A modest 15 cars are on hand for the Blancpain Sprint’s round at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve this weekend. The nature of the circuit means it should still provide plenty of action though.
The key storyline for the meeting will centre around the championship-leading #1 WRT Audi R8 of Laurens Vanthoor and Robin Frijns. The duo who had an off-kilter weekend in Moscow will be looking to extend their lead with a strong performance here.
The omission from the entry list comes in the form of Attempto Racing, who have opted to skip the round altogether after its McLaren 650S of Kevin Estre and Rob Bell was pulled from the entry list. It’s been a trying year for the team so far, who last time out at Moscow ran one McLaren and one Porsche, having competed with a pair of 650S’ at all the previous rounds; they also pulled out of the Spa 24 Hours back in July. It’s therefore not clear if and when the team will return to the series.
The other big entry list change comes in the form of the renamed #173 Nissan GT-R of Always Evolving Motorsport, with Craig Dolby and Sean Walkinshaw driving.
Dailysportscar understands that Always Evolving Motorsport will run the car for the remaining Blancpain Endurance and Sprint Series rounds of the season at the Nürburgring, Misano and Zandvoort. It’s an expansion of Always Evolving’s successful programme with JRM/Nissan in Pirelli World Challenge. They will continue to receive technical support from JRM.
In terms of today’s pair of Free Practice sessions, a Bentley came away with the pace to beat in tomorrow’s Qualifying.
Vicent Abril and Max Buhk set the day’s fastest lap of the Portuguese circuit, after Abril managed a 1:44.871, four tenths faster than the rest of the field in the #84 HTP Motorsport Continental. It’s an impressive start to the weekend for the pair, the whole team clearly still feeding off its first win of the season last time out in the Russian Capital.
The other particularly notable pace-setter was the #88 Reiter Lamborghini Gallardo of Nick Catsburg and Albert von Thurn und Taxis. Like Abril and Buhk, they too are looking for a repeat of Moscow’s fortunes, which saw them take the win in Race 1. In Free Practice 1 they went quickest, after a time of 1:45.233 by the Dutchman, which bettered von Thurn und Taxis early benchmark in the session.
In FP2, they came in four tenths off the leading Bentley, finishing up second.
Robin Frijns (#1 WRT Audi) was the only driver to get in any way caught out by the hilly circuit, going off into a gravel trap in the second session, briefly bringing out red flags.
Qualifying tomorrow is due to start at 9:45 local time, followed by the first race of two races a few hours later.
Stephen Kilbey
