Blancpain Endurance Series: The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT and Vanthoor take win and BES titles in epic Ring finale

Belgian Audi Club Press Release

The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT reconquered the Blancpain Endurance Series today at the Nürburgring after an epic 1000 km race in very difficult conditions. Laurens Vanthoor was crowned as the new Driver Champion in the best way this could happen, by winning the race together with team mates César Ramos and Christopher Mies, at the end of a faultless and authoritative performance.

Rain, poor visibility and low temperatures for most of the 6-hour race made conditions worth of the “Green Hell” reputation of the German track, but the Audis R8 LMS ultra of the Belgian squad mastered the situation throughout the weekend. Basseng-Stippler-Nash also had the pace of the front-runners but their race was ruined by an alternator problem, while Richelmi-Kelders-Blanchemain took a good result in the Pro-Am Cup, completing the success of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, which rubricated its Team title by bringing the three cars to the finish.

With today’s triumph, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT signs a quite remarkable achievement, as it has conquered the double crown in the Blancpain Endurance Series three times out of the four editions held so far. Only in 2013, the top honours escaped from the hands of the Baudour-based squad, although that was widely compensated by the double title in the Sprint Series.

Vincent Vosse was, obviously, a happy Team Principal, once the chequered flag fell at the Nürburgring: “It’s simply fantastic”, he commented, “for Audi, for the Belgian Audi Club and for the entire WRT team. I am very proud of all the guys, because they really worked perfectly throughout the entire weekend. Everybody has done a great job, something that wasn’t easy in the dreadful conditions we have had for most of the weekend. Car #1 had no issues, and car #3 had a podium pace, if it hadn’t been for an alternator failure caused by some gravel getting lodged in the wrong place. I am also very happy of what shown by car #4, so I cannot ask for more tonight”.

Few meters next to him, Laurens Vanthoor was finally able to relax a bit, although he still couldn’t fully realize that he has added an Endurance title to the Sprint one won last year and to the Spa 24 Hours success of last July: “Exactly like in Baku last year, it will take me some hours and a number of drinks to fully realize I have won the title”, admitted the young Belgian, “At the moment, I just feel physically exhausted, not from the race but from all the stress. The decisive race is always a very special exercise but luckily, everything went very well, like in a dream. It was a difficult race, because of the rain and the slippery track. The choice to put on slicks in my second stint was the right one, but the initial laps were very, very tricky. I have to thank the team for the great job during the entire season, but also all my team mates, not only César and Christopher, that were with me today, but also Marc Basseng, Rene Rast and Markus Winkelhock, they all deserve a piece of the cup. Having had many different team mates proves once again that this was a team effort and shows the team spirit that exists within WRT.”

Things at the Ring started in the best possible way, with the two Pro cars of WRT trusting the front row, as Mies signed the pole ahead of Basseng, while #4 car qualified in P34.

The start of the race had to be given behind the safety-car, which stayed on track for several laps, as conditions were absolutely dreadful. Mies kept the advantage during most of his stint, being passed only by Estre, and handed the car in P2 over to Ramos, who was extremely cautious during his first laps and lost three positions against rivals that were on a double stint and knew the track conditions. But the Brazilian progressively raised his game throughout his double stint, finishing it in P3. Mies drove car #1 in the fourth hour, regaining the lead in lap 90. Then, Vanthoor took the wheel for a final double stint, to finish the job, something that wasn’t so easy, as the track started to dry partially, which led to putting on slicks for the final hour, despite of the risks.

Car #3 started the race with Basseng in P3, before a slight off-track put him in P9. Still, the bad news came during Stippler’s first stint, as the German had to stop to change the alternator, broken by some gravel. That cost the car 7 laps and a further delay came in the second half of the race, because of a drive-through for inadequate speed under yellow. Nevertheless, the car finished 10th and in the points in the Pro category.

Car #4 had a quieter Sunday and shone in the initial hour when Stéphane Richelmi, in his debut with the team, climbed as high as 15th despite the pouring rainfall. Blanchemain and Kelders, the two gentlemen-drivers, did an excellent job under the circumstances and Richelmi eventually brought the car to an excellent P11 in the highly-competitive Pro-Am category.

