Blancpain GT – A card to play in both series for Vincent Abril

Blancpain Sprint Series Champion in 2015 with the Bentley Continental GT3 operated by HTP Motorsport, Vincent Abril was immediately recruited by the British manufacturer for 2016. A season slightly below his expectations in terms of results, but which should serve as a springboard for 2017.

The current year began for the Gardois with a first participation in the Bathurst 12 Hours in Australia. A dream for this Supercar racing fan, but also the opportunity to compete in his first event with his new teammates in Endurance Andy Soucek and Maxime Soulet.

An experience cut short too quickly after a puncture and contact with the wall for the Belgian Maxime Soulet “From the start of practice until the start of the race, there was nothing to change, we were perfect, Abril told us during the official Blancpain GT Series tests at Paul-Ricard. There was a lot of confidence before the race...

I learned a lot about an event where you have to know how to be patient. The layout is really great, but complicated. Usually, I adapt quite quickly but here you have to take your time, and it was in the last free practice session where it clicked for me. »

« Transféré » sur la seconde Continental GT3 du Team M-Sport aux côtés de la paire Soucek – Soulet en Endurance Cup après avoir évolué en 2016 avec Steven Kane et Guy Smith, Vincent Abril ne voit dans ce changement aucun signe négatif.

“The understanding with Andy and Maxime is good, they are very fast and last year there was not much missing for them to win the Endurance title, recalls Abril. Together we can achieve a great result.

This is my third season in Endurance. It's true that I've had a bit of the Sprint label in recent years, which is normal because I didn't have the opportunity to do anything else. I clearly liked the move to Endurance, but it’s very different.

We are involved in both championships, recalls Vincent Abril. There is a card to be played in both series. I like Sprinting, but it's true that I would like to achieve results in Endurance. I think I'm in the best possible position to do it. »

The Sprint Cup begins this weekend in Misano, Italy before the Endurance Cup kicks off in Monza in just over a fortnight.