FIA GT – Loeb: The hardest part is yet to be done

The Sebastian Loeb Racing made its mark by achieving a superb victory at the end of the qualifying race in Nogaro. After Alvaro Parente kept the pressure on pole sitter René Rast throughout the first stint, Sébastien Loeb managed to get back on the No. 8 Audi R12 LMS ultra and find the opening six minutes from the finish. There McLaren MP4-12C will start on pole tomorrow on the grid for the Championship race and it will be the Team WRT crew which will have to attack the car from the Alsatian team.

Sébastien Loeb can only be satisfied with this first victory for his team in the FIA ​​GT Series, but the nine-time world champion WRC remains wary of the Belgian team that he will have to face again tomorrow. “The Audi was very fast in the slow sectors”, commented the team's driver boss. “We have to keep in mind that this is only the first race and we won't have this result every time. Alvaro did a great job staying in contact with René Rast at the start of the race and avoiding making a mistake with contact. » His Portuguese teammate was also impressed by the Alsatian who made a superb overtake on the R8 LMS ultra of Team WRT. “René was very intelligent to protect his position but Sébastien made a fabulous overtake. However, the main race is only tomorrow. »

However, victory in the Championship race could also be decided with the Mercedes SLS AMG n°1 THP Gravity Charouz of Maximilian Buhk and Alan Day after an impressive comeback at the end of the race from the German who almost snatched second place from Niki Mayr-Melnhof. “I didn't want to attack too much to secure third place on the grid for the main race. I am still very happy with this result”, commented the THP pilot.

The Championship race will be contested tomorrow from 14:15 p.m.