A successful race weekend in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup for Mercedes-AMG: the #84 AMG-Team HTP Motorsport with Dominik Baumann (AUT), Maximilian Buhk (GER) and Jazeman Jaafar (MAS) clinches an excellent fourth place in the three-hour race at the Nürburgring. Thus, Dominik Baumann and Maximilian Buhk take over first place in the Blancpain GT Series drivers’ standings prior to the season finale while the AMG-Team HTP Motorsport extends its points lead in the teams’ standings. Jean-Luc Beaubelique (FRA), Maurice Ricci (ITA) and Gilles Vannelet (FRA) take victory in the Am class at the Nürburgring with the #87 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3.
A strong team performance in the Eifel has now brought Dominik Baumann and Maximilian Buhk as well as their AMG-Team HTP Motorsport into a perfect position prior to the season finale at Barcelona (2 October / Sprint Cup): in the fiercely contested race at the Nürburgring, the duo was able to take over the lead in the drivers’ standings with a margin of five points. At the same time, the AMG-Team HTP Motorsport is leading the teams’ standings with an advantage of 14 points. For Maximilian Buhk, winning the title that he is so close to taking would mean his second major championship success in the Blancpain GT Series, already having won the Sprint Cup drivers’ title in 2015. In the Pro-Am standings, Team AKKA ASP is in an excellent second place.
A thrilling showdown in the endurance championship
In a high-class field of 54 cars, the endurance championship was decided at the Nürburgring. In qualifying, Maximilian Buhk managed to secure his team a good starting grid position by claiming fourth place. On a dry track, starting driver Dominik Baumann managed to get the #84 Mercedes-AMG GT3 safely through the extremely difficult opening stage and handed the car to Jazeman Jaafar while in fifth position. In the course of the race, it became clear that the team would have to finish third in order to claim victory in the endurance championship. In thrilling position battles, final driver Maximilian Buhk tried everything to make up this one position. Eventually, it just didn’t work out as the trio concluded the race in fourth place. With the good results achieved during the season, the team still scored a much-applauded runner-up spot in the Endurance Cup drivers’ standings, only one point down on the winners.
By virtue of their class victory at the Nürburgring, Jean-Luc Beaubelique, Maurice Ricci and Gilles Vannelet with their #87 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG GT3 ended up second in the Am Endurance Cup drivers’ and teams’ standings. With 21st place overall and fifth in the Pro-Am class, Oliver Morley (GBR) and Miguel Toril (SPA) secured third place in the Endurance Cup drivers’ standings with the #56 BLACK FALCON Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Dominik Baumann, AMG-Team HTP Motorsport: “Unfortunately, I lost some time at the start as I got oil on my windscreen, which affected visibility. Today, we weren’t quite able to match the speed of the winners, so I am happy with fourth place. All in all, however, I am satisfied with the way the Endurance Cup season went for us, because the field is extremely strong and you can’t make the slightest mistake.”
Maximilian Buhk, AMG-Team HTP Motorsport: “Dominik had a good start and was in fifth place as he handed the car to Jazeman, who then also did a good job in dealing with traffic. In the race, we knew that we had to finish third to clinch the title, but today, fourth place was the maximum we were able to achieve. Nevertheless, we have scored valuable points today for our major goal, winning the overall championship title. Now, we are five points clear in the drivers’ standings and we want to do our utmost to defend our lead during the final race at Barcelona.”
Jazeman Jaafar, AMG-Team HTP Motorsport: “During my stint, I gave it all I had, I drove every lap as if it were a qualifying lap. We tried everything we could to move up that one position and still win the endurance title. Now, however, we are looking ahead and we want to claim the overall championship title.”
Jérôme Policand, team principal AKKA ASP: “The entire team and the drivers have shown a strong performance today, we had a good pace. In a very strong field, we finished in the top 20 in the race and claimed a class win. The fact that we ended up second in the championship with the team and with Jean-Luc, Gilles and Maurice is making us very happy.”