One of the series 2013 Blancpain Endurance Series title protagonists – Christopher Mies has serious designs on becoming a double champion this weekend along with his Belgian Audi Club Team WRT team mate and fellow German, Frank Stippler.
“I am very excited about the Nürburgring ring weekend, especially as we still have a chance of taking both the drivers and the teams title,” confirms Mies. “It shows how incredibly competitive it has been in 2013 because although we have yet to win a race we have been reasonably consistent points scorers and are still strong contenders.”
Two podium finishes at Silverstone and Spa, as well as an epic 4th place (from 17th on the grid!) at Monza has ensured that he and Stippler are just three points off the leaders – Rigon, Zampieri and Ramos. Although Edward Sandström shares the #13 Audi R8 LMS ultra with Mies and Stippler, the Swede chose to drive with close friend Matthias Ekstrom at Spa, while Andre Lotterer joined Stippler and Mies.
“We finished 4th at last year’s Nurburgring race which was good for us but we will be out to win this weekend for sure,” states Mies. “It is tight and tough racing in the Blancpain Endurance Series but the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT guys are so good in the pit stops, so we are confident as always. We have everything we need to do the job and I think it will be a great battle right to the chequered flag.”
For Mies there are echoes of 2012 when he and his then team mates Stephane Ortelli and Christopher Haase went to Navarra with the Marc VDS team as their closest rivals. Almost a year on and Mies has more than just the fellow Belgian team to worry about.
“Yes there are the Marc VDS guys again to keep an eye on but there are also others, especially Kessel Ferrari. We will approach it as usual, to just run our own race and get the best from every stint. The fact it is a six hour race will mean there is more opportunities to take and we fully intend to take the ones that come our way.”
One thing for sure is that Mies will have the full backing of his fans, friends and loyal supporters on his home turf this weekend.