Important GT mission for the Swiss
GT-SPORT This weekend Emil Frey Racing will compete for the first time in a Blancpain GT Series sprint race with the Lexus GT3 at the Nürburgring. And Marcel Fässler will start in the Audi R8 with very good title chances after his race wins at the last race in Hungary. The races can be seen in the livestream. Since the start of the program with the new Lexus [...]
Since the start of the program with the new Lexus RC F GT3, the newly formed team from Safenwil has made a big step forward in the International GT Open with a total of two pole positions and three race wins. With Albert Costa and Philipp Frommenwiler as drivers, the team is fighting for both championship titles in the remaining two double rounds.
Before that, however, the opportunity will be taken to test the Lexus in the Blancpain GT Series, one of the most competitive GT3 championships in Europe, and to measure itself against other teams. Hannes Gautschi, Technical Coordinator at Emil Frey Lexus Racing, has no great expectations.
Hannes Gautschi: "We're not aiming for a points result, we simply see the race weekend as a test. We want to see how our car fares in such a strong field. Added to this is the new experience with Pirelli tires, because so far we have only tested Michelin and Dunlop. This will give us further, important insights into the car's handling with different tires."
Unlike in the GT Open, Philipp Frommenwiler will not be racing. The Thurgau native's place as Costa's partner will be taken by Stéphane Ortelli. Like the Spaniard, the Monegasque is also part of Emil Frey Jaguar Racing's regular team in the Blancpain GT Endurance Cup. Their advantage: They are the same size.
Albert Costa: "Ever since I started at Emil Frey Racing, it has always been my dream to race with Stéphane in the Sprint Cup. We're both small drivers with the same seat, so we save an enormous amount of time during pit stops and driver changes."
The expectations of the Spanish professional are somewhat greater than those of his team bosses:
Albert Costa: "We're doing a really terrific job and if we keep that up, there's a good result in it. But ultimately we're here to learn and improve - I'm just proud of how quickly we're progressing with our development program."
Marcel Fässler back in title contention after two wins
Marcel Fässler knows how high the bar is set in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup. The professional from Schwyz contests the entire Blancpain Series - including the Endurance Cup - in an Audi R8 LMS fielded by the Belgian Audi Team WRT.
While things have not been exhilarating on the endurance track so far, he has managed a steady improvement in recent races with the young Belgian Dries Vanthoor as his partner. After a sixth-place finish in the main race at Brands Hatch (GB) and fourth place in the one at Zolder (B), the duo achieved total success on the weekend of August 26/27 in Budapest: pole position, victory in the first race and victory in the second race over one hour each.
As a result, Fässler/Vanthoor suddenly moved up to third place in the championship. With 56 points, the duo is now only four points behind the leading Mercedes duo Maxi Buhk/Franck Perera (D/F) and one behind the Lamborghini duo Engelhart/Bortolotti (D/I).
So the first title win for Marcel Fässler since winning the 2012 World Endurance Championship with Audi is absolutely in the cards. Unfortunately, Fässler and Vanthoor can't count on much support within the team - one WRT teammate is tied in the standings, the other right behind...
The race weekend at the Nürburgring begins with two 80-minute practice sessions on Friday. Qualifying starts at 9:40 a.m. on Saturday, followed by the qualifying race at 2 p.m.. The main race then takes place on Sunday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. The race action can be followed on the internet via the Blancpain GT Series livestream.
