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This will be the penultimate round, the finale being the Baku World Challenge on November 2nd.

CIRCUIT INFO
Track: Terlaemen, Zolder

Lap Record 1:31.117

Circuit Length 4.004km / 2.500mi Number of Corners 10

Website www.circuit-zolder.be



With two race weekends left, the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series has entered the deciding phase of the season. Before the meeting at the Belgian track of Zolder, Maximilian Götz sports a healthy advantage over his competitors, but the twisty and technical Circuit Zolder might well reduce the German’s lead.

Six weeks ago, Series’ leader Maximilian Götz was a happy man after the Portimao round of the Blancpain Sprint Series. Sharing the #84 HTP Motorsport Mercedes with team-mate Maximilian Buhk, the German driver took his second Main Race win of the season, increasing his lead over his nearest rivals – Lamborghini-duo Hari Proczyk and Jeroen Bleekemolen – to 23 points.

But Götz remained realistic, claiming that this lead would come in handy at the next round at Zolder. In theory, he feared the former Grand Prix circuit should suit the competition better than his Mercedes SLS AMG.

To take the title fight through to the grand finale at the Baku World Challenge, Götz’s competitors must keep the points difference below 34. In the knowledge that last year’s Main Race at Zolder saw the only win for a Lamborghini in the 2013 FIA GT Series, the drivers of the #28 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini are looking forward to the upcoming Belgian round. Jeroen Bleekemolen and Hari Proczyk have already taken four wins this season (three Qualifying Races and the Main Race in Brands Hatch) and would love to add at least one more to that tally.

However, Proczyk and Bleekemolen are not the only pairing aiming for a win. René Rast and Enzo Ide, in the #2 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi, still have a mathematical chance of claiming the title, and the Belgian could use the home race advantage to put in an excellent performance.

The driver with biggest home advantage at Zolder is without a doubt Laurens Vanthoor. The Belgian literally lives a stone’s throw away from the track. Even though the young Belgian is out of contention in the title fight, there can be no doubt that Vanthoor and team-mate Cesar Ramos would love to get their first Main Race win of the season. Especially since the newly crowned Blancpain Endurance Series Pro Cup Champion is still in contention for the overall Blancpain GT Series title.

In the Silver Cup, reserved for Silver drivers of 25 or younger, the win of the David Fumanelli and Stefano Colombo in Portimao considerably reduced the championship lead of Vincent Abril and Mateusz Lisowski. The drivers of the #4 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi now have a mere 14 points in hand over the Italian duo from the #34 ROAL Motorsport BMW. And even though he has yet to win a race in 2014, Spanish youngster Miguel Toril is still in the running for the title as well, albeit 47 points down on the leaders.

In the Pro-Am Trophy, Alessandro Latif and Marc Basseng in the #5 Phoenix Racing Audi could take the title by finishing the Main Race. Their main competitors Stefan Landmann and Sascha Halek cannot score points in Zolder, since the latter is absent due to injury. He will be replaced by Czech driver Tomas Pivoda in the #27 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini, which means that the Grasser Lamborghini moves out of the Pro-Am Trophy. Latif and Basseng will now have to face Series newcomers Alexey Vasiliev and Marko Asmer in the #177 GT Russian Team Mercedes for the Pro-Am Trophy honours.

The GT Russian Team is no newcomer to the Blancpain GT Series, having competed in two races in the Blancpain Endurance Series. Zolder is their Sprint Series debut however, mainly to prepare the season finale at the Baku World Challenge.

The Russian team is not the only new racing squad for Zolder. Jonny Adam and Andy Soucek will drive the #107 Beechdean AMR Aston Martin, premiering the Vantage GT3 in the Blancpain Sprint Series. The team is a regular in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship and a frequent visitor to the Blancpain Endurance, and, with two seasoned Pro drivers at the wheel, may well surprise the Series’ regulars.

The presence of the GT Russian Mercedes and the Beechdean AMR Aston Martin brings the total number of cars on the entry list to 23, meaning that the Zolder event sports the largest starting grid of the current season of the Blancpain Sprint Series.

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Through the works entry of Beechdean AMR Aston Martin will join the Blancpain Sprint Series for the first time. During the upcoming rounds of Zolder and Baku the Vantage GT3 will be driven by Beechdean stalwart Jonny Adam and by Spanish driver Andy Soucek, who will race the Aston Martin for the first time after taking two podium finishes with the ART McLaren in this year’s Blancpain Endurance Series.

John Gaw (Aston Martin Racing Team Principal): "At Aston Martin Racing we work very closely with our partner teams, like Beechdean AMR, and this enables us to embark on joint ventures like this. We were very keen to have a works team entry in the Blancpain Sprint Series and SRO have been extremely cooperative and supportive in enabling us to get this entry together. We are also grateful to Beechdean AMR for its continued commitment to racing at the highest level. Hopefully this is the start of more Aston Martin Racing works entries in both the Blancpain Sprint and GT Series.”

