Admission time: Moonlighting has been rather quiet since Spa. Blame it on the large quantities of Chimay and Leffe if you wish, or the fact that keeping tabs on such a large entry over 24 hours does rot the brain a bit, or the fact that since Spa there has been a long break in the Blancpain Endurance Series.
Break over – it’s time to go racing again this weekend as the series reaches its final round. As I type in the press room at a foggy Nürburgring, we are set for the decider, a 1000 kilometre race/maximum 6-hour race which has the chance for many drivers in the Pro Cup to be crowed champion.
What makes the showdown more fascinating is that Max Buhk, just two points shy of leaders Daniel Zampieri/Davide Rigon/Cesar Ramos, has only done two races but a truck full of points at Paul Ricard and Spa has put him in contention. Would a champion who has only done three-fifths of a season be just? Not sure. He has a fine chance, though, sharing this weekend with Spa 24 winning co-drivers Bernd Schneider and Max Götz, but the story doesn’t end there. Add in Frank Stippler and Christopher Mies on the same points as Buhk and it gets really tight. Indeed this weekend, Team WRT has split is driver pairings so that Stephane Ortelli and Laurens Vanthoor share with Edward Sandström, whilst René Rast hooks up with Stippler and Mies to try to maximise the brand’s chances of taking the title.
And then, just a point back from Stippler and Mies comes the Marc VDS Racing Team BMW Z4 of Bas Leinders, Yelmer Buurman and (hooray) Maxime Martin. The whooping is based on the fact that when we are at Spa, we were told that we wouldn’t see Martin this weekend as he would be on ALMS duty for BMW. Thankfully, BMW has released him in order to fight for the BES crown and rumours persist that we won’t see the flamboyant Belgian squad next season. That would be a shame and perhaps a crown for the BMW squad would be the ideal way to sign off.
Then there is Pro-Am to look at as well. Lucas Ordonez heads the class by four points from Peter Pyzera, with Alex Buncombe a further six points back, his season hurt by his monster crunch at Spa. Reigning champions Niek Hommerson and Louis Machiels are 11 points away from retaining their class lead, sharing this weekend with underrated Fabio Babini who is always a great to watch. Battles throughout the class will be a highlight.
And whilst the Gentlemen Trophy has already been won, by Jean-Luc Blanchemain, Jean-Luc Beaubelique and Patrice Goueslard, they will be after another win. Against them is the Ecurie Adennes Porsche of Daniel Desbrueres/Christian Kelders, which is always competitive, whilst Silverstone winner Ahmad Al-Harthy will be keen to avenge his Spa disappointment as he shares the Arc Bratislava Porsche with Miro Konopka.
A race of 1000 kilometres means close on six hours and action – and strategic calls – all the way through. It will be fascinating – join us online at http://www.blancpain-endurance-series.com/pages/liveor on Motors TV for the big showdown.