Emil Frey Racing: Victory at the last minute
BLANCPAIN SERIES In the third outing of the two Lexus GT3s in the Blancpain GT Endurance Cup, Emil Frey Racing celebrated a sensational victory in the 1000-km race at Paul Ricard. The decisive maneuver was achieved on the last lap. The third round of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup was held on Saturday evening at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet.
The third round of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup took place on Saturday evening at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet and covered a distance of 1000 kilometers. Among the 50 GT3 sports cars, the two Lexus RC F GT3s from Emil Frey Lexus Racing were among the fastest right from the start.
The Safenwil car with start number #14 of start driver Marco Seefried (D), second relief Christian Klien (D) and final runner Albert Costa (E) remained in constant contact with the leading group thanks to a faultless drive and perfect pit stops. Events then came thick and fast in the final hour.
Problems with the leaders
McLaren, which had been leading for a long time, failed to make its final refueling stop, as a result of which the British team received a pit drive-through penalty and ultimately dropped back to third place.
When technology on the fastest Ferrari in the field led to its retirement, Costa moved up to second position in the final half hour. This alone would have been a dream result.
But it got even better. During the night, the Spaniard set faster lap times than the leading Bentley Continental GT with Jules Gounon at the wheel. The loose front hood impaired the visibility of the Frenchman sitting deep in the car to such an extent that he had to let the Spaniard overtake him four corners before the end.
Dreamlike finish shortly before midnight
When the chequered flag was waved a quarter of an hour before midnight, the Swiss Lexus team with factory support from Japan was surprisingly in the lead.
The potential of the Lexus RC F GT3 was already evident at the last race in Silverstone, where the second car with #114 of Stéphane Ortelli, Markus Palttala and Norbert Siedler had ensured the first podium place in the most important GT3 endurance series with 3rd place. This time they fell victim to an accident.
Albert Costa, who had fought his way to victory for the team, was overwhelmed at the end.
Albert Costa: "I think I'm dreaming! Even when I heard about the Ferrari's problem over the radio and we moved up to P2, I could hardly believe it. I then pushed, but also didn't want to overuse the tires for the last 40 minutes. Gounon was strong in the first sector, but I saw his front grinding on the ground and he lost speed. The Lexus, on the other hand, was strongest in the last sector, so I made up time lap after lap until I went for the decisive maneuver. I'm proud of my two teammates and the whole Emil Frey Racing squad."
Good prospects in the championship
This practically unexpected early triumph not only provides an extra dose of motivation in the team, but also promotes the winning trio to second intermediate place in the Drivers' Endurance Cup. In the Team Cup, Emil Frey Racing even leads the field after three of five rounds!
Alex Fontana, Adrian Zaugg and Mikael Grenier from Canada also celebrated their second podium in the Silver Cup with the Jaguar from Safenwil. They had won the opening race in Monza in their classification. In the standings, they are in second place behind a Mercedes trio.
Next stop Spa
The 1000-km race in the south of France was also the dress rehearsal for the 24 Hours of Spa, which are next up at the end of July and represent the highlight of the season.
If the Lexus RC F GT3 is not suddenly slowed down by the rule makers, anything is possible there.
Congratulations and keep your fingers crossed!
