Laurens Vanthoor leaves Circuit Zolder as the new leader in the FIA GT Series. The Belgian GT talent scored a victory and a well-deserved second place on his home ground in Zolder. The Belgian Audi Club WRT driver showed much of his talent in both races and together with his friend and team mate Stéphane Ortelli, they will now defend their leadership in the next race of the FIA GT Series on the 6th and 7th of July at Zandvoort, in the Netherlands
With a 4th in qualifying, Laurens Vanthoor and Stéphane Ortelli started the weekend in a good way. The Audi R8 LMS Ultra of the Belgian Audi Club WRT showed to have good race speed and the drivers were confident.
Laurens Vanthoor: “We know we can be quick here, but we have to avoid last year’s problems. With only 6 races in a season, speed is important, but to score a maximum of points is also a key factor to play up front in the championship. I’m ready for the race.”
Laurens Vanthoor took the start on Saturday and by driving his Audi from 4th to 1st spot, he built the foundations for a first international victory on home ground.
Laurens Vanthoor: “I took a good start and found myself straight away in second spot behind Stefan Rosina. Right from the start I felt that I had the potential to go quicker but it was difficult to overtake. In the end I put some pressure on Stefan and he made a mistake, allowing me to get through. Then, we were able to create a gap with René Rast, whom I was surprised to see in my mirrors. Stéphane did a great job, and once again was the quickest car on the track. This is my home race, so I am really happy to clinch this result in front of all my friends, family and fans.”
Victory on Saturday was the key to pole-position on Sunday; a race held in front a full grandstands. Ortelli took a good start, but the Lamborghini, with a very correct Peter Kox behind the wheel, managed to get in front. Despite all efforts of both the Monegasque driver and later Laurens Vanthoor this order remained unchanged right through to the finish. Peter Kox and Stefan Rosina in a Lamborghini won the second round of the 2013 FIA GT Series at Circuit Zolder today following a thrilling race. They headed home Stephane Ortelli and Laurens Vanthoor in their Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 LMS Ultra in a nail biting race to the flag, winning by a mere 0.448s.
Laurens Vanthoor: “It was obviously goes without saying that I want to win every race, but Stefano (Rosina) just did a great job too. Their car was slightly quicker in acceleration as compared to our Audi, but on the other hand we were better on the brakes. He drove without making any mistake and even though I tried very hard, he took victory by half a second and we were second… On the other hand, we score very important points here, similar to what we did in France and this is the way that one fights for a championship.”
Laurens will now start his preparation for the Nürburgring 24 Hours, with a last VLN race next week. The German endurance classic takes place on the 19th and 20th of May.
Source : Laurens Vanthoor