Not all series in motorsport are equal… This is exactly what Belgian Audi ace Laurens Vanthoor has experienced this season in the Blancpain Endurance Series. While Laurens Vanthoor is leading the FIA GT Series, the European endurance championship or Blancpain Endurance Series ended on a low, following another frustrating race.

The format for the Blancpain 1000 held on the German Nürburgring was once again different. The Blancpain Endurance Series season started off with three races held over 3 hours, followed by the mythical 24 Hours of Spa, whereas the final in Germany was a race over 6 hours or 1000 kilometres.

Laurens Vanthoor: “Before the race, I was confident as we wanted – my teammates Stéphane Ortelli and Edward Sandström and myself – to put down a strong last result in Europe’s best endurance series. I’m well acquainted with the Nürburgring, as are my fellow WRT Audi drivers. The car received an improved Balance of Performance, so before the race our package looked strong. After all our bad luck in the Blancpain Endurance Series this season, it felt as though this could have been our race.”

Sadly enough the potential of the team, the drivers and the Audi R8 LMS Ultra of the Belgian WRT Team, did not offer the result Laurens was hoping for.

Laurens Vanthoor: “The race did not start very well, as Stéphane made a minor mistake under yellow and we received a drive-through in the opening stages of this 6 hour race. We knew that our situation was far from ideal.”

But yet again Laurens Vanthoor drove a very strong stint and the Audi was well back in the top 10 before half distance.

Laurens Vanthoor: “We still had hopes to finish in a good position, but a problem with the electronics and a battery failure made it all impossible. This result is really frustrating in more ways than one. The potential was there, but the result is disappointing, that’s one. But we also couldn’t help our team, WRT, to win the team’s title in the Blancpain Endurance Series. So that’s a double frustration! I now look forward to the next race of the FIA GT Series, where I only have one aim: the title!”