The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT may have brought home two more titles and the Spa 24 Hours, but its season isn’t over: there are still two rounds, Zolder and Baku, of the Blancpain Sprint Series to be raced, and the last word isn’t said

Photo credit: Belgian Audi Club / Patrick Hecq Photography

Blancpain Endurance Series: Laurens Vanthoor wins title for Audi

Audi Press Release

• #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra wins in finale at the Nürburgring
• Belgian Audi Club Team WRT wins teams’ classification as well
• First title for the Audi R8 LMS ultra in the 2014 season

Ingolstadt, September 21, 2014 – Laurens Vanthoor in the Audi R8 LMS ultra won the driver title in the Blancpain Endurance Series (BES) for Audi Sport customer racing. In the season finale, the Nürburgring 1000, the mere 23-year-old Belgian together with Christopher Mies and César Ramos was victorious in difficult conditions. In addition, the 33 points awarded for the victory at the Nürburgring earned the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT the team title in the prestigious endurance racing series. With that, the driver and team titles have gone to Audi for the third time in the Blancpain Endurance Series that has existed since 2011.

Vanthoor, who together with the Germans Markus Winkelhock and René Rast had won the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps at the end of July, had traveled to the Nürburgring as the sole leader of the standings with a seven-point advantage. His team-mate Christopher Mies put the #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra on the pole position in qualifying. In the race that was started behind the safety car in pouring rain, start driver Christopher Mies stood his ground in the pack of front runners. In second place, he turned over driving duties to the Brazilian César Ramos. Shortly after the turbulent race’s midpoint, Christopher Mies took the lead. Laurens Vanthoor defended the top position on a drying track and after six hours of racing crossed the finish line with an advantage of 57 seconds.

“Obviously, after having won the Sprint Series last year, I’m overjoyed about now winning the Endurance Championship. This shows that we’re competitive in both series,” said the Belgian. “I’d like to thank my team-mates without whom I couldn’t have clinched this title because in Markus Winkelhock, René Rast and Marc Basseng, and now here in the finale in Christopher Mies and César Ramos, I’ve had strong drivers running with me this season.”

“After the tough first three races, it didn’t look like we were going to again clinch the title,” said WRT team boss Vincent Vosse. “The turnaround happened when we clinched victory in the Spa 24 Hours. In the finale, all three drivers showed an absolutely impeccable performance on a slippery track in pouring rain and poor visibility. Winning both titles with a victory in such a race – you can’t do better than that.”

The #26 R8 LMS ultra of Team Saintéloc Racing became an early victim of the extremely difficult conditions. Stéphane Ortelli/Edward Sandström/Grégory Guilvert (MC/S/F), who had arrived at the Nürburgring as the runners-up in the standings, had to bury their championship ambitions after start driver Sandström had been touched by another vehicle and slid into the gravel trap at an early stage. The run of Super-G world champion Didier Cuche in the R8 LMS ultra of the Audi race experience was over early as well, following an off-track excursion by his team-mate Rahel Frey.

“The title win in the Blancpain Endurance Series, one of the world’s most challenging GT3 championships, marks another highlight in the customer sport program with the Audi R8 LMS ultra,” commented Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “Sincere congratulations to Laurens Vanthoor and the WRT squad. But Saintéloc Racing fought a respectable battle as well, albeit the team was unfortunate in the finale. Congratulations also to Ian Loggie and Julian Westwood from Team Parker Racing, who were the front runners in the Gentleman Trophy in the finale.”

Photo credit: Blancpain GT Series

Blancpain Endurance Series: Mies takes pole in eventful Qualifying Session

Blancpain Endurance Series Press Release

Christopher Mies took pole for the final round of the 2014 Blancpain Endurance Series, at the wheel of the #1 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi. The German set his quickest lap in Q2, just before a rain shower hit the Nürburgring. Mies’s time proved to be more than four tenths of a second quicker than the one set by his team-mate Marc Basseng on the #3 Audi. Marco Seefried in the #52 AF Corse Ferrari set the third time overall and the quickest time in Pro-Am, while Alexander Matschull proved to be the fastest Gentlemen Trophy driver in the #458 GT Corse by Rinaldi Ferrari.

