A New Series At A New Circuit
Janos Wimpffen's View Of The BES At Navarra

Hola y buenos dias from the Navarra circuit in northwestern Spain, the venue for the second round of the Blancpain Endurance Series. While not yet achieving a stellar entry, thus far the series has shown considerable potential, elevating the GT3 & GT4 concept to a longer distance and more international status. There is still a bit too much “Am” to some of the “Pro-Am” aspects of the entry, but it is a strong field nonetheless.

It is worth noting that with this elevation of GT3 comes the culmination of a historic trend. Privateer racing has always been a mainstay of all sports car racing and particularly in GT. In decades past the trend was for a single person or team to head up the effort, often with themselves as one of the drivers. The current GT3 ethos borrows from the trend of the past decade or so where a highly professional and very commercial racing enterprise is established that in turn sells rides to individual drivers. Most of today’s teams follow that approach. Notable exceptions are for Vita4One (nee Vitaphone) which still has team owner Michael Bartels as a driver (having switched from the Maseratis of the old FIA GT series to the new Ferrari 458). Similarly, Sofrev Auto Sport Promotion has as lead driver owner Jerome Policand.

Yesterday’s two practice sessions were mostly without incident although both were halted with brief red flags because of stopped cars. Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof came to grief with that, having been judged to have passed cars after the stoppage. Thus his qualifying times in the #25 Reiter Lamborghini would be canceled.

The Reiter team’s weekend then went from bad to worse. About four laps into the first qualifying session (held on race morning here), massive clouds of smoke arose from the back of Marc Hayek’s Lamborghini, bringing it and the qualifying to a stop while the mess was cleared up. Gianluca Roda spun on the bull’s droppings, the #9 Autorlando Porsche taking harmlessly to the kitty litter.

Frank Kechele (#1 Vita4One Ferrari) and Pierre Brice Mena (#2 Hexis Aston) were one-two, respectively, at this point, apparently completing their fast laps just prior to the flags being shown. On the restart Greg Franchi (#33 WRT Audi R8 LMS) jumped to second place, but was soon usurped by Roda in the recovering Porsche. Policand then engaged in a swap of times with Roda, the order for the session ending at 1-9-10. The other Vita4One entry, the #2 Ferrari 458 led the Pro-Am Cup division in the hands of Nick Hommerson.

The second session began badly for Leo Mansell as his #70 Lotus stalled near the pit exit with throttle problems. Also, Sergio Negroni had a left rear puncture in the #36 De Lorenzi Racing Porsche. This older GT3 Cup car is the only entrant in a new category at this race. It is for one-make Cup Series cars and is scored as a sub-category under the GT3 Gentlemen Trophy class. It is hoped that several Ferrari Challenge cars will later join this group.

Raffaele Giammaria completed a few quick laps in the #9 Porsche at the start of the second session and then parked it. Filipe Albuquerque (#32 WRT Audi), briefly held the lead before being passed by Matt Griffin (#50 AF Corse Ferrari 458) and Nico Verdonck, now in the #1 Ferrari. Albuquerque took the spot back near the end of the period.

Indeed, Albuquerque’s time survived the last 15-minute qualifying session. Ludovic Badey (#20 Auto Sport Promotion Ferrari) was briefly fastest for that session. The last change came when Michael Bartels moved to the top spot, leaving the #1 Ferrari in fourth place covering the total 45-minutes of qualifying. Julien Jousse was also quite quick, slotting the #10 Ferrari second fastest during this session.

The relevant class pole winners were:

#32, Filipe Albuquerque, WRT, Audi, overall and GT3 Pro Cup
#50, Matt Griffin, AF Corse, Ferrari, GT3 Pro-Am Cup (2nd overall)
#22, Lionel Comole, Sport Garage, Ferrari 430, GT3 Gentlemen Trophy [and yes, there are two ladies as well], 20th overall
#61, Fredy Barth, Lotus Driving Academy, Lotus Evora, GT4 Cup (25th overall)
#36, Sergio Negroni, De Lorenzi Racing, Porsche Cup, GT3 Cup (27th overall)

Yesterday was typically warm and sunny, but by evening some rain that’s been mainly on the plain here in Spain migrated up the hills and left a light breezy shower. This morning was cool, windy and quite overcast, but not particularly threatening. A spot of sun peeked through just prior to the 13:15 start but it the mixed conditions held for the next three hours.

Marc Hayek did start the troubled #24 Reiter Lamborghini, but the car stopped after 20 minutes, re-emerged, and then stopped again. The Gentle Swiss Maserati did not make the start, a broken axle being the problem. It was the lone Maserati on the field but still leaves us with the marques Ferrari, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Audi, Ford, Porsche, Ginetta, Nissan, Lotus, and BMW—not bad. The #40 VDS Ford also had a difficult beginning to the race, a collapsed wishbone was repaired and the car continued at the back of the field. 
 
Stephane Ortelli led with the pole-sitting Audi, while Jack Gerber dropped back a bit in the front row AF Corse Ferrari. Ludovic Sougnez spun the #8 GPR Aston Martin at the lap ending Turn 15, recovered, and scooted into the pits. The team’s other entry, the GT4 class Vantage of Giuseppe De Pasquale, lost time with a fluid leak. Badey jumped out to a wide lead in the Pro-Am class with the #20 Ferrari. Further back, Alex Buncombe took over the GT4 class lead with the #63 Nissan.

