Motorsport: Strong Swiss in Monza
The Endurance Cup of the Blancpain GT Series began in Monza with a huge field. Nico Müller was the best Swiss driver in sixth place. Kessel Racing took class victory with a Ferrari 488 and Emil Frey Racing scraped into the top 10. Six brands - McLaren ahead of Mercedes, Bentley, Nissan, Ferrari and Audi - were [...]
Six brands - McLaren ahead of Mercedes, Bentley, Nissan, Ferrari and Audi - were represented in the top six places with their fastest GT3 teams after the three-hour race. In qualifying, 31 of the 57 (!) cars were within one second of each other. This reflects the enormous power density in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup. Because the Audi R8 is not among the fastest on the straights in terms of classification, Nico Müller, ex-Manor GP driver Will Stevens and Antonio Garcia had to make up for the handicap in the corners. Their sixth place as the best Audi team is therefore more than just damage limitation.
There was jubilation at Kessel Racing. The team from Ticino brought the new Ferrari 488 GT3 with the private driver trio of Michael Broniszewski/Alessandro Bonacini/Andrea Rizzoli home in fifth place and as winners of the ProAm classification. Rolf Ineichen, who won the ADAC GT Masters race a week ago, was the best-placed Lamborghini driver with Mirko Bortolotti and Jeroen Bleekemolen in eighth place. Due to set-up problems with his Lamborghini Huracan, Patric Niederhauser had to start from 54th place. As the starting driver, the Bernese driver then enjoyed his one-hour race to catch up, which brought him up to 19th place with Fabio Babini and Daniel Zampieri.
Bad luck for Emil Frey Racing in the final phase
A strong performance by Emil Frey Racing went unrewarded. Stéphane Ortelli, Lorenz Frey and Albert Costa - who set the fourth-fastest race lap in the specially developed Jaguar - drove from a good 17th place on the grid towards their first top 10 classification. A minor collision shortly before the end resulted in a puncture, which cost the team a championship point in the most heavily contested Pro class. Technical Director Jürg Flach nevertheless drew a positive conclusion: "The car is reliable, the lap times are promising and all three drivers are driving at the same level. In addition, our crew did an excellent job, which makes us optimistic about the rest of the season."
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Photos: Blancpain GT Series
