in Nurburgring grand finale
in Nurburgring grand finale
The Blancpain Endurance Series 2013 season is coming to an end this weekend at the legendary Nurburgring, in what can be described as a grand finale: the German round will be raced on a format traditional in endurance racing until few years ago (1000 km) which almost doubles the usual Blancpain race format, but most of all, the fight for the titles is hotter than ever before. Up to 15 driver teams are mathematically still in contention for the Drivers’ title and six teams, representing five different brands, can still clinch the Teams’ title. Needless to say, the battle in the Eifel is going to be memorable… The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT has a clear mission: to try to retain both crowns, after having won them in the first two editions of the Blancpain. Not an easy challenge, but the squad is determined to succeed and, with a corrected Balance of Performance, the Audis R8 LMS ultra should be competitive on the German track. For the occasion, the driver line-ups have been slightly reshuffled. Frank Stippler and Christopher Mies, who are the best placed in the Drivers’ competition, being only two points from the lead, will be supported by Rene Rast, while Edward Sandström, the second best-placed WRT driver, will be racing with Stephane Ortelli and Laurens Vanthoor. On the third car of the team, Niki Mayr-Melnhof and Rahel Frey welcome a new team-mate, Francesco Castellacci.
Expectation can hardly be higher at the eve of this decisive round and with such an open situation in the overall standings, which proves the level of competitiveness reached by the Blancpain Endurance Series. The good news is that the unfavourable Balance of Performance that penalized the Audi R8 LMS ultra throughout the 2013 season, something that was evident to everybody at the last Total 24 Hours of Spa, has been corrected ahead of the Nürburgring round. The R8 will race with a 5 mm bigger restrictor while ballast has been increased of 10 kgs.
This development has been welcomed by Team WRT, as underlined by Team Principal Vincent Vosse: “This, I believe, should correct the situation we have been going through during the entire season. I think we will have a balanced decisive battle at the Nürburgring. For us, it will be like starting all over again! It is going to be a terrific battle, because everybody is so close. It’s going to be a very exciting battle, with 4-5 different brands fighting, and we’ll have in front of us a very strong opposition, with very good teams and drivers. We have clinched both championships in the first two years of the Blancpain, but we still want to win! To add a third consecutive double title would be a tremendous achievement. It is going to be difficult, but we have our chances and we’ll go for it, as always”.
In the Teams’ standings, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT is second, eight points behind the leader, while in the Drivers’ ranking, Stippler-Mies, Sandstrom and Ortelli-Vanthoor-Rast still have their chances. This complex situation prompted some re-organization of the driver line-ups, as Sporting Director Pierre Dieudonné explains: “In both instances, the situation requires a great team effort. We will need our three cars in a good position to close the gap in the Teams’ championship, while in the Drivers’ competition, we have tried to put our eggs in different baskets, so to speak. Stippler and Mies, who are the best-placed and only two points behind the leaders, will be partnered by Rast on car #13, while Sandström, who is our second best chance, will be with Ortelli and Vanthoor on car #1.That made more sense than keeping Edward with his usual team-mates on car #13”.
A key feature of this decisive race is that the top six will score higher points than usual, as the race distance will be almost double. This is why the winner will get 33 points (instead of 25) and the following five positions 24, 19, 15, 12 and 9 points, respectively (instead of 18-15-12-10-8).
For Frank Stippler and Christopher Mies, the German duo that has best chances in the championship, the aim is to live a race weekend as normal as possible despite the stake. “There is some extra pressure, of course”, says, on behalf of the two, Frank, who last weekend raced and won at the famous Goodwood Festival for historic cars, “but it’s the same for all contenders. It is important not to think too much about the title chances, prepare the race as we always do, do a little bit more of sports to relax”. On a more personal note, the German added: “I did much development work in recent years, so I haven’t been competing complete championships for a while until last year. It’s already a satisfaction to get to the last race in a position to win such a competitive series as the Blancpain, and a title would be very nice, of course. But, really, the biggest satisfaction for me would be to give something back to the team after the great work they have done during the entire season. It hasn’t been an easy year and they would really deserve to be rewarded with a title”. Car #2, which will have a key role on the team’s effort, also sees a driver change, as Matt Halliday is replaced by a new-comer to the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, Francesco Castellacci. The 26-year-old Italian, well-known in the GT scene and a FIA European GT3 champion in 2011, has performed a shake-down of the R8 today at Zolder, mostly aimed checking his driving position in the R8 and getting him acquainted with the cockpit. “I am obviously delighted to join such a great team and to drive an Audi GT car for the first time in my career”, commented the Roman, “This is a great opportunity for me and I thank WRT for the trust. I have never driven the R8, but I think adaptation should be smooth, as I have experience with cars that have similar central engine architecture. I’ll do my best and look forward to contribute to the team’s effort this weekend.”
Practice and qualifying at the Nürburgring are scheduled on Saturday, with the 1000 km race kicking off at 11:45 on Sunday.
Blancpain Endurance Series - Round 5 Nurburgring, Germany 20-22 September 2013
Timetable (all times local = CET)
Friday 20 September 201315:50-16:50 Bronze test (not for WRT drivers)
Saturday 21 September 201309:00-10:30 Free Practice12:50-14:20 Pre-qualifying 16:50-17:50 Qualifying
Sunday 22 September 201311:45-17:45 Race (1000 km or 6 hrs max)
Belgian Audi Club
#1 Stephane Ortelli (MC) - Laurens Vanthoor (BE) – Edward Sandström (SE) (Pro)#2 Niki Mayr-Melnhof (AT) – Rahel Frey (CH) – Francesco Castellacci (IT) (Pro)#13 Frank Stippler (DE) – Christopher Mies (DE) – Rene Rast (DE) (Pro)
Drivers’ Championship Standings (Pro) after Round 4 of 5
1. Zampieri-Rigon-Ramos (Ferrari F458) 50 points2. Stippler-Mies (Audi R8 LMS ultra) 48 Buhk (Mercedes SLS) 4. Leinders-Buurman-Martin (Ferrari F458) 47 5. Lieb-Lietz-Pilet (Porsche 911 R) 397. Sandström 3112. Ortelli-Vanthoor-Rast (Audi R8 LMS ultra) 2416. Lotterer 2124. Halliday-Frey-Mayr-Melnhof ; Ekström 4
Teams’ Championship Standings (Pro) after Round 4 of 5
1. Marc VDS 66 points2. Belgian Audi Club Team WRT 583. Kessel Racing 534. HTP Motorsport 495. Manthey Racing 39