The Qualifying session for the iRacing.com Nürburgring 1000 was decided halfway through Q2, just before a rain shower made it impossible to improve lap times. At the start of Q2, Christopher Mies was one of the first to leave pitlane in his #1 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi. Shod with new tyres, he set the fastest time of the session, with a lap of 1’55.708. Mies was transferred to the #1 Audi before the start of the weekend, and now has Cesar Ramos and Pro Cup points leader Laurens Vanthoor as his team-mates.

Shortly after setting his poletime, Mies was quickly followed by his countrymen Marc Basseng in the #3 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi and Marco Seefried in the #52 AF Corse Ferrari. Seefried, who shares the car with Pro-Am Cup championship contender Francesco Castellacci, also set pole in Pro-Am Cup. Castellacci’s former team-mates and co-leaders in the standings Andrea Rizzoli and Stefano Gai ended up in sixth position among the Pro-Am cars, driving their #90 Scuderia Villorba Corse Ferrari.

Steven Kane’s time in Q1 was enough to put the #7 M-Sport Bentley on the second row, while the third row will be occupied by the #99 ART Grand Prix McLaren and the #8 M-Sport Bentley. The Sainteloc Racing trio of Guilvert-Ortelli-Sandström, second in the Pro Cup driver standings, put their #26 Audi on the fifth row.

Alexander Matschull, driving the #458 GT Corse by Rinaldi Ferrari, took pole in the Gentlemen Trophy. Matschull, together with team-mate Frank Schmickler, is going for a fourth win of the season, which could also give them the Gentlemen Trophy’s title. They will have to make up a 22-point deficit on the AF Corse-duo Peter Mann and Francisco Guedes, who will start the race from the last row on the grid.

Christopher Mies (#1 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi): “The plan was to start Q2 on used tyres, but when we saw the dark clouds we changed our tactics and shod the car with new Pirelli’s. It proved to be the right choice. I managed to do two quick laps, before it started to drizzle. It’s a good thing that the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT has two cars on the front row and my focus is now on helping the team to win the team’s title and to help Laurens to remain on top of the Pro Cup standings.”

Marco Seefried (#51 AF Corse Ferrari): “We did the right thing at the right time. Before the start of Q2 we were all running up and down the stairs to look at the clouds, because we all know the Nürburgring very well and we knew what we had to look for. It was clear that it would rain, but the question of when it would start to pour down remained. That is why we put new tyres on the car immediately as well, and it worked out great. In the race we will focus fully on the Pro-Am classification, because Francesco Castellacci still has a shot at the title.”

Alexander Matschull (#458 GT Corse by Rinaldi Ferrari): “Even though we had anticipated the rain by putting a wet set-up on the car, it was still dry when I did my lap. It gives us a good position on the starting grid, but our task in the championship remains very difficult. That is why we will focus on trying to win a fourth race this season, and then see where it gets us in the standings.”

Photo credit: Blancpain GT Series

Blancpain Endurance Series: Season finale full of highlights for Audi sport customer racing

Audi Press Release

• Audi R8 LMS ultra to battle for the title at the Nürburgring
• Four teams with seven GT3 race cars from Audi on the grid
• Skiing world champion Didier Cuche to celebrate Audi racing debut

Ingolstadt, September 16, 2014 – In GT racing, Audi will be celebrating the finale of the Blancpain Endurance Series on September 21 with several attractions. The 1,000-kilometer race on the Nürburgring will not only be about the decision between the four Audi drivers at the top of the standings and their immediate rivals. In the closing event of the season, the Swiss Ski World Cup winner Didier Cuche will also be celebrating his debut in the Audi R8 LMS ultra. At the same time, Audi will be looking at a four-digit number of racing commitments of the successful customer sport program in the Eifel.

This will be a Swiss stunner: Super-G world champion Didier Cuche will be tackling his first car race in an Audi. The 40-year-old race rookie will be relying on the support of two compatriots, as Rahel Frey, who has been clinching success in motorsport with Audi since 2011, and Nico Müller, who is in his first year of racing in the DTM with Audi, are sharing the cockpit with the former professional ski racer from Le Pâquier. The prominent entrant is the most recent example of a number of newcomers receiving professional training by the Audi race experience. They complete a systematic educational program for race drivers, from license training through to actually competing in a race.

