HTP Motorsport’s Maxi Buhk, Dominik Baumann and Jazeman Jaafar emerged victorious from a hard-fought Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup race at Silverstone despite a late Safety Car period.
Jazeman Jaafar, #84 HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG: “I pushed really hard to try and capitalise on the opportunity we had. The car’s pace was really good and the balance felt strong throughout so I took the chance when it arose and then tried to pull out a gap. It is also an amazing feeling to win a Blancpain GT Series race.”
The #84 Mercedes-AMG was chased all the way by Belgian Audi Club Team WRT’s Vanthoor brothers Laurens and Dries, with their team-mate Fred Vervisch.
Fred Vervisch, #1 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 LMS: “Our pace was quite good once everything settled down. It is not easy to overtake but we optimised the open spaces when we had the chance and obviously tried to go as fast as we could. But at the same time we were also planning an hour ahead by trying to save fuel so that the strategy would work. In the end this is a great team performance and result.”
The pole-winning #16 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan driven by Mirko Bortolotti, Rolf Ineichen and Jeroen Bleekemolen finished third.
Mirko Bortolotti, #16 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan: “We struggled a little bit with the tyres once they went off, so Franck’s [Perera] Audi was a little bit faster over the latter half of the stint. I struggled to keep him behind me because he was quicker out of the corners, and there was also the traffic to contend with. So I was really happy to hand the car over still in the lead. The team and my co-drivers were excellent all weekend and I do not think we could have achieved anything more.”
Black Falcon made it two victories for Mercedes-AMG when Maro Engel’s late heroics secured Pro-Am honours.
Oliver Morley, #56 Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG: “The weekend has definitely had a few lows and we never expected such a high. It just demonstrates the never-give-up spirit of our team and my co-drivers. We just kept grinding it out, which is one of the big pleasures of endurance racing; You never know what might happen. It is testament to our team. Maro and Miguel always do a great job and it is a privilege to drive with them.”
Pierre Ehret and Stef Vancampenhoudt’s Rinaldi Racing-entered Ferrari 488 claimed the Am Cup spoils.
The fight for overall victory boiled down to a heavyweight match-up between Buhk and Laurens Vanthoor, who emerged from their final pit-stops separated by just 2.4s.
They did owe much to WRT’s strategy of short-fuelling Dries, who had earlier jumped from seventh to second overall after Vervisch gained four places during his opening stint.
The gap between the leaders fluctuated depending on the traffic, but when the Safety Car was called with 40 minutes remaining, Buhk had managed to build up a five second advantage.
Vanthoor immediately went on the attack once the action resumed with 20 minutes remaining but could do nothing about the Mercedes-AMG ahead and eventually came home just 0.9s adrift.
Bleekemolen brought the GRT Grasser Racing Lamborghini home third overall after a relatively trouble-free run to the flag. Co-driver Mirko Bortolotti had earlier converted his pole position into the lead but was tracked throughout his opening stint by the persistent Franck Perera.
Time and again the ISR Audi R8 LMS looked to challenge, but Bortolotti held firm during their scintillating dice.
Ineichen retained the Lamborghini’s position after the opening round of stops but, after being blocked in traffic, found himself bumped down to third in quick succession by Dries Vanthoor and Jaafar, who also subsequently made the decisive move of the race by passing the Audi.
A consistent run helped Maxime Martin, Alexander Sims and Philipp Eng’s Rowe Racing BMW come home fourth after the latter snatched the place from Indy Dontje’s #85 HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG following the Safety Car restart.
The Dutch driver remained glued to the M6’s tail thereafter but was powerless to re-take the position.
Garage 59’s stealthy approach paid off for Rob Bell, Come Ledogar and Shane Van Gisbergen whose consistent collective effort helped their #58 McLaren finish sixth, one place ahead of Gregory Guilvert, Mike Parisy and Christopher Haase’s Sainteloc Racing Audi R8 LMS which had started 20th overall.