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Live stream will come online 30 minutes before the race start:

http://livetv.sx/en/eventinfo/263408_blancpain_zolder/

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Looking forward to the season finale at Baku next month, here is some news:



Triple Eight Enters BMW for Baku World Challenge


Photo: Triple Eight Race Engineering
British squad Triple Eight Race Engineering will enter one of its BMW Z4 GT3 in the Baku World Challenge next month (November 1-2).

The team will make its Blancpain Sprint Series debut at the season finale in Azerbaijan, having already competed in select rounds of the Blancpain Endurance Series earlier this season.

(Sportscar365.com)

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Belgian team NSC Motorsports has joined the entry list of the Belgian round of the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series, bringing the total number of cars for the Zolder event to 24, the largest starting grid of the year. Considering the level of the drivers, the newcomers are certainly counting on making an impression.

The NSC Motorsports Lamborghini will be driven by Dutch pairing Nicky Catsburg and Peter Kox. Kox won the FIA GT Sprint Series race at Zolder last year, driving a Lamborghini as well, and is certainly hoping for a repeat performance. Catsburg is not unknown to the Blancpain GT Series, taking two Pro-Am Cup wins in the Endurance Series this year, at the wheel of the TDS Racing BMW.

Nicky Catsburg: “I’m very happy that team owner Thierry Verstraete, NSC Motorsport and Reiter Engineering have given me this opportunity to drive in the Blancpain Sprint Series. To do so with Peter Kox, who knows the car very well, is certainly an added bonus.”

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One more last-minute entry for the Belgian round of the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series has brought the total number of cars for the Zolder event to 25, further increasing the already largest starting grid of the year so far. 2010 FIA GT1 World Champion and three-times FIA GT Champion Michael Bartels will join his 2012 FIA GT1 team-mate, Dutchman Yelmer Buurman, behind the wheel of the Vita4One Racing Team BMW Z4.

Both Buurman and Bartels have plenty of experience in GT racing and the Belgian track of Zolder in particular, so count on them to make an impression on the Blancpain Sprint Series’ regulars. It might be Vita4One Racing’s first outing in the 2014 Blancpain GT Series, but the German squad has a definite pedigree in Series organised by SRO Motorsports Group, with six titles in FIA GT and GT1 combined, as well as three wins in the Total 24 Hours of Spa.

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BMW Sports Trophy Team Brazil Press Release
10/16/2014



Sprint Blancpain Series: Track Zolder next challenge is the BMW Team Brazil



The sixth and penultimate round of the championship takes place this weekend in Belgium. The SporTV channels and Rede TV! will transmit disputes



This weekend (17th, 18:19) takes place in Zolder, Belgium, the sixth stage of Blancpain Sprint Series. The contest will be the penultimate race of the year, the seven scheduled for the season. This test will also mark the last appearance, in 2014, the team sponsored by the Bank of Brazil, with its original lineup: Caca Bueno / Sergio Jimenez, the BMW Z4 # 0 and Matheus Stumpf / Piquet, in car # 30, as announced by team a few days ago. The two races in Zolder will be displayed live on SporTV channel. The TV Network! will show at 14.30 on Sunday (19), the Principal Race.

The BMW Team knows that Brazil will not have an easy life in the Belgian circuit of Zolder. The track that hosted the world of F-1 between the years 1973 to 1984, with some exceptions, has characteristics that are not very favorable to the model BMW Z4. Still, the green and yellow team hopes to maintain its positive rhythm, besides the good rapport between drivers, engineers and team leaders to try to get good results in other years. Remember that in the current season, the Brazilian has been cast on the podium four times, were three third places and a second position, all won by double the BMW Z4 # 0.

The São Paulo Sergio Jimenez acknowledges that the layout is very demanding. But expects the good mood of the team that contributes to achieve good results. "The expectation is going well. Let's get the podium that eluded us in Portugal. Going to be difficult because it is a difficult track for us again, for being good low speed, you need enough torque. Complicated I think of victory, but it is never impossible.'s team is well mingled and it makes us excited, "Jimenez considered that side of the Bueno, is fifth in the standings with 51 points.

Caca Bueno recalls the results of the team's debut season at this track in 2013, and agree with the fellow about the difficulties, but says the goal is to score well in the championship. "In fact, last year the stage of Zolder was not very positive for us. A track is unfavorable to our car, so we will work to score as many points as possible for the team in the championship," said Rio.

In the other car in the Brazilian team, the gaucho Matheus Stumpf emphasizes that the goal is to work out the details and the development of the car to try to get a place on the podium. "We know it will be a step in a complicated track, but if treating the tournament as a whole, it's just a difficult track for our car, and as always, we will strive and develop the car as much as possible, as we are still hopeful to this podium, now often close, come this next race, "said the driver of car # 30.

Piquet is excited to its last stage with BMW Team Brazil and hopes to help the team to get a good result in Belgium. "September was a strong month for me. I played five races at three championships and three continents. Now could take a few days to rest and go to Brasilia in Zolder with batteries recharged. Participation will be my last with BMW Team Brazil in 2014 and hope match the commitment of all the staff with a solid performance, "said brasiliense.