Whereas the racing action will be a thrilling Audi premiere for Cuche, Laurens Vanthoor is looking forward with eager anticipation to round five of the season as the leader of the standings. In July, the 23-year-old Belgian at the wheel of the Audi R8 LMS ultra won the Spa 24 Hours, the Blancpain Endurance Series season’s pinnacle event, for the first time. Now he is fired up for clinching his first title in the series. On achieving his triumph in his home round, the driver of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT gained a seven-point advantage. 33 points are awaiting the race winner at the Nürburgring. Breathing down Vanthoor’s neck are three brand colleagues from another Audi customer team: Grégory Guilvert/Stéphane Ortelli/Edward Sandström (F/MC/S) are competing for Saintéloc Racing from France, were the best Audi driver team in two rounds this season and are in the runner-up spot of the standings with an equal points score. Mathematically, no less than 16 drivers still have chances of taking the title. In the Pro Cup teams’ classification, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT is leading with an eleven-point advantage, while Saintéloc Racing is sharing second place with a competitor that has an equal number of points. For Audi, a success at the Nürburgring would mark the third title in this prestigious endurance series within the space of four years.

In total, the current entry list reflects seven Audi R8 LMS ultra cars. In addition to the three cars of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, the two race cars of Saintéloc Racing and the car of the Audi race experience, Team Parker Racing will be putting another R8 LMS ultra on the grid. The British team is currently in third place of the Gentlemen Trophy teams’ classification.

But not only the number of entrants proves the popularity of the GT3 model with the four rings that delivers up to 560 hp. Since 2009, 120 units of the race car with the 5.2-liter V10 engine have been delivered and won 23 motorsport championships around the world to date. The race at the Nürburgring marks the 1,000th run in a major racing event in five years – in addition, there are numerous other competitions on regional and local levels in Australia, Asia, Europe and North America, as the R8 LMS is a popular model in club sport as well. The 1,000th run explains why the race car of the Audi race experience is designated as car number 1000.

“Following our victory in the Spa 24 Hours in July, the season finale featuring this large number of attractions will definitely be another season highlight in the Blancpain Endurance Series,” Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport customer racing, is certain. “We wish our customers and their drivers a lot of success. It would be fantastic to win the next title in this fiercely competitive and high-caliber Blancpain Endurance Series. The success of our customers underscores the status of the R8 LMS ultra, which has long become a living GT legend.”

The Audi teams at the Nürburgring

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT
#1 Marc Basseng/Cesar Ramos/Laurens Vanthoor (D/BR/B)
#3 Christopher Mies/James Nash/Frank Stippler (D/GB/D)
#4 Jean-Luc Blanchemain/Christian Kelders/Stéphane Richelmi (F/B/MC)

Team Parker Racing
#22 Ian Loggie/Julian Westwood (GB/GB)

Saintéloc Racing
#25 Claude-Yves Gosselin/Jean-Claude Lagniez/Marc Rostan (F/F/F)
#26 Grégory Guilvert/Stéphane Ortelli/Edward Sandström (F/MC/S)

Audi race experience
#1000 Didier Cuche/Rahel Frey/Nico Müller (CH/CH/CH)

Photo credit: Audi Media

Q&A: Interview with Laurens Vanthoor - Audi factory driver and Spa 24 Hours winner

By Tarek Ramchani

Laurens Vanthoor is no doubt one of the strongest and fastest GT driver around. A factory Audi driver since 2013, Laurens Vanthoor won that same year the FIA GT Series title in just his second season in GT racing.

The Belgian ace recentley won the prestigious Spa 24 Hours race and took the overall lead in the Blancpain Endurance Series Pro-Cup drivers' standing.

We were pleased to have an interview with Laurens Vanthoor. A very interesting Q/A about his debut with the Audi brand in GT racing, the 2014 season and his expectations for the upcoming races this year.

You joined Belgian Audi Club Team WRT in 2012 coming from single-seater formulas , tell us more about that.

My dream was ofcourse always to do F1 as a young driver. My first three years in single seat were very promising but my last year in Euroseries was a disaster. It was due to different reason, relationship with the team, technical issues, myself, private life,... So everything went wrong.

After that I tried to view my next years in life in a realistic view. F1 was my dream, but how many chances do I have to arrive there and to make it my job ? That was very small, even if I went further and for example won races.. At that moment I did not had the support from somebody who could open doors or could bring me the sponsorship money, and maybe I was just not good enough..

