The success of this weekend at the FIA GT3 European Championships in Zolder, Belgium, was based on three criteria: a) clever tyre tactics, b) right strategy, and c) brilliant performance of the two drivers. During the exceptionally difficult and changeable weather conditions, exactly these attributes won team rhino’s Leipert Motorsport and drivers Hari Proczyk / David Mengesdorf second place in both races in their Lamborghini Gallardo LP 600+ no. 11.

The Austrian and German drivers had already laid the foundation for their success during qualifying when both qualified for starting position 4 for both races. Still, the right tyres needed to be chosen in order to keep a top position. At the beginning of the races, such decision was not difficult since it was raining cats and dogs. The formation lap of the second race even had to be interrupted due to strong rainfall, and the race was started 10 minutes late.

Far more difficult was it to decide which tyres should be used to finish the 1 h-race after the driver change. Here, rhino’s Leipert Motorsport decided to keep wet tyres during the pit stop and driver change of the first race on Saturday. Such decision combined with a good performance enabled Mengesdorf to gain the lead during his stint. Towards the end of the race, the track dried more than expected, so Mengesdorf had to let a Ferrari 458 Italia pass by on slicks. However, Mengesdorf was quite successful in defending his second position against the Ferrari 458 Italia in third place.

During the second race, the team switched to slicks when Proczyk took over the wheel of the Lamborghini Gallardo during the driver change. This proved to have been the right decision on the dried track. The Austrian raced forward confidently to position 3 until it started to rain again 7 minutes before the end of the race. The Lamborghini and his driver, however, performed much better on the wet track than the SLS ahead of it. So, Proczyk was able to overtake the SLS in second place 3 minutes before the end and secured the second runner-up position of the weekend for car no. 11.

Also the sibling car no. 12 with Russian drivers Leo Machitski and Natalia Freidina performed well. Both drivers at first had to get used to the circuit, but despite the difficult conditions that ruled all weekend, they got better round by round. They finished the races in 9th and 10th place and consequently also gained championship points.

Team Manager Ingo Leipert said: “Both races went really well. We could convince with the right tyre strategy, and both guys were really fast and did a great job. Also Leo and Natalia made the best of these difficult conditions.”

The next race of the FIA GT3 European Championships will be held in Navarra, Spain, from 25 – 27 May, 2012, but before then, team rhino’s Leipert is going to race in the ADAC GT Masters in Zandvoort, Holland, from 4 – 6 May, 2012.

Source : Leipert Motorsport