Motorsport: The cat is out of the bag
There was surely no more fitting place to present the Emil Frey Racing Team and its vehicle for 2016. Around 400 guests came to the Emil Frey Classic Center in Safenwil, where team boss and driver Lorenz Frey literally let the cat out of the bag. It is not only the blue livery that is more aggressive [...]
Not only the blue livery of the Emil Frey Jaguar G3, as it is called according to the homologation, is more aggressive, but also two thirds of the driver trio. The fast son of company boss Walter Frey will be joined by two successful racing professionals, Stéphane Ortelli from Monaco (winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998 and three-time FIA GT champion) and the Spaniard Alberto Costa (Formula Renault European champion in 2009 and Mégane Euro Trophy winner in 2012). For this reason, the trio will now have to compete in the Pro class in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, the top category within the world's largest championship for GT3 vehicles.
Lorenz Frey: "By winning the Pro-Am class at the last race in 2015, we had achieved what we had doubted at times. The step into the Pro class is a new challenge for everyone. The whole team can only benefit from the immense experience of our new drivers, and hopefully they will push me to the limit so that I can make further progress in terms of my driving."
Responsibility now lies with Director Jürg Flach
For reasons of the stable GT3 regulations, only detailed improvements were allowed to be made to the specially developed Jaguar XK. The five-liter V8 engine continues to be supplied on a turnkey basis by Ilmor from England, the company owned by Mario Illien from Graubünden. From the third race in Le Castellet, the use of a second big cat is planned in order to double the chances of success at the finish line. It is quite possible that it will continue to hunt in the Pro-Am class and that Fredy Barth will be one of the tamers at the wheel. The Zurich native was previously project manager, but is now concentrating on his own business again. Responsibility now lies solely with Technical Director Jürg Flach. Read more about Emil Frey Racing 2016 in the April issue of AutoSprintCH.
www.emilfreyracing.com
www.blancpain-gt-series.com
Photos: Peter Wyss