But luckily I had a very good support from the Belgian VW Club (VW Motorsport Belgium), specially from J.G. Mal Voy. He supported me a lot and helped me on many many aspects. We sat together and spoke about the future and came to the same conclusion to go for plan B. J.G. Mal Voy was also responsible for the Belgian Audi Club who at the point were helping WRT. He made the contact between Vincent Vosse, Rene Verbist and Pierre Dieudonne and what happened after was clear. The goal was to become as quick as possible an Audi Factory driver and to start making a living of motorsport. Because in the end that's what I love, and making it your job is a dream.

Since last year you are a factory Audi driver, how is it diffrent compared to the first year as a Team WRT driver?

Basically it didn't change a lot to the pure driving aspect. There came a bit more activities and commitments. You have to pay a bit more attention to your behaviour and your professionallity because you are representing the brand. In the end it becomes your job.

You have a busy 2014 season with Belgian Audi Club Team WRT between Blancpain Endurance Series and Blancpain Sprint Series, which one is more demanding?

I personally always love to drive the Sprint series because it's a bit more exciting for me. Sprint races, 1 hour to go and all-in. So I was really happy to win the series last year. But for myself I wanted to try and win the Endurance series this year, to prove that I'm also able to be an endurance driver.

The Spa 24 Hours was a dream race, pole position, outright victory and new Pro-Cup leader in Blancpain Endurance Series, tell us more about the event.

Yes, it's still quite hard to believe. Achieving these results in Belgium, with a Belgium team, with the Belgian Audi Club and my long-time partner Grafiwrap. Is quite a dream story. In the end it was a very exciting race but we worked hard and nobody made a mistake, the job on the team was incredible and I would say they deserved it more then us the drivers !

Like mentioned before after winning the Sprint series last year, this year I wanted to win a big 24 Hours race and the Endurance championship. Obviously this weekend helped me a lot to achieve that dream.

Aren't you missing your partner Stéphane Ortelli with whom you won the FIA GT Series title last year?

For sure Stephane and me had a extremely good relationship. We knew each other for more then 2 years at the end and he teached me a lot in motorsports but also in life. It's quite funny that he could be my dad, but Stephane it still living his life like a young, passionated race driver and that's impressive to see. I always tell people that I hope I can still do the same when I have his age !

To reply the question, of course I miss him but life goes on and we know that.. Maybe one day we will drive again together, who knows. At the moment I'm working close with Cesar Ramos in both championships and we have a very good relationship between ourselves but also with our car crew. But it's different because this time it's me who is the more experienced guy in the car and team so I'm taking more the responsibility in some occasions. But Cesar has proven that he is very quick and I think in the second part of the season that we will be even stronger !

Earlier this year you did Bathurst 12 Hour, what about racing in North America with Audi customer teams?

I would love to race in the US. I should have been driving with Audi at Daytona this year but it got cancelled in the end. I hope I will get my chance there soon because I love the US and can't wait to do my first race there to see how it is..

When it comes to Audi full factory racing, which one do you prefer Le Mans or DTM?

It's difficult. Maybe slightly Le Mans because I think I prefer the way of working. Since I started in GT racing I always liked it to have a partner and to work together. Boost each other, having different opinions.

DTM is more everybody for himself but on the other hand DTM is more sprint wise of racing. I would only be happy in DTM if I can be able to fight for victories and be a front runner..

What is your favourite track?

Exciting onces, maybe not the most safe places but where you can get a lot of adrenaline! The Nordschleife, Macau!

Photo credit: Audi Media

VIDEO: Audi victory at the 24 Hours of Spa 2014

A great video by Audi Media featuring the Audi victory at the prestigious Total 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.



Photo credit: IG Autorennsport

Spa 24 Hours: Fantastic win for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT at the Spa 24 Hours

Belgian Audi Club Press Release

It was the result everybody would have secretly dreamt of, but eventually it also became reality: the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT has won the Total 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, offering Audi its third success in four years in the world’s most prestigious GT race, which, in its 90th anniversary, proved to be worth of its reputation. After 24 hours of a race conducted at sprint pace, with not a single drop of rain and marred with race incidents, Laurens Vanthoor, Markus Winkelhock and René Rast took a magnificent victory, the second for WRT after the one in 2011, by only 7 seconds over their main rivals, with whom they battled until the very end.