About 20 minutes in we had our first drama. Philip Shearer crashed hard at Turn 15. He was fine—the car was not, but the race continued on unabated as the incident was far off course and dealt with using a local yellow. Ortelli continued with a very solid lead while Andrea Piccini became the first car in the top half of the field to make a routine stop. It came at the 45-minute mark and the #33 Belgian Audi was handed over to Marcel Fässler. The #1 Ferrari made a picture perfect halt five minutes later with the very fast Nico Verdonck taking over from Frank Kechele.

A minute or two later Gerber had a massive accident at – where else? – Turn 15. He stepped out, woozy but unharmed, amazed that the entire car ahead of the cockpit was now strewn in pieces a good 75 meters back up the track.

The #4 Hexis Aston Martin was one of several cars to suffer drive through penalties for passing under yellow during the period. Earlier there appeared to have been some confusion as to when the safety car period began. Indeed, Kechele was considering putting a move on the leading Ferrari but Ortelli blocked the move. It was actually a sporting gesture that would have repercussions on the race’s outcome.

This took a 12-minute safety car period to clean up and Ortelli immediately took the opportunity to stop and hand over to Bert Longin. Julien Jousse briefly took over first until he pulled in with the #10 Sofrev Ferrari, handing over to Patrice Goueslard.

Almost everyone else stopped as well, but Badey in the #20 Ferrari did not and inherited both the overall and Pro-Am Cup class lead. The Gulf Racing Lamborghini of Andrea Barlesi also remained out, allowing it to rise to second place and first in the Pro Cup category. The Pro-Am class Vita4One entry had a bad stop with Louis Machiels having trouble restarting the car after taking the handoff from Niek Hommerson.

On the restart Verdonck closed in on Longin and soon grabbed third overall, anticipating that this would soon become second place. But before that was to take place we had another significant incident, as a huge fire broke out in the back of the lone Ginetta in the race. Diego Alessi nearly came to a stop at Turn 15, but since that area was reserved for crashed Ferraris he struggled on to the pit entrance where, now nearly enveloped in black smoke, he emerged unharmed after a few anxious seconds.

Another safety car period, some 13 minutes long, was needed, and only then did the #45 Gulf Lamborghini makes its first stop. Immediately after the restart, Jean-Pierre Valentini, who had taken over the car from Barlesi, nearly brought out another full-course caution. Usurping Ferrari’s ownership of Turn 15, the Lamborghini spun there and stalled facing the wrong direction right on the racing line. After a few nasty backfires Valentini re-lit the motor and turned the right way.

Passing the halfway mark, the #1 Ferrari of Kechele opened a fairly significant lead. Raffaele Giammaria, now in the #9 Porsche, vaulted to second place - the steady Autorlando entry always a threat, fresh from its Monza victory. Its task here was a bit more daunting as the team endured a pre-race thrash, swapping the gearbox.

The #7 car (a Rhino Bull?) slowed on course and Raffaele Sangiuolo had a moment with the #88 GPS Aston when he failed to notice a fast approaching Audi during a lapping maneuver. The lone BMW, the DB Motorsport Z4, had the suspension collapse early during a lap, requiring a long slow tour back to the pits.

The Scuderia Vittoria Ferrari stopped from eighth place, Matteo Bobbi and Carlos Iaconelli swapping the seat back and forth as a result of illness on the young Brazilian driver’s part. The #10 Ferrari also stopped and had a very difficult time restarting. Its teammate, the #20 Ferrari, briefly went to third overall and then for a moment into the lead. This happened when Verdonck, in the very strong #1 Ferrari, as well as the second place Porsche, stopped simultaneously with just under an hour left.  Michael Bartels took the final stint in the 458 and Paolo Ruberti took over the 997. The gears were again acting up in the Autorlando car, not allowing him to lap within a second or two of the Ferrari’s time.

The #20 Ferrari made its last stop with about 40 minutes left, Jean-Luc Beaubelique taking over from Franck Morel. Among the classes, the #31 Ruffier Racing Lamborghini maintained a strong lead in the “Gentlemen Trophy” group to the end. The Nissan continued to hold onto the GT4 edge but would be passed by the #61 Lotus of Rolf Maritz in the last 20 minutes.

The race was enlivened in the closing moments when the problem-plagued Porsche of Ruberti was unable to hold off the charging Ferrari of Albuquerque. The Portuguese driver had been having a very good stint - especially given that Longin was suffering from pickup problems on his tires and general fatigue near the end of his stint - in the now second place Audi.

Thus we finished with three different marques on the podium. That makes for healthy GT racing indeed, especially as everyone seems to enjoy this category at a proper race length.

As for Navarra, it is a wonderful circuit with ample elevation changes and technical challenges. The facilities are top notch and sight lines for spectators are great. The only problem is that it is in the middle of effing nowhere. One would be hard pressed anywhere in Europe further from a major metropolitan center - perhaps only in northern Sweden or Finland. By Pacific Northwest standard, it would be about like locating a circuit midway between Bend and The Dalles. The two nearest cities, Bilbao to the west and Zaragoza to the east are each nearly 200 km away and while Pamplona is only about 50 km north, it is a small local community.

Having said that, this is wonderful country; rolling hills resplendent in spring green and home to some of the best house wineries to be found anywhere. A round of tapas and a vino tinto at a small local bodega are definitely in order about now. Adios amigos.

Janos Wimpffen