Stevens/Winklehock win Zolder Blancpain GT

Will Stevens and Markus Winkelhock (No. 2 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT R8) claimed victory in the Blancpain GT Series main race at the Zolder circuit in Belgium. A safety car intervention in the final minutes meant there was only one lap of racing left when the lights went green again. Stevens held off all attacks, with Filip Salaquarda crossing the line in second, in the No. 75 ISR Audi he shares with Clemens Schmid. The No. 17 Team WRT Audi of Stuart Leonard and Robin Frijns finished third.

"I was a bit worried at the end, for it felt like there was an issue with the car," related Stevens. "I wanted the safety car to stay out as long as possible. The team probably did their best pit stop of the year, after Markus drove a great stint. This is a great result, and I am sure that there will be more this year."

The Silver Cup honors went to Jules Szymkowiak and Fabian Schiller (No. 85 HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG), with Giacomo Piccini and Michael Broniszewski (No. 11 Kessel Racing Ferrari) taking their first Pro-Am Cup win of the year.

After yesterday's hectic start, polesitter Stuart Leonard was determined to follow the starting procedure to the letter. Others didn't, and Leonard was passed by Michael Meadows in the No. 90 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG before the lights went green. Meadows was given a drive-through penalty, effectively ruining any of his chances of a podium finish.

This transformed the duel between Schmid (No. 75 ISR Audi) and Winkelhock (No. 2 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT R8) – both of whom had managed to overtake Leonard on the opening lap – to a fight for the lead. Winkelhock managed to get alongside the white Audi once, but Schmid kept his cool and held onto first.

Both Audis entered pit lane at the same time, but then the pit stop of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT crew made the difference. Stevens (in the No. 2 Audi) was able to leave the pit lane with a lead of a couple of seconds over Filip Salaquarda, now at the wheel of the No. 75. The Czech driver's position came under threat, when Robin Frijns (who had taken over from Stuart Leonard) set a series of fastest laps. However, Frijns could not manage to overtake Salaquarda.

When the race was neutralized after a contact between the No. 86 and No. 88 Mercedes-AMG cars, the gaps between the leaders was reduced to naught. It took a while to clear the track, and when the safety car came in, there was only one lap of racing left.

Stevens handily used the presence of a backmarker behind him to drive away from Salaquarda and Frijns, and they in turn had to manage the presence of yet another Audi, the No. 5 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT R8 in the hands of local hero Dries Vanthoor. Although Frijns tried to find a gap twice, Salaquarda managed to hold to second.

The first victory of the Winkelhock-Stevens duo was never under threat, and in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup driver standings the German-British pairing are now only five points behind leaders Maxi Buhk and Franck Perera, who finished in sixth in Zolder. Qualifying Race-winners Frijns and Leonard also made a jump forward in the standings, and are now seven points down.

In Silver Cup, polesitter Fumanelli made a slight mistake in the second lap, and the No. 42 Strakka Motorsport McLaren dropped a couple of places. That promoted the No. 85 HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG to first in Silver Cup, but that was not enough for Jules Szymkowiak and Fabian Schiller. The youngest duo of the field had started the Qualifying Race from last, but some inspired driving in both races eventually led to a more than decent eighth-place overall.

The runner-up spot in the Silver Cup went to the No. 55 Spirit of Race Ferrari of Lorenzo Case and Phil Quaife, after contact in the final corner dropped the No. 67 Attempto Racing Lamborghini of Pohler and Van Splunteren and the No. 42 Strakka Motorsport McLaren down the order. The latter was also penalized with a one-minute stop and go, which was converted to an addition of 90 seconds to its race time.

In the Pro-Am Cup Michael Broniszewski quickly fought his way to the front, at the wheel of the No. 11 Kessel Racing Ferrari. He passed the leading Ferraris of Piti Bhirombhakdi and Alexander Mattschull in the opening laps and the reigning Blancpain GT Series Pro-Am champion – who had never raced in Zolder before – never looked back. Giacomo Piccini finished the job in the second half of the race.

It was a great recovery from the Italian-Polish duo and the Kessel Racing team, after an unlucky spin in Saturday's qualifying left them with a badly damaged car. With Bhirombhakdi and Carlo Van Dam claiming second in Pro-Am and the Ferrari 458 Italia of Stephen Earle and David Perel scoring full points in the Am Cup, the weekend ended on a high for the Swiss Kessel Racing squad.