The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT had the satisfaction to take also the third spot on the podium, with Christopher Mies-Frank Stippler-James Nash, and also to bring to the finish its four cars, with André Lotterer-Marcel Fässler-Bénoît Tréluyer taking P12 overall and Jean-Luc Blanchemain-Fred Bouvy-Christian Kelders-Vincent Radermecker finishing 9th in the Pro-Am category. For Audi, the win at Spa adds to the ones at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Nürburgring, a hat-trick that clearly demonstrates the marque’s endurance racing expertise.

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT team principal Vincent Vosse was almost speechless after the race: “What can I say? It is difficult to express with words what I feel at this moment”, he admitted, “It has been a fantastic victory and a wonderful weekend, we couldn’t ask for more… Winning by a handful of seconds adds much more to this win. It has been an extremely tough race, very closely-fought and we have had our difficult moments too… On Sunday morning, we were not so confident, then we changed our strategy and went for full attack and that proved to be the right move.

Our four cars have finished, two are on the podium, which means that this is the fourth year on a row that we finish on the podium. It’s just incredible! The entire team and all the drivers have done a terrific job, I think I will never forget the first stints of Laurens and the last one of René, amazing!” And summing up everybody’s feelings in the team during the well-deserved celebrations, Vosse concluded: “You work so hard the entire year for this race, you think of it every minute for so long that now, when you have reached your goal, you are simply wiped out…”

The winning car #1 had started the race leading it, thanks to the brilliant superpole conquered by Laurens Vanthoor, but then a very turbulent phase of the race, with numerous accidents leading to four different safety-car periods and even a red flag of over one hour, brought the leading trio down in the standings. It was only during the seventh hour that the Audi R8 LMS #1 retook the first spot. From there to the end, especially in the final hours, the race was a long duel with the leading BMW, with pit stop strategy playing an essential role. Finally, Winkelhock, Vanthoor and Rast, who drove in the last part of the race, emerged as victors by a margin of 7 seconds only. “Right now, I feel a little bit overwhelmed”, confessed Laurens Vanthoor, “I still cannot measure what it means to win here. Everybody did an incredible job, and I want to thank my team mates, Markus and René, for replacing me this morning when I felt ill. We fought hard, didn’t make mistakes and didn’t suffer any trouble. It was a perfect race for us…”

For the young Belgian comes also the satisfaction of having taken the lead in the points standings of the Drivers’ championship; he will go to the last round at the Nürburgring in September with a 7-point advantage. Similarly, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT has taken the lead in the Teams’ standings.

Car #3 of Christopher Mies-James Nash-Franck Stippler took an excellent final third position, although there were some regrets for having to abandon the fight for victory after many hours in the forefront. “We paid the two drive-throughs we were inflicted”, explained Stippler, “so there is some disappointed but it is still great to take third and contribute to the team’s great day”.

Car #2 of the “Le Mans stars”, André Lotterer-Marcel Fässler-Bénoît Tréluyer, was also in contention for the podium but lost any chance five hours from the end after a collision with a slower car at La Source during an overtaking. Then driven by Tréluyer, the car lost precious time in the pits for repairs to the left front suspension and the splitter. “It’s a pity because we also had the pace to be on the podium”, said Marcel Fässler, “but these things happen, and the risks deriving from traffic and non-professional drivers are part of endurance racing.”

Car #4 of Jean-Luc Blanchemain, Christian Kelders, Vincent Radermecker and Fred Bouvy had a relatively smooth race up to the 9th position in the Pro-Am category. “It’s an excellent result for a team composed of two gentlemen and two semi-professional drivers”, analyzed Blanchemain, the only non-Belgian of the quator, “we haven’t done any big mistake and to finish 9th out of 30 Pro Am cars and in P20 overall out of 60 starters is not bad at all”.

Photo credit: Audi Media

Spa 24 Hours: Marc Basseng on position 14 with the Czech Team ISR at the 24 hour race of Spa-Francorchamps

Marc Basseng Press Release

Rosenbach/Spa-Francorchamps (rol/ot) The race driver Marc Basseng from Rosenbach (Saxony) returns from the Total 24 hour race with about 60 drivers at start on Sunday (27th of July) in Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) with a good 14 th overall position. He shared the cockpit of the Audi R8 LMS Ultra of the Czech Team ISR with the German Fabian Hamprecht and the Czech Filip Salaquarda.