Victory means Buhk and Baumann now lead the overall Blancpain GT series standings from Bell, while the HTP Motorsport duo plus Jaafar also top the Endurance Cup points.
Perera’s fast opening stint gave ISR an excellent chance of winning the Pro-Am class. However, that was without factoring in the late Safety Car and Engel who surged from third to first during the final lap and a bit.
The Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG he shares with Miguel Toril and Oliver Morley first passed Jonny Adam’s Oman Racing Team Aston Martin at Brooklands before setting off in pursuit of Philippe Giauque, who was powerless to resist over the final lap.
Adam, who shared his Aston Martin with Devon Modell and Ahmad Al Harthy also took second from the ISR Audi on the final lap to leave Giauque, Perera and Henry Hassid third at the chequered flag.
The Am Cup could have been won by any number of squads: Team Parker Racing’s Chris Harris dominated the opening stint before spinning away much of his advantage, before the Kaspersky Motorsport Ferrari assumed the lead. But it was Ehret and Vancampenhoudt who ultimately prevailed aboard their 488, despite the latter only arriving in time for this morning’s qualifying session.
Pierre Ehret, #488 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 488: “We could not qualify in the way that we would have liked to but knew consistency would be key in the race. I had a lot of practice yesterday as a result of Stef only arriving this morning so hats off to him for such a great drive across his two stints today. We knew our average speed would be enough over the race distance to make up positions.”
Race results
1 84 Baumann/Jaafar/Buhk HTP Motorsport 83 3:01:35.700 161.7 74 2:01.206 175.2
Mercedes-AMG GT3 HTP Motorsport
2 1 Vanthoor/Vervisch/Vanthoor Belgian Audi Club Team WRT 83 3:01:36.663 0.963 161.7 59 2:01.042 175.5
Audi R8 LMS Belgian Audi Club Team WRT
3 16 Ineichen/Bleekemolen/Bortolotti GRT Grasser Racing Team 83 3:01:57.863 22.163 161.3 15 2:01.735 174.5
Lamborghini Huracan GT3 GRT Grasser Racing Team
4 99 Martin/Eng/Sims Rowe Racing 83 3:01:59.514 23.814 161.3 5 2:02.098 173.9
BMW F13 M6 GT3 Rowe Racing
5 85 Bacheta/Dontje/Schmid HTP Motorsport 83 3:01:59.638 23.938 161.3 10 2:01.537 174.7
Mercedes-AMG GT3 HTP Motorsport
6 58 Ledogar/Van Gisbergen/Bell Garage 59 83 3:02:04.814 29.114 161.3 59 2:01.298 175.1
McLaren 650 S GT3 Garage 59
7 26 Guilvert/Parisy/Haase Sainteloc Racing 83 3:02:06.811 31.111 161.3 43 2:01.821 174.3
Audi R8 LMS Sainteloc Junior Team
8 7 Abril/Smith/Kane Bentley Team M-Sport 83 3:02:09.375 33.675 161.2 57 2:02.076 174.0
Bentley Continental GT3 Bentley Team M-Sport
9 28 Garcia/Stevens/Müller Belgian Audi Club Team WRT 83 3:02:20.717 45.017 161.1 35 2:02.656 173.1
Audi R8 LMS Belgian Audi Club Team WRT
10 101 Babini/Zampieri/Niederhauser Attempto Racing 83 3:02:22.340 46.640 161.1 59 2:02.831 172.9
Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Attempto Racing
