that if you do, generally you are in a good position. I am anxious to be in the car, that is where I feel best, although I am conscious that managing well the time you are not at the wheel is equally important. I’ll try to re-hydrate properly, stay quiet and have some rest. Laurens is giving me some tips, but not that many!”

Car #2 will be in the hands of Britons Stuart Leonard and Michael Meadows together with Dutchman Robin Frijns. The British pair and the Dutchman have shown excellent pace in the previous outings, but haven’t been rewarded of their efforts yet. Spa may well offer them the opportunity to correct this. The Portuguese-speaking trio formed by Sérgio Jimenez, Rodrigo Baptista and Filipe Albuquerque and sharing car #3, put a very strong performance at the Ricard 6 Hours, clinching a fantastic podium finish that proved their competitiveness. No doubt that both cars are to be accounted among the potential front runners and that in such a long race, they may be very well-placed on Sunday afternoon.

On the contrary, a last-minute change occurred in the line-up of car #4 as Peter Kox, taken by other professional commitments, has been forced to withdraw. To replace him, Vincent Vosse has called in a ‘heavy-weight’, Bertrand Baguette, who arrived at Spa Tuesday afternoon after racing in Japan last Sunday. One of the most talented and experienced Belgian drivers of his generation, the 30-year-old, a former F.Renault 3.5 champion and LMP2 winner at the Le Mans 24 Hours, is also a real local hero, being born in Verviers, a ten-minute drive from Spa. Needless to say, his presence is thrilling many people, starting from Bertrand himself, who commented: “I’m, of course, delighted to have the opportunity to race the Spa 24 Hours with such a great team like WRT, and a Belgian one on top of everything. I have not raced in Europe since 2013, precisely at the Spa 24 Hours, and I don’t know the Audi R8 LMS, which I have driven only briefly at the Race of Champions 2010, something that cannot be deemed as a GT race, but I am sure everything will be OK. Spa is my

home track, the team is very professional, we have a good car and a strong line-up: we have a good chance to do well. But, first, I need a good night of sleep…”

Activity at Spa, on the track and outside, will commence on Tuesday, as customary, with practice and qualifying sessions scheduled on Thursday and the Super Pole on Friday. Start (Saturday) and finish (Sunday) time of the race is 16:30.

Blancpain Endurance Series - Round 4

Total 24 Hours of Spa – Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium

30-31 July 2016

Timetable (all times local = CET)

Tuesday 26 July 2016 14:55-17:55 Bronze test

Wednesday 27 July 2016

16:00-20:00 Parade (in Spa)

Thursday 28 July 2016

13:20-14:50 Free Practice

17:45-18:45 Pre-qualifying

Friday 29 July 2016

18:00-18:30 Super Pole