The 24 h race at Spa, which is situated in the so-called “Belgium Eifel region”, is not only the highlight of the Blancpain Endurance Series but also marks its halftime. Team rhino’s Leipert Motorsport was at the start of the “classic of the Ardennes” with a Lamborghini Gallardo LP600 GT3, 3 Portuguese drivers – Ricardo Bravo, Lourenco Beirao da Veiga and Duarte Felix da Costa – and driver Mika Vähämäki from Finland.
Prior to the Pro AM Championship event (amateurs and pros share a car), the car with starting No. 6 was in 4th place, so the team’s goals were already set before the race: fight for podium!
The traditional race, which was first held in 1996, had 62 vehicles at the start, 29 of which started in the Pro Am category. Apart from Leipert’s Lamborghini, there were several other manufacturers such as Audi, Aston-Martin, BMW, Ferrari, Ford, Mercedes AMG and Porsche. After a rainy qualifying, the orange-black bull qualified for the race in 24th position of the overall ranking and in 11th position of its class. Since the focus had been more on preparation for the 24 h race than on fastest lap times, everyone was calm and relaxed in the evening after the qualifying.
After the start at 4pm on Saturday, the spectators might have got the impression that this was not a 24h race but more a 30 minute sprint event. rhino’s Leipert’s first driver Duarte Felix da Costa, however, cleverly stayed clear of all skirmishes and handed over the car to Ricardo Bravo one hour later. The latter then had a double stint (2 hours), and when Lourenco Beirao da Veiga and Mika Vähämäki also finished their first stints of the 24 h race without mistakes, the first goal was already achieved: After 6 hours and the first stage of the race, team rhino’s Leipert Motorsport was in 17th place of the overall ranking and in 7th place of its class. Consequently, car no. 6 had collected first points for the championships. During the following 6 hours and a few weather caprioles, the car and its international crew continued their fight for points and so at 4 am, after 12 hours, team rhino’s Leipert was in 11th place of the overall ranking and in 4th place of its class. This was how the night ended.
With dawn, team rhino’s Leipert’s luck changed dramatically. They had already been on their way to reach a podium position in the Pro Am class and had at times been among the top 10 of the overall ranking, but at approx. 6 am, they suffered a technical defect, which could luckily be repaired within minutes. They then re-entered the race and made up for lost ground, but the 4 drivers of team rhino’s Leipert had to learn that the early morning had its perils. At the end of a very good stint, Duarte Felix da Costa lost control over the Lamborghini and crashed into the barriers at exit “Rivage”. The car could not be towed into the pit lane which meant an early end to the race after nearly 16 hours.
This accident, which happened shortly after 7 am, also took away all hope for ending the race by driving across the finish line and therefore points for the championship were lost. After a good first half of the race, the team at least managed to collect further 9 important points for the championships and is now in 5th place of the Pro Am ranking.
Team Manager of rhino’s Leipert Motorsport, Ingo Leipert, explained: “The drop out is very agitating. We got through the night no problem and were already half way there. We lost some time during the repairs, but many of our competitors also had to deal with problems which were even more severe in some cases. The entire team did an excellent job. I’d also like to give a big compliment to our drivers Ricardo, Lourenco, Duarte and Mika. They did not lose their cool during even the worst weather conditions and were utmost reliable. Mistakes can happen, and I hope the guys can now leave all that behind, so we can continue our fight for championship at Magny Cours in 4 weeks’ time!”
Source : Rhino’s Leipert Motorsport