Last weekend, the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo was stopping in the famous Nurburgring. With 40 Huracans on the grid, the competition was, once again at its highest level. For Sarah and her team, this meeting was a big challenge. "Leipert Motorsport is a German team", explains Sarah. "So in a certain way, it was also a home race. But this time, neither Ben nor I did know the track… During free practices, we thus focused on improving our sensations on this very technical circuit. But as usual, the track time was quite short". On Friday, for the qualification, the two drivers did their best to push as hard as possible. In this exercise, Ben qualified 20th and Sarah went over the limits: "I was in my first flying lap and I managed to create a very good gap between me and other cars and to put the ideal temperature in my tires. I therefore decided to take my chance and to push full-throttle in that lap. Unfortunately, it was too much and I spun, with the consequence that I could not record a laptime". After a good first race where Ben and Sarah managed to fight for their position despite a few unfortunate contacts, Sarah was determined to erase her little mistake in quali with a solid stint in race two. "I took the start from the last line on the grip, P40th. I remember laughing with my teammate on the grid saying "gaining 10 positions? I bet I can do 20!" I focused on taking a strong start and overtook 2 competitors by the exit of the first corner. After that, I passed 2 cars per lap on average. But I had no idea of our position when I pitted in". Sarah was actually P18 at that time! Ben did finish this tough race by fighting hard for maintaining the position against solid PRO drivers. Thanks to his great pace until the very end of the race, the two youngsters finished the race with 20 positions gained! "That's a great sensation, such a big fight. I can tell you, and will show you in up-coming videos, PRO-AM drivers are fighting for their positions just as hard as the PRO! But it was really cool to finish this race with not a single scratch on the car knowing how hard the battle was on track… ". The team and the drivers can now take a short break before the World Final of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo that will take place in Valencia on the first weekend of December! Stay plugged! The 4th round of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo took place in Belgium last weekend, in opening of the world famous GT endurance race: the Spa 24 hours. With 50 Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo on the grid – a world record for a one-make series – no need to say that Sarah was looking for this round with big expectations… "Home-race is always something special", Sarah says. "As I grew up on that legendary track, I really wanted to make the difference here. I knew also my Australian team mate, Ben Gersekowski was here for the first time and it's definitely not an easy track to learn, especially with a 620 horsepower Lamborghini! For sure, the weather conditions didn't help, we had rain during FP1, drying track for FP2 … with all the red flags and conditions changes, none of us really had any idea of the set-up or the track feeling before our qualifications". During the first qualification, under wet but drying conditions, Sarah never found the right pace: "First on track during the first few laps, my laptimes were very good, consistently in top 10 overall. However, five minutes before the end of the session, with the track drying very quickly, I suddenly lost all grip and realised that my tires were completely over-heated and way too high in pressures. We eventually finished with a disappointing P33 on the grid. Fortunately, the day after, under dry condition, Ben did much better and qualified the car in 18th position for the second race!" Then, the two determined team mates had to face the two 50 minutes races of the weekend, and with 50 cars on track under changing conditions, there were a lot of easy traps to fall in! "We knew that it would be difficult to achieve a big result in the first race, and the safety car going on track for 15 minutes did definitely not help us… With only 15 minutes of proper race during my stint, I was proud to bring the car back to my teammate in 17th position! Coming from P33, I really had a lot of fun on track. Ben then confirmed his fast learning of the track and managed to reach the finish line with a final gain of 8 positions from our starting place". For the second race, after a tremendous start of the Aussie driver, the safety car got on the track for more than … 25 minutes! It didn't let a lot of time to gain much more race positions. "When I got in the car", Sarah says, "I was ready to fight for any positions. Ben did an excellent start but couldn't do much more as the race was interrupted. I knew I needed to fight hard to ensure a good result. We realised that in our class (PRO-AM), all the 'AM' drivers were starting the race and because of the safety car we couldn't built any gap between them and us. When I jumped in the car, I then fought against all the 'PRO' drivers". After some very good fights on track, several hot overtaking moves and big team work, the #2 green beast eventually crossed the finish line in P13th overall, 7th in class. The best result Ben and Sarah did so far in the European competition. "I'm really happy of the final result. It shows that we are able to fight for much better than a few races ago. Here, facing 49 other competitors, we showed we are consistently improving and learning. I can't wait to be on the Nurburgring in September!". See you on the 17th and 18th of September for the next race weekend of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe. Used to last minutes opportunities and one-off performances for a few years, Sarah Bovy is taking the lead very early in the season this time and confirms a complete racing program in 2016; it's signed, the Belgian driver will take part to the prestigious Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo with a LP 620-2 Huracánfrom the German team Leipert Motorsport!
"It's the result of a long term endeavour. It's been more than a year that we are talking with Leipert and Lamborghini. As from our first contacts, I liked their passion for racing and the way the factory is involved in the Super Trofeo. Then, when the occasion to step onto for a complete season with high sporting ambitions showed off, I took the ball on the hop". It's thus with the Defending Champions team that Sarah will take part to the 6 European races of the series, including the world final in Valencia, beginning of December! "For a few years, I've been seizing each opportunity to get on track, show what I got and also … keep the contact with the race. It's thanks to all these experiences, like the Spa 24h in 2012 and 2013, the World Series on the Renault RS01 in 2015, the few 'one-shots' in 24h Series, etc. that I get that seat in the Super Trofeo. And at the same time, for the first time in my career, I have a complete program in a famous and highly followed international championship". It's alongside a fast and experienced team-mate that Sarah will compete for what will certainly be her biggest challenge ever:Ben Gersekowski, 2014 Formula 3 Australian vice-champion, keen to tackle the European GT championships. "For a few weeks, I'm living in a kind of waking dream, even if I know the biggest part of the job is to come. Ben and I will not be there for playing bit parts. We both want to fight for the championship and we know that the team Liepert will provide us a car able to race for the win. Moreover, it's so important for me to honour the Lamborghini's blazon, which means so much for all the racing fans around the world! I will then have to work very hard to quickly get the best pace and make the most of the 620 horse power of the Huracán!" For sure, a very promising season for Sarah, Ben and the team Leipert Motorsport! An official presentation of Sarah's program will take place on the 1st of March at the very trendy Club des V in Brussels. Save the date! Follow Sarah's story on her website: www.sarahbovy.com and on social medias… more news to come in the next days! |