The third round of the 2014 season saw the teams visit the infamous Spa Francorchamps for two races where Sofrev-ASP and WRT took wins in the Ardennes.
Race 1
Sofrev ASP’s #1 Ferrari with Philippe Giauque and Morgan Moullin-Traffort driving took their first win of the season, after late race drama handed the French team the lead.
The race started with a battle for the lead between Enzo Ide’s #5 WRT Audi and Raymond Narac’s #76 IMSA Performance Porsche. Narac was able to get by Ide for a brief period on lap two, but the young Belgian was able to take the top spot back a few laps later. The tussle continued until the mandatory stops at the halfway mark.
Ide handed over to teammate André Lotterer after the pit stops and Nicolas Armindo took over in the IMSA Porsche where soon after they would both relinquish their positions at the front after a safety car period with just under 15 minutes to go in the race.
The #7 GSE by DKR Engineering BMW Z4 had an off at the top of Eau Rouge, bringing out the safety car. It bunched up the field and when it went green again, Morgan Moullin-Traffort in the #1 Team Sofrev Ferrari – which had been in the top five for the whole race – capitalised and took the lead of the race from Lotterer.
In the space of 10 minutes, both Lotterer and Narac would make mistakes costing their teams dearly. Lotterer received a penalty for track limits while Narac had a spin – in the end they would go on to finish 12th and 10th respectively.
This occurrence gave the final two spots on the podium to the #51 Sébastian Loeb Racing R8 of Henry Hassid and Mike Parisey, and the Saintéloc Racing Audi of David Halliday and Grégory Guilvert. Both looked threatening to the Sofrev car, and remained within five seconds of the leader for the remaining few minutes.
“This win feels great,” said Moullin-Traffort. “We had a lot of ups and downs since the beginning of the season and this success will give us confidence. “Philippe (Giauque) has done a very good job since the beginning of the weekend. The start was complicated but recovered gradually.
“The restart went well, I was not worried. It’s good to take some championship points. It is the goal for us each time. ”
Philippe Colançon and Gilles Duqueine continued their dominance in the Coupe De France class in the #350 Team Duqueine 458. Saintéloc Racing’s #4 Audi R8 came home second 13 seconds back.
Race 2
After a disappointing finish in the first race for WRT, Enzo Ide and 2014 Le Mans winner Andrè Lotterer were able to take the victory in the second hour long race of the weekend. Great preparation for the team ahead of the Spa 24 Hours next month.
Morgan Moullin-Traffort looked to continue Sofrev-ASP’s success for the weekend, keeping the lead from pole position. André Lotterer on the other hand, had a tough start to the race in the #5 WRT Audi, falling from second on the grid to fifth.
The German Audi-star was forced to work his way up to the front of the field again during his stint, rather than consolidate a podium spot. By the time the pit-stop cycle started, he’d got the R8 up to third overall, getting by the #3 Sport Garage of and #10 Sofrev Ferrari’s before handing over to Ide to finish the race.
“I was a little trapped at the start today, but I did not want to take any chances. I knew that Enzo would do the job. It was interesting to run here in a championship with a very good level, and in the context of our participation in the 24 Hours of Spa,” said Lotterer.
Ide was able to battle with the frontrunners after the stops, and gain the lead by the time a safety car period was called by the organisers, after an unfortunate blowout by the #20 Sofrev Ferrari of Jean-Luc Beaubelique promoted the Belgian team to the top spot.
This time it was the #43 Saintéloc Audi of Jean-Claude Lagniez that had an incident.Thankfully he was ok, and after a brief period, the action started once again with Ide out front holding off Raymond Narac in the IMSA Porsche and Henry Hassid in the Sébastian Loeb Audi all the way until the chequered flag came out.
“I’m very happy with this victory,” said Ide after the race. “This is a very nice birthday present. As soon as I took over, I pushed to take the lead. Too bad the Ferrari had a problem. This is a good result for all of us looking forward in the championship.”
“I am very pleased for Enzo [Ide],” Lotterer added. “I’m still really sorry after my error yesterday. It’s a lack of experience in GT. It was good to win today and I am excited to share this success with Enzo.”
In the Coupe De France class, it was the #21 BMW Z4 of Classic and Modern Racing that would take their second win of the year. A great result for both Thomas Nicolle and Pierre Hirschi.
Next up on the GT Tour Calendar is the round at the Circuit du Val de Vienne on the 5th and 6th of July.
Stephen Kilbey