“We crossed the finish line and we scored a good position with our GT3 race car, which is a nice success”, the 35 year old explained, who is on overall position ten at the Pro Cup drivers ranking after the fourth season event of the Blancpain Endurance Series. Winners in Belgium have been his brand colleagues Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium), Markus Winkelhock and Rene Rast (both Germany) of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, which for Basseng drives this year as well.

“The team ISR had its 24 hour race premiere and its premiere with an Audi, so our result is even better. Of course there is not that much experience yet, which means a loss of time at the pit stops for example. But we made it until the finish line”, Marc Basseng explained, who has been FIA GT1 world champion in 2012. “Of course we had a few highlight in Spa, the car in the gravel as well as a fire accident in the pit, when fuel ignited and the Audi has been on fire. Nobody got hurt and after the flames were extinguished we were able to get back on track.”

The race must have been very exhausting due to the heat, the furious driving of other combatants, a lot of crashes and safety car phases. “But it has been great fun anyway”, the driver from Rosenbach said, who has been behind the wheel for about eight hours. The next race at the VLN long track championship for Marc Basseng is already scheduled for next Saturday (2nd of August). He will share the cockpit of the Audi R8 LMS Ultra of Team Phoenix Racing with Frank Stippler (Bad Münstereifel) at the four hour long 37th RCM DMV Grenzland race.

Photo credit: Audi Media

Spa 24 Hours: Sainteloc Racing performed well in the Belgian classic with Audi

By Tarek Ramchani

Sainteloc Racing was one of the four Audi Sport customer racing teams at the Total 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. The French team entered two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars showing an impressive pace.

The two cars competed in two different classes, one in the upper Pro-Cup and the second in the Gentlemen Trophy.

The #26 Audi R8 LMS ultra, the car which entered the Pro-Cup class was very impressive. The FIFA backed Audi driven by Stéphane Ortelli, Edward Sandstrom and Gregolry Guilvert who had great Blancpain Endurance Series races in the first three rounds at Monza, Silverstone and Paul Ricard.

At Spa-Francorchamps the three drivers were among the strongest and fastest line-ups in a very demanding Pro-Cup field. They narrowly missed the podium and ended in a very strong fourth place overall right behind another Audi, the #3 R8 LMS ultra from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT.

With their strong Spa performances, Stéphane Ortelli, Edward Sandstrom and Gregolry Guilvert moved to second place in the Blancpain Endurance Series Pro-Cup drivers' standing with 67 points. At the Nurburgring for the season finale the three drivers will challenge the series leader and Audi driver Laurens Vanthoor (Belgian Audi Club Team WRT) for Pro-Cup drivers' championship title.

Unfortunately the second car from Sainteloc Racing was forced to retire. The #25 Audi R8 LMS ultra which entered the Gentlemen Trophy class was fast but had a severe crash ending its race. The car was driven by Jean-Paul Buffin, Claude-Yves Gosselin, Philippe Haezebrouck and Marc Rostan.

Photo credit: Blancpain GT Series

Spa 24 Hours: Emotional second for Team Parker Racing in 24-hour debut with Audi

By Tarek Ramchani

The Audi brand had a very successful race at the Total 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. A great overall victory with Belgian Audi Club Team WRT and strong performances from all four customer teams in the different classes.

Team Parker Racing who entered the Gentlemeb Trophy class in the stellar event of the Blancpain Endurance Series performed very well. The British Audi team took an emotional second place with their white and green #22 Audi . Not bad for a team debuting in 24-hour endurance races with the all conquering R8 LMS ultra.

The car was shared by Ian Loggie, Leonid Machitski, Carl Rosenblad and Julian Westwood. The four drivers were among the strongest in a very demanding field.

Team Parker Racing achieved an amazing 28th place overall (out of 61 entries) and were right behind the winning #51 Ferrari 458 GT3 from team AF Corse in their class.

With strong results at the Spa 24 Hours, Team Parker Racing is now third in the overall Gentlemen Trophy teams' standing with 58 points. Ian Loggie and Julian Westwood are fifth the drivers standing with 50 points each.

