By Tarek Ramchani
The French GT Tour series crossed the boarder this weekend, up north in Belgium. Round 3 of the championship is being held at the famous Spa-Francorchamps. Four Audi R8 LMS ultra cars have been entered in this event. Race 1 has already been held this afternoon, bringing great satisfaction for Audi.
The #36 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Team Speed Car took a maiden race win. The car shared by youngster Vincent Abril and Dino Lunardi dominated the Belgian race. Impressive performances from Abril, who had already won pole position earlier this morning. In the early stages of the race they battled hard for the lead with the ART Grand Prix McLaren MP4-12C. After the mandatory pit stop it was the turn of Lunardi to pull away and build a good gap over the chasing group. Lunardi held the lead and crossed the finish line victorious. This is the first ever victory for Team Speed Car with the Audi R