It’s really a ‘near miss’: the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT came one point (or 351 thousandths of a second, if one prefers) short from conquering the Teams’ title in the Blancpain Endurance Cup… Once again, the Nürburgring produced a memorable and intense final race, with an unforeseen scenario. Odds were not in favor of the Belgian squad as it arrived to Germany, although determination to go for any left, even if slim, chance was absolute. As things turned out, and thanks to a brilliant race, Fred Vervisch and the Vanthoor brothers found themselves in a position to fight for the Teams’ title, which they would have conquered had they won the race. Despite a terrific final assault by Laurens, victory eluded the Audi for almost nothing (0.351 seconds), which left the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT tied in points (71) with Garage 59, the title going to the British teams because of better results (two wins)…
Team Principal Vincent Vosse was philosophical about the outcome: “It’s frustrating to get so close to the title and miss it, but that’s racing”, he commented. “The positive thing is that we were not expected to reduce the gap we had, and still, we fought for the crown until the very last. We were perfectly ready, we have done everything we had to do and we gave everything.”
Three of the five cars of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT finished the tough race in Germany, with Leonard-Meadows-Frijns taking a good P8, while there was frustration for the very early incident suffered by car #28 (Stevens-Mies-De Phillippi) which was starting from the front row.
The German weekend started with an exceptional P1 in free practice by Dries Vanthoor, 4 tenths ahead of everybody. Pre-qualifying was a little bit more difficult, and qualifying on Sunday morning delayed and disturbed by fog. Eventually, car #28 was the best qualified, with Christopher Mies making it to P2 and first row, with car #2 in P12 and car #3 in P13, with the other two further aback.
The race, in a typical grey and misty Eifel day, was going to be one to remember. It started badly for Will Stevens, as he was hit by a Lamborghini in the grid formation lap, an incident that required body repairs on the grid itself. The car did not seem affected, but in lap 10, #28 had to pit, and then retire, with a gearbox oil leak, a probable consequence of the contact, which left Christopher Mies and Connor DePhillippi without the possibility of even getting into the car.
Fortunately, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT members’ spirits were high thanks to Fred Vervisch, who took a perfect start and thanks to a brilliant move at first corner could pass many cars. “I tried and it went well”, commented modestly the Belgian whose stint was simply fantastic, bringing the car into the first pit stop in P2. Dries Vanthoor then took the wheel, but had to struggle in traffic before finishing his stint very strong, maintaining P2 and most of all, a minimal gap behind the leader. Laurens Vanthoor drove in the final stint shortened by a long safety-car period due to an off-track that required rebuilding some tire barriers. The SC period allowed to reduce even more the gaps and when the race re-started less than 30 minutes to the end, Laurens began an intense chase of the leading Lamborghini driven by Christian Engelhart. Vanthoor exerted maximal pressure on his rival, knowing that P1 could have meant the Teams’ title, but the German kept his temper and the Lamborghini revealed itself unreachable, although the gap never exceeded half-second. “Of course, it’s a pity to finish so close”, admitted Laurens, “but on the other hand, we really gave everything and did everything we could, so no regrets. It’s already something to have been in a position to fight for a win given our position on the grid and after the difficult season we had in the Endurance Cup…”
For the other cars of the team, there were mixed fortunes. Adrien Tambay did a magnificent initial stint, bringing car #3 from P41to P15, but later the efforts of Rodrigo Baptista and Sergio Jimenez were hindered by two punctures, the car having eventually to retire in the last half-hour with a wheel bone issue.
On car #2, Stuart Leonard, Michael Meadows and Robin Frijns had a consistent race, finishing eighth after the Dutchman regained in the final laps the positions lost in the safety-car period. Car #4 of Pierre Käffer, Adrien De Leener and young newcomer Ben Barnicoat finished in P29 after a good race but being slowed by a puncture.
With the Endurance Cup now over, the Blancpain GT Series will come to an end with the final round of the Sprint Cup, to be held at Barcelona on 1st-2nd October.
Blancpain GT Series – Endurance Cup - Round 5 of 5
Nürburgring 3 Hours, Germany
16-17 September 2016
Race results:
1. Engelhart-Bortolotti-Ineichen (Lambo Huracán) 85 laps
2. Vervisch-D.Vanthoor-L.Vanthoor (Audi R8 LMS) + 0s351
3. Buncombe-Takaboshi-Ordóñez (Nissan GT-R) + 1s997
4. Buhk-Baumann-Jaafar (Mercedes AMG) +15s307
5. Parrow-Mattschull-Keilwitz (Ferrari 488) +39s288
8. Leonard-Meadows-Frijns (Audi R8 LMS) +44s150
29. Käffer-De Leener-Barnicoat (Audi R8 LMS) - 1 lap
DNF Tambay-Jimenez-Baptista (Audi R8 LMS) 71 laps (mechanical)
DNF Stevens-Mies-DePhilippi (Audi R8 LMS) 9 laps (mechanical)
Final Drivers’ standings (Pro Cup) after Round 5 of 5:
1. Bell-Ledogar-Van Gisbergen 69 points
2. Buhk-Baumann-Jaafar 67
3. Soulet-Soucek-Reip 59
4. Eng-Sims 56
5. Martin 55
6. L.Vanthoor 54
8. Vervisch-D.Vanthoor 45
14. Baptista-Albuquerque-Magnussen 19
15. Stevens 19
17. Rast 18
22. García 12
25. Leonard-Meadows-Frijns 4
Final Teams’ standings (Pro Cup) after Round 5 of 5:
1. Garage59 71 points
2. Belgian Audi Club Team WRT 71
3. HTP Motorsports 70
4. Bentley M-Sport 65
5. ROWE Racing 60
8. Team WRT 35