The British will be back at the Nurburgring, the season finale of the Blancpain Endurance Series and a special 1000km event.

Photo credit: Audi Media

Spa 24 Hours: Audi wins the Spa 24 Hours 2014

By Tarek Ramchani

Audi did it again at Spa-Francorchamps. The Ingolstadt brand just won the prestigious Total 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps overall with the all conquering Audi R8 LMS ultra. A total of four cars made into the Top 5 overall.

The winning #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra run by the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT was simply the best car in this demanding all GT3 field. Laurens Vanthoor, René Rast and Markus Winkelhock who started from pole position Saturday afternoon crossed the finish line victorious covering 527 laps. René Rast made the decisive move with 15 minutes left passing the leading BMW.

The three drivers pushed very hard all race long and deserved this victory after a very hard 24-hour race. Laurens Vanthoor, René Rast and Markus Winkelhock gave also Audi a first victory this season in the Blancpain Endurance Series.

René Rast won his second Spa 24 Hours victory after the victory in 2012 with Phoenix Racing. for both Laurens Vanthoor and Markus Winkelhock this is a first win in the Belgian Ardennes.

Second place went to the #77 BMW Z4 GT3 from BMW Sports Trophy Team VDS driven by Dirk Werner, Lucas Lhur and Markus Paltalla. The podium was completed by the #3 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT in the hands of Christopher Mies, Frank Stippler and James Nash who performed very well all race long.

A great race for the French Sainteloc Racing team. Their #26 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Stéphane Ortelli, Edward Sandstrom and Gregory Guilvert ended in a very strong fourth place.

Bad luck hit the three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winners. André Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler finished twelfth overall after loosing many laps in their garage.

Credits to the British Parker Racing Team who finished the Spa 24 Hours in a fine second place within the Gentlemen Trophy class. Their #22 Audi R8 LMS ultra was driven by Ian Loggie, Leonid Machitski, Carl Rosenblad and Julian Westwood.

This marks the third major endurance victory for Audi this year after the wins at Le Mans 24 Hours with Audi Sport Team Joest (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) and the Nurburgring 24 Hours with Phoenix Racing (Audi R8 LMS ultra). Audi repeated an achievement already done in 2012 when the brand won all three major European endurance races.

For the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT today's victory at Spa-Francorchamps is their second in the Belgian endurance classic after their first win back in 2011.

At first the Audi victory looks really easy, but fact is the field was great and the race was very hard for all competitors. A lot of Saftey Car periods and even a long red flag after a horrific crash involving two Ferrari 458 GT3s highlighted this 2014 edition.

Now all focus will be on the Blancpain Endurance Series season finale at the Nurburgring. Audi teams and drivers will fight for the championship titles in the special 1000km race. Laurens Vanthoor is the new Pro-Cup leader with 74 points followed by the three Sainteloc Racing Audi drivers Stéphane Ortelli, Edward Sandstrom and Gregory Guilvert in second with 67 points.

Photo credit: Audi Media

Spa 24 Hours: Audi R8 LMS ultra cars starting grid

By Tarek Ramchani

Audi took a sensational pole position at the Spa 24 Hours with the #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT in the hands of Laurens Vanthoor, René Rast and Markus Winkelhock.

Below the starting grid of all eight Audi R8 LMS ultra cars in the Belgian endurance classic and stellar event of the Blancpain Endurance Series.

P1 #1 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT - René Rast/Laurens Vanthoor/Markus Winkelhock 

P4 #26 Sainteloc Racing - Stéphane Ortelli/Grégory Guilvert/Edward Sandström

P5 #3 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT - Christopher Mies/James Nash/Frank Stippler

P12 #2 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT - Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer 

P29 #75 ISR Racing Team -  Marc Basseng/Fabian Hamprecht/Filip Salaquarda 

P33 #4 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT - Jean-Luc Blanchemain/Fred Bouvy/Christian Kelders/Vincent Radermecker

P54 #22 Team Parker Racing - Ian Loggie/Leonid Machitski/Carl Rosenblad/Julian Westwood

P59 #25 Sainteloc Racing - Jean-Paul Buffin/Claude-Yves Gosselin/Philippe Haezebrouck/Marc Rostan

Photo credit: Audi Media