11 57 Haupt/Simonsen/Christodoulou Black Falcon 83 3:02:23.293 47.593 161.3 60 2:01.641 174.6
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Black Falcon
12 98 Dusseldorp/Klingmann/Catsburg Rowe Racing 83 3:02:25.033 49.333 161.0 31 2:02.067 174.0
BMW F13 M6 GT3 Rowe Racing
13 2 Leonard/Meadows/Frijns Belgian Audi Club Team WRT 83 3:02:25.965 50.265 161.0 62 2:01.776 174.4
Audi R8 LMS Belgian Audi Club Team WRT
14 90 Perez Companc/Balzan/Giammaria AF Corse 83 3:02:32.534 56.834 161.0 60 2:02.028 174.0
Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Spirit Of Race
15 75 Stockinger/Salaquarda/Stippler ISR 83 3:02:34.495 58.795 161.0 60 2:02.551 173.3
Audi R8 LMS ISR
16 50 Lathouras/Pier Guidi/Rugolo AF Corse 83 3:02:38.601 1:02.901 160.9 60 2:02.097 173.9
Ferrari 488 GT3 Spirit Of Race
17 56 Morley/Toril/Engel Black Falcon 83 3:02:43.302 1:07.602 160.8 74 2:02.149 173.9
PAM Mercedes-AMG GT3 Black Falcon
18 44 Al Harthy/Modell/Adam Oman Racing Team 83 3:02:45.586 1:09.886 160.8 59 2:01.925 174.2
PAM Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Oman Racing Team
19 74 Hassid/Giauque/Perera ISR 83 3:02:46.436 1:10.736 160.6 5 2:01.515 174.8
PAM Audi R8 LMS ISR
20 3 Baptista/Jimenez/Albuquerque Belgian Audi Club Team WRT 82 3:01:56.364 1LAPS 159.5 75 2:02.757 173.0
Audi R8 LMS Team WRT
21 19 Beretta/Stolz/Piccini GRT Grasser Racing Team 82 3:02:02.059 1LAPS 159.7 80 2:02.718 173.1
Lamborghini Huracan GT3 GRT Grasser Racing Team
22 59 Fontana/Moore/Watson Garage 59 82 3:02:04.341 1LAPS 159.5 40 2:03.008 172.7
McLaren 650 S GT3 Garage 59
23 4 De Leener/Kox/Kaffer Belgian Audi Club Team WRT 82 3:02:07.618 1LAPS 159.4 60 2:02.107 173.9
Audi R8 LMS Team WRT
24 29 Gounon/Cammish/Zöchling Konrad Motorsport 82 3:02:19.378 1LAPS 159.3 82 2:02.900 172.8
Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Konrad Motorsport
25 89 Perfetti/Cazenave/Lyons AKKA ASP 82 3:02:23.547 1LAPS 159.2 58 2:02.560 173.3
PAM Mercedes-AMG GT3 AKKA ASP
26 10 Berton/Beretta/Costantini Ombra Racing 82 3:02:30.413 1LAPS 159.1 33 2:03.542 171.9
PAM Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Ombra Racing
27 24 Loggie/Onslow-Cole/Macleod Team Parker Racing 82 3:02:31.835 1LAPS 159.0 58 2:03.042 172.6
PAM Bentley Continental GT3 Team Parker Racing
28 22 Simmons/Sarazin/Walkinshaw Nissan GT Academy Team RJN 82 3:02:34.187 1LAPS 159.0 58 2:03.044 172.6
PAM Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 Nissan GT Academy Team RJN
29 11 Broniszewski/Bonacini/Rizzoli Kessel Racing 82 3:02:35.100 1LAPS 159.0 79 2:02.608 173.2
PAM Ferrari 488 GT3 Kessel Racing
30 15 Koebolt/Roda/Colombo BMW Team Italia 82 3:02:38.237 1LAPS 159.1 58 2:03.192 172.4
PAM BMW F13 M6 GT3 BMW Team Italia
31 34 Pisarik/Malucelli Scuderia Praha 82 3:03:39.339 1LAPS 158.0 10 2:01.655 174.6
PAM Ferrari 488 GT3 Scuderia Praha
32 666 Poole/Abra/Osborne Barwell Motorsport 81 3:02:08.070 2 LAP 157.4 56 2:02.396 173.5
