Emil Frey Lexus Racing is looking forward to the great season final of the Blancpain GT Series. Next week, the Endurance Cup is taking place with the last race of the season at Barcelona (Spain). The team is able to secure the Endurance Cup title as well as Third in the overall championship in its debut year with the Lexus RC F GT3 in the top-class GT3 championship. Emil Frey Lexus Racing is also very pleased about the return of Stéphane Ortelli, who will climb behind the wheel of the Lexus #114 again.
With two results outside the Top-15 at the season opener at Monza, the start into the Endurance Cup season went everything but great, the team around Lorenz Frey-Hilti managed a huge leap forward at the second race at Silverstone already, climbing onto the podium in third place. Only two weeks later, the sensation was perfect with the fantastic win of the 1000km at Paul Ricard with the Lexus RC F GT3.
Following the shocking moment at the Total 24 Hours of Spa and the accident of Stéphane Ortelli, the Lexus-Team would like to deliver a good performance at the season final at the 4.655-metre-long Circuit de Catalunya just outside of Barcelona in a bid to keep the nose ahead in the fight for the championship title. “Barcelona is a track that suits us, however we only have two weeks’ time to prepare everything”, says Hannes Gautschi, Technical Coordinator Emil Frey Lexus Racing. “At the moment we still lead the Endurance Cup by a fraction. Our goal is to keep the lead and score as many points as possible to also secure a top-result in the overall ranking.”
In the Overall as well as in the Endurance Cup Standings the fight is extremely tight. Currently, Emil Frey Lexus Racing is ranging in fifth place overall in the team standings, however there is only a gap of 2.5 points to third place. The Swiss Team has the lead in the Endurance Cup, but must maintain the advantage of only four points ahead of the AKKA ASP Mercedes team.
“Now it all comes down to the championship. We are ready and will give everything. In order to keep the lead in the Endurance Cup and maybe even finish the Team Championship on the podium, we need a top result. All title candidates are all within a few points. It will be a very exciting final. It would be a great achievement for both Lexus and our team, to reach the title of the Endurance Cup for the very-first time in the history of Emil Frey Racing”, says Lorenz Frey-Hilti. “The whole team worked continuously to keep finding improvements and even when we had set-backs and not such good results, another strong race followed. As for Barcelona I am confident and excited to also have Stéphane back in the cockpit who can support us again.”
The finale Endurance Cup weekend takes place on 29 and 30 September 2018 in Barcelona (Spain). Both qualifying and the race are taking place on Sunday, 30 September 2018 from 09:00 am respectively 03:00 pm and are broadcast live via the following link: www.blancpain-gt-series.com/watch-live
Driver Quotes Emil Frey Lexus Racing #14
Albert Costa Balboa (ESP)
“I am very excited ahead of my home race at Barcelona. I am planning a great party with my family and my friends and it will be great. I am 100% sure, that we will have a great race. The winter tests were positive and from the track characteristic is Barcelona good for the Lexus.”
Christian Klien (A)
“Barcelona is a track that is good for us, because we have tested there a lot and we know it well with the Lexus. We really would like to attack once more and fight for the championship.”
Marco Seefried (GER)
“I have a good feeling for Barcelona, it has shown that we are well-organised on tracks with a new tarmac and Barcelona is one of them. Therefore, everything should function well, the team is doing better and better anyhow. We are also all very happy, that Stéphane is with us for the season final.”
Driver Quotes Emil Frey Lexus Racing #114
Stéphane Ortelli (MCO)
„I am very happy to start again for Emil Frey Lexus Racing at Barcelona. The last race of the year is always something special and I will give my best to support the team and my driver colleagues as best as possible to secure the title in the Endurance Cup. I would like to thank everyone for the many well-wishes I received, I was very pleased about that.“
Norbert Siedler (A)
“I think, we should be competitive in Barcelona. The tests in the winter showed that we are doing good there and the track is similar to Silverstone and Paul Ricard, on which we were very successful.”
Markus Palttala (FIN)
“After Nürburgring, Barcelona should be better for us. The track has a new tarmac and much more grip, which always helped us in the past. I am expecting a very strong appearance from us, because we have always been strong in the Endurance Cup. Our goal is of course the championship title.”