Motorsport: Strong finale for Emil Frey Racing
The wish came true. At the Blancpain GT Endurance Cup finale at the Nürburgring, Emil Frey Racing captured a remarkable seventh place. This resulted in the first points in the pros as a team and manufacturer. The first leading laps at the Spa 24 Hours in July gave a foretaste of the strength of the Safenwil [...]
The first leading laps at the Spa 24 Hours in July gave a foretaste of the strength of the Safenwil-built Emil Frey Jaguar G3. On Sunday, it also paid off in points at the 3-hour race at the Nürburgring, the fifth and final round of the Blancpain GT Endurance Cup. However, not with the number one car of Lorenz Frey, Alberto Costa and Stéphane Ortelli, but with the second big cat of Jonathan Hirschi, Christian Klien and newcomer Norbert Siedler.
The race went without strategy error
While the car of the regular trio was already behind in the chaotic qualifying (38th) and retired early in the race with a defective accelerator pedal, the second Jaguar team created a promising starting position for itself with 16th on the grid among 53 GT3 sports cars of equal quality. After a good first third of the race by Siedler, ex-GP driver Klien worked his way into the top ten. Final runner Jonathan Hirschi then also did everything right - like the pit crew with their strategy during a neutralization phase, which already led to a brief top position in Belgium.
This resulted in seventh place overall, one year after winning the Pro-Am class. "It's a great feeling," said Jonathan Hirschi from Neuchâtel with relief. "We were lucky with the safety car phase, but we've also had bad luck with it in other races, so it cancels out. We all made zero mistakes, and that's a success for the whole team, which had a lot of work with the use of two cars and is now being rewarded for it."
Rolf Ineichen won with Lamborghini Huràcan
For the smallest and only private manufacturer in this mammoth field, the top-10 finish means the first ever points win in the most important European GT championship. The Safenwil team can be just as proud of this as Rolf Ineichen, who won the race with professionals Christian Engelhart and Mirko Bortolotti on a Lamborghini Huràcan. Another impressive success for the fast entrepreneur (OTTO'S) from Sursee.
www.emilfreyracing.com
www.blancpain-gt-series.com
Photos: Archive
