Audi and Laurens Vanthoor win Motul Sepang 12 Hours and inaugural Intercontinental GT Challenge
Great tyre tactics and faultless driving gave Christopher Haase, Robin Frijns and Laurens Vanthoor the win in a wet 2016 edition of the Motul Sepang 12 Hours. The Audi Sport Team Phoenix drivers crossed the line with one lap in hand. That also meant that Laurens Vanthoor and Audi became the first champions in the history of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.
At the start of the 2016 Motul Sepang 12 Hours, the weather conditions at the Sepang International Circuit were excellent for racing and that is exactly what some of the best GT-drivers in the world did. Earl Bamber (#911 Manthey Racing Porsche) took a brilliant start, jumping from third to first. Behind him there was a great scrap for second, between the #9 K-PAX Racing McLaren, the #912 Manthey Racing Porsche and the #50 Spirit of Race Ferrari. For almost a complete stint the trio went nose to tail over the Malaysian asphalt.
At this point in the race both the Audi Sport Team Phoenix cars had some problems in matching the speed of the leaders. Christopher Haase (#15 Audi R8 LMS) had started from the pitlane due to an electrical issue, but climbed from dead last to seventh by the end of the first hour.
Except for the #9 KPAX Racing McLaren dropping out of contention due to suspension problems, that hierarchy barely changed during the first couple of hours, with the #50 Ferrari using an alternate strategy to take the lead on a couple of occasions. However, during the fifth hour, the running order completely changed. The first raindrops fell on the Sepang circuit and the Audi cars were the first to shod rain tyres. That moved them both into the top three, with the #15 R8 in first place and the #16 in third.
After some great driving in difficult conditions – the track went from wet to dry and back several times – it looked like the Team Phoenix cars were heading for the double, but a safety car intervention some two hours from the end meant that the #16 car fell back into the claws of their competitors. When the green flags were waved, Earl Bamber took it upon himself to swiftly pass the #50 Ferrari and the #16 Audi to claim second for the #911 Porsche. René Rast brought the #16 Audi home in third.
Emotional win Christopher Haase, Robin Frijns and Laurens Vanthoor became the well-deserving winners of the Motul Sepang 12 Hours. It was an emotional victory for Vanthoor, for Sepang means the end of his long collaboration with Audi. Theirs has been one of the most successful combinations in the history of GT racing, with titles in the FIA GT Series, the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and the overall Blancpain GT Series, as well as wins in the Total 24 Hours of Spa, the FIA GT World Cup and the Motul Sepang 12 Hours. Now Laurens Vanthoor adds the drivers’ title in the very first edition of the Intercontinental GT Challenge to this impressive list of accomplishments.
The Sepang result also meant that Audi took the manufacturers’ title in the Intercontinental GT Challenge. McLaren took the win in the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, Mercedes-Benz took top points in the Total 24 Hours of Spa, but by winning the Motul Sepang 12 Hours – and scoring points with the second car as well – the brand with the four rings jumped to the first spot in the standings with 86 points, beating Bentley by a clear 35 points. McLaren and Mercedes-AMG both scored 49 points.
2016-12-12 00:00:00
At the start of the 2016 Motul Sepang 12 Hours, the weather conditions at the Sepang International Circuit were excellent for racing and that is exactly what some of the best GT-drivers in the world did. Earl Bamber (#911 Manthey Racing Porsche) took a brilliant start, jumping from third to first. Behind him there was a great scrap for second, between the #9 K-PAX Racing McLaren, the #912 Manthey Racing Porsche and the #50 Spirit of Race Ferrari. For almost a complete stint the trio went nose to tail over the Malaysian asphalt.
At this point in the race both the Audi Sport Team Phoenix cars had some problems in matching the speed of the leaders. Christopher Haase (#15 Audi R8 LMS) had started from the pitlane due to an electrical issue, but climbed from dead last to seventh by the end of the first hour.
Except for the #9 KPAX Racing McLaren dropping out of contention due to suspension problems, that hierarchy barely changed during the first couple of hours, with the #50 Ferrari using an alternate strategy to take the lead on a couple of occasions. However, during the fifth hour, the running order completely changed. The first raindrops fell on the Sepang circuit and the Audi cars were the first to shod rain tyres. That moved them both into the top three, with the #15 R8 in first place and the #16 in third.
After some great driving in difficult conditions – the track went from wet to dry and back several times – it looked like the Team Phoenix cars were heading for the double, but a safety car intervention some two hours from the end meant that the #16 car fell back into the claws of their competitors. When the green flags were waved, Earl Bamber took it upon himself to swiftly pass the #50 Ferrari and the #16 Audi to claim second for the #911 Porsche. René Rast brought the #16 Audi home in third.
Emotional win Christopher Haase, Robin Frijns and Laurens Vanthoor became the well-deserving winners of the Motul Sepang 12 Hours. It was an emotional victory for Vanthoor, for Sepang means the end of his long collaboration with Audi. Theirs has been one of the most successful combinations in the history of GT racing, with titles in the FIA GT Series, the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and the overall Blancpain GT Series, as well as wins in the Total 24 Hours of Spa, the FIA GT World Cup and the Motul Sepang 12 Hours. Now Laurens Vanthoor adds the drivers’ title in the very first edition of the Intercontinental GT Challenge to this impressive list of accomplishments.
The Sepang result also meant that Audi took the manufacturers’ title in the Intercontinental GT Challenge. McLaren took the win in the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, Mercedes-Benz took top points in the Total 24 Hours of Spa, but by winning the Motul Sepang 12 Hours – and scoring points with the second car as well – the brand with the four rings jumped to the first spot in the standings with 86 points, beating Bentley by a clear 35 points. McLaren and Mercedes-AMG both scored 49 points.
2016-12-12 00:00:00