PAM Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Barwell Motorsport
33 488 Vancampenhoudt/Ehret Rinaldi Racing 81 3:02:31.420 2 LAP 157.2 77 2:04.671 170.3
AM Ferrari 488 GT3 Rinaldi Racing
34 53 Motoaki/Bontempelli/Fisichella AF Corse 81 3:02:34.773 2 LAP 157.1 58 2:02.165 173.8
PAM Ferrari 488 GT3 AF Corse
35 12 Grotz/Ojjeh/Darras Boutsen Ginion Racing 81 3:02:42.090 2 LAP 157.0 35 2:04.189 171.0
PAM BMW F13 M6 GT3 Boutsen Ginion Racing
36 66 Mattschull/Parrow/Keilwitz Black Pearl Racing 81 3:02:51.273 2 LAP 157.0 26 2:03.053 172.6
PAM Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Rinaldi Racing
37 87 Ricci/Beaubelique/Vannelet AKKA ASP 81 3:03:10.726 2 LAP 156.6 40 2:04.109 171.1
AM Mercedes-AMG GT3 AKKA ASP
38 69 Konopka/Lewandowski/Myszkowski ARC Bratislava 81 3:03:16.866 2 LAP 156.6 35 2:05.178 169.7
AM Lamborghini Huracan GT3 ARC Bratislava
39 25 Lallement/Rostan/Bonanomi Sainteloc Racing 81 3:03:34.667 2 LAP 156.2 16 2:03.207 172.4
PAM Audi R8 LMS Sainteloc Junior Team
40 30 Pierce/Cooper/Harris Team Parker Racing 80 3:02:47.661 3 LAP 155.0 5 2:04.108 171.1
AM Bentley Continental GT3 Team Parker Racing
41 49 Kondakov/Moiseev/Ragazzi Kaspersky Motorsport 79 3:01:49.120 4 LAP 153.9 41 2:04.735 170.3
AM Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 AF Corse
42 76 Cornac/Narac/Jousse IMSA Performance 79 3:01:59.266 4 LAP 153.7 55 2:03.798 171.5
PAM Porsche 911 GT3 R Raymond Narac
43 14 Frey/Ortelli/Costa Emil Frey Racing 79 3:02:25.340 4 LAP 153.1 55 2:01.650 174.6
Emil Frey Jaguar G3 Emil Frey Racing
44 100 Machiels/Van Splunteren/Mul Attempto Racing 79 3:02:46.919 4 LAP 153.6 57 2:03.166 172.4
PAM Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Attempto Racing
45 888 Glitin/Zanuttini/Talbot Kessel Racing 76 3:02:57.809 7 LAP 147.0 8 2:05.738 168.9
AM Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Kessel Racing
46 8 Soulet/Reip/Soucek Bentley Team M-Sport 75 3:02:11.068 8 LAP 145.5 71 2:01.595 174.7
Bentley Continental GT3 Bentley Team M-Sport
47 42 Ricci/Stievenart/Nicolle CMR with Sport Garage 60 2:13:20.804 23 LAP 159.5 9 2:05.901 168.7
AM Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Thomas Nicolle
Not classified
111 Delhez/Earle/Perel Kessel Racing 53 2:00:33.269 30 LAP 155.9 31 2:07.987 165.9
AM Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Kessel Racing
51 Mann/Guedes/Mastronardi AF Corse 48 1:55:18.132 35 LAP 147.5 25 2:03.860 171.5
AM Ferrari 488 GT3 Spirit Of Race
333 Seefried/Salikhov/Siedler Rinaldi Racing 33 1:20:32.567 50 LAP 144.8 18 2:03.418 172.1
Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Rinaldi Racing
78 Keen/Machitski/Mapelli Barwell Motorsport 31 1:23:09.906 52 LAP 132.9 18 2:04.051 171.2
PAM Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Barwell Motorsport
23 Ordonez/Takaboshi/Buncombe Nissan GT Academy Team RJN 22 59:30.488 61 LAP 132.3 3 2:02.127 173.9
Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 Nissan GT Academy Team RJN By Melissa Warren
