- Free Practice marked by several interruptions
- The #14 Lamborghini secures pole position during first Quali in the Silver Cup
- 30-second penalty causes the #14 to lose Silver Cup win
Brands Hatch (England), August 29th 2021
Mild, sunny weather greeted Emil Frey Racing in Brands Hatch, where a compact Sprint weekend was awaiting the team. Only a few minutes after Free Practice started on Saturday morning, an Audi landed in the gravel and hit the barrier so hard, that barrier repairs had to be undertaken, which led to a long interruption period. Once Free Practice resumed, the three Emil Frey Racing Lamborghinis had fought their ways to P7 #14, P9 #114 and P20 #163. However, another crash followed, which then caused for the Practice to be finished early.
27 cars took part in the Pre-Qualifying. The Emil Frey Racing team was hoping to get more race time and less interruptions out of this session, unlike what Free Practice had to offer. Ricardo Feller kept improving his stellar performance throughout and fought his way to the top. Lappalainen as well seemed to have found his groove on the English racetrack. Unfortunately, exceeding track limits led to a five-minute stop-and-go penalty. EFR finished the Pre-Qualifying in P3 #14, P11 #114 and P21 #163.
Feller (#14), Lappalainen (#114) and Siedler (#163) took on the first Qualifying. Track limits once again proved to be tricky for Lappalainen during Qualifying. He exceeded track limits in Turn 3 which resulted, accordingly, in his lap time being cancelled. Nevertheless, Lappalainen managed to pull off a remarkable result. Feller really felt comfortable himself and managed to deliver the fastest time in the first sector, which placed him temporarily in P1. Emil Frey Racing secured the following starting positions: P5 #14, P7 #114 and P14 #163. Additionally, the #14 secured the pole position in the Silver Cup.
Fontana (#14), Rougier (#114) and Costa (#163) took on the second Qualifying, which started out in dry conditions, which, however, didn’t last long. At the most inconvenient moment, rain showers set in, which didn’t really suit Emil Frey Racing’s plans. The three drivers didn’t manage to deliver the results that would secure starting positions in the Top Ten for the second race. As such, results after the second Qualifying were: P12 #14, P21 #163 and P23 #114.
Only a few minutes after the start of the first race, Siedler in the #163, radioed that the #93 Ferrari touched him several times. He also struggled with strong oversteering. 20 minutes after the start, Feller in the #14 set out to overtake a Bentley and managed to do so successfully. The two Lamborghinis #14 and #114 went in first when the pit stop window opened. A mechanic of the #14 lost his grip on a tire, which he immediately took a hold of once again. Nevertheless, it was punished with a disproportionate 30-second penalty, which caused the team to lose its win in the Silver Cup. A bitter disappointment for Emil Frey Racing. Costa took on the #163, just when a technical issue caused for a delay in exiting the pit lane. Only 20 minutes were left on the clock, when Fontana in the #14 was heading for the win in the Silver category. Three cars that were racing side by side collided only 5 minutes before the race would end, which led to a heavy crash and also involved the leading McLaren. The race had to be finished under a Safety Car procedure. Emil Frey Racing raced their Lamborghinis across the finish line in positions P14 #14, P8 #114 and P16 #163.
27 cars were getting ready on the grid for the second race. Costa (#163), Rougier (#114) and Feller (#14) started the second race for Emil Frey Racing. Rougier touched briefly with a competitor right after the start, which led to a drive-through penalty for the #114. Costa pulled off a strong start and gained five positions. Due to strategic reasons, the engineers of the #163 decided to drive a short first stint. As such, the #163 was stopped right after the pit window opened. Fontana in the #14 kept improving his performance in the first sector. Feller pulled off a sensational catch up with 4 other cars. A strong performance by Feller, all the more impressive on a circuit like Brands Hatch, where overtaking is hard to pull off. Emil Frey Racing finished the second race in P8 #14 (P4 in the Silver category), P15 #163 and P20 #114.