In step of Azerbaijan, which will be the last of the year, Caca and Jimenez will be replaced by Ricardo and Rodrigo Sperafico, due to the coincidence of dates with a Stock Car. Nelson will also desfalcar the team, because he will be in the Global RallyCross. And Matheus Stumpf will run with Miguel Paludo in the last step.

http://www.bmwteambrasil.com.br/#!leia-mais/c1s76

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The No. 1 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 LMS ultra GT3 of Laurens Vanthoor has a special livery for this weekend's race. Vanthoor lives near Circuit Zolder and is one of the local fan favorites. There was a contest and Philippe Gilais’ design was chosen as the winner for the one-off repaint.

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And this is the car that topped FP. It is Chris Van Der Drift’s No. 61 Bhaitech McLaren. No. 107 Beechdean Aston Martin V12 Vantage and No. 95 NSC Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo FL2, making their first appearances in the series this weekend, ended up in P2 (+0.146s) and P3 (0.375s).

The Vita4One Z4 GT3 I referenced in an earlier post slid off track and had to be recovered! Whoops!

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Race 1 just started!! Check out the live stream:
Blancpain-gt-series.com/live

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Oops Mattheus Stumpf in the #30 BMW just lost a tire!

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And the ROAL Motorsport BMW is leading Pro-Am!

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Close fight for 5th between #3 Lambo of Enger Racing and #76 BMW of Dominik Baumann. BMW now in 5th.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by 954Stealth

Close fight for 5th between #3 Lambo of Enger Racing and #76 BMW of Dominik Baumann. BMW now in 5th.

Circuit of Zolder is only 20 min. from where I live !
I'm at home because i'm sick got the damn flu
But i'm watching the race and thanks my friend for sharing as always !
BTW...you changed your avatar ?

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Oh it's too bad you're sick! It would've been an awesome weekend at the Circuit.

Yeah I figured it was time to change my avatar. I had Deadpool for most of a year. You know, you're the first person to comment on it lol

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Eventful Sunday race for Zanardi at Zolder.

BMW works driver Alessandro Zanardi experienced a difficult Sunday at Circuit Zolder. He finished an eventful Blancpain Sprint Series main race in 13th in his BMW Z4 GT3 entered by ROAL Motosport.



The Belgian track hosted the penultimate round of the 2014 season. The main race saw a hectic start with many cars making contact in the first corner.
Starting from tenth on the grid, Zanardi had hoped for a strong result as the warm-up in the morning had been promising regarding the speed of the car. But his hopes ended early in the turmoil of the first corner after the rolling start. Zanardi’s car suffered a right front puncture and he had to change the tyre immediately at the end of the first lap. He re-joined the race in 20th position and tried to work his way back up the field. Fifteen minutes into the race he was on the outside behind a Mercedes, when it suddenly also steered towards the outside, spun directly in front of Zanardi and crashed heavily into the barrier. Zanardi’s BMW Z4 GT3 suffered damage at the front, but he was able to continue in the race. After an hour he crossed the finish line in 13th.

After the race, Zanardi commented: “Honestly, everything happened so rapidly in turn one that I don’t know who I had contact with. It was a typical racing first corner, where everybody tries for positions and a bunch of cars go out wide. I was keeping to my line and one of the cars came back on very quickly from the outside onto the racing line and hit me. That unfortunately compromised my race. I had to come in for a new tyre as I picked up a puncture. Then I just drove my race and I came up to the back of the Mercedes. I was fighting with him for position. When we went out turn 4, he was very slow so I had a good run on him. I tried to go on the inside but he was blocking me, so I went for the outside and when we were about to brake he just came onto my line and spun around at the front of my car. In the rest of the race we had a bit more speed than the cars in front of me, but it was very difficult to pass them. So overall, it was an unfortunate race. For sure, with the speed we had in the car, had we survived lap one, we would have had a completely different race, but this is it, and we can’t change it.”

The main race was won by Maximilian Götz and Maximilian Buhk. The best placed BMW car was the BMW Z4 GT3 of BMW Sports Trophy Team Brasil, driven by Caca Bueno and Sergio Jimenez, who finished eighth. The final round of the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series will be held from on 1st and 2nd November at Baku.

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Flash info : Third win of the season for Götz and Buhk

HTP Motorsport-drivers Maximilian Götz and Maximilian Buhk took their third Main Race win of the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series. On the Belgian track of Zolder they beat their main rivals in the championship, Grasser Racing Team-drivers Jeroen Bleekemolen and Hari Proczyk. Local favorites Laurens Vanthoor and Cesar Ramos in the #1 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi completed the podium. Their team-mates Mateusz Lisowski and Vincent Abril scored another win in the Silver Cup, while Phoenix Racing-pairing Alessandro Latif and Marc Basseng secured the 2014 Pro-Am Trophy title by taking their fourth win of the season.

Team standings before the final race of the season:
Belgian Audi Club Team WRT -- 228
HTP Motorsport -- 206
Grasser Racing Team -- 97
Sainteloc Racing -- 78
ART Grand Prix -- 73
M-Sport Bentley -- 68
BMW Sports Trophy Team Brasil -- 66
BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert -- 50
Phoenix Racing -- 47
Scuderia Villorba Corse -- 47