Blancpain GT – Frijns and Team WRT have not lost everything

Arrived as leader of the Sprint Series at the Dutch final in Zandvoort, Robin Frijns hoped to hang on to the Drivers' crown, and thus conclude the great season accomplished with his unfortunate teammate Laurens Vanthoor, package last weekend after his Misano accident.

But the former FR 3.5 champion found the No. 3 Bentley Continental GT84 of Team HTP on his way, driven by the now champion duo Vincent Abril? Maximilian Buhk, author of a double in the Netherlands, at the end of a final round full of suspense.

From the start of the qualifying race, Frijns lost big at the first corner, slightly affected by the Ferrari 458 Italia from Norbert Siedler's Rinaldi Racing. Beaten on Saturday evening in the championship, and at the back of the grid for the decisive round, the Frijns-Mies duo, who replaced Vanthoor, believed in the feat, taking advantage of a start on Sunday having eliminated two cars.

Second in Buhk's wake in the last half hour, the Dutchman tried everything to overtake, but was unable to attack the German driver. “I pushed as hard as I could, and I don't think we could have squeezed more out of the car. I could get very close to the Bentley, especially in sector 2, but in the last corner I had too much oversteer, and in the straight, Maxi regained the advantage. »

The driver of the No. 8 Audi R1 LMS ultra will be able to console himself with the GT Series title, which rewards the best driver over the entire Blancpain calendar. Team WRT highlights its impressive collection the Teams Sprint and GT Series titles, after that already acquired in Endurance. “We will come back next year, and we will try to do better. » warns Team Principal Vincent Vosse.

Find the report on the final of the Blancpain Sprint Series in Zandvoort, in issue 2033 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening in digital version, and on newsstands this Wednesday.