After Monza, Navarra and the 24 Hours of Spa, the Blancpain Endurance Series heads to the French track of Magny-Cours for its fourth and one-before-last round. Scheduled on Saturday’s evening, this 3-hour race should confirm the excellent position of Belgian Audi Club Team WRT’s drivers in the championship. Following his victory at Spa, Greg Franchi is the leader in the overall standings, ahead of the trio formed by his team mates Stéphane Ortelli, Bert Longin and Filipe Albuquerque.
Awarding double points for the championship, the Total 24 Hours of Spa have allowed the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT to make a significant step forward, with Grégory Franchi now as the points leader and the driving team of the other Belgian R8 LMS in second position. « This doesn’t mean at all that we are going to relax and lose focus » stresses Team Manager Vincent Vosse. «While we have finished twice on the podium in the two first races in Monza and Navarra, we haven’t won yet one of the 3-hour races, and it would obviousy be great to do so in Magny-Cours, a track we know well from our involvement in the French GT Championship. Therefore, we hope to be competitive and be able of aiming at victory. With Greg in the lead and our other team in second position, we have two serious title bids and we hope one of them will work!»
While he was associated with Timo Scheider and Mattias Ekström at the 24 Hours of Spa, Grégory Franchi will be reunited in France with the two drivers he shared the wheel with in the first two rounds, the Swiss Marcel Fässler and Italy’s Andrea Piccini. « Greg has already won in the Blancpain Endurance Series this year, but not Andrea and myself », says with a smile Marcel Fässler, a winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last June. «You can easily imagine what our objective will be at Magny-Cours… If everything goes right, this will also be extremely beneficial for Greg towards the championship, and I am completely determined to help Audi and the team conquering this title. We will of course keep in mind that the second- placed in the standings are our team mates of the sister car and avoid any fighting between us. As always in these cases, the team’s interests are above all.»
Although he was not at the wheel of the winning car, Stéphane Ortelli will keep an excellent memory of the recent 24 Hours of Spa. «I was really happy and proud for the entire team», says the Monegasque. «WRT is like a second family to me, and I have a lot of respect for WRT’s bosses Vincent Vosse and René Verbist. As everybody in the team, they are working very hard and are always stimulating the drivers, the mechanics and every team member to deliver their utmost. With two second positions, our start of the season has been quite positive. Still, without a puncture in Monza and the safety-car in Navarra, we could have won both races. This means that the performance level is good and I am confident we can confirm it at Magny-Cours, a track that suits our Audi R8 LMS. We currently lie second and it would be great to clinch the title together with Bert Longin and Filipe Albuquerque. After all, Greg has already won the 24 Hours…» [laughs]
It is in this professional and friendly atmosphere that the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT is heading towards the Nièvre, hopeful to continue the winning trend initiated at Spa. Unusually, the Magny-Cours race will start at 6:15 pm on Saturday, to finish three hours later, in the dark. All the action can be watched live on the web TV of the BES.
Source : Belgian Audi Club Team WRT