By Johan Laubscher
Navarra in Spain hosted the fifth and penultimate FIA GT Series round this weekend.
Four Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were entered, three from Belgian Audi Team WRT and one from Team Novadriver. WRT arrived with the goal of maintaining their advantage at the head of the driver’s and team’s points standings.
During qualifying the Audis showed very well, as Stippler and Sandström qualified on the front row. The qualifying race got underway in wet conditions, with many teams gambling on tires. The #12 WRT Audi suffered on the wrong tires, but a terrific battle for second place ensued between the #11 and #13 WRT Audis. By the end of the race the #13 of Stippler and Sandtröm finished second, as Ortelli and Vanthoor dropped back to seventh, having gambled on the wrong tires during the pitstop. The #14 Team Novadriver Audi finished sixth overall, taking third in the PAM class.
The main championship race on Sunday saw another podium result for WRT, as the #13 crew finished third, followed by their teammates in the #12 in fifth. The #11 of Vanthoor and Ortelli suffered brake issues and finished fifteenth. Team Novadriver finished ninth overall, again on the PAM podium. The championship battle will come down to the final round at Baku, as Ortelli and Vanthoor lead the standings in the #11 WRT Audi, just five points ahead of Stippler and Sandström in the #13 WRT Audi. Belgian Audi Club Team WRT remain in the lead of the team’s championship points.
The finale of the FIA GT Series will be the Baku City Challenge in Azerbaijan, to be hosted from 22-24 November.
Photo credit: FIA GT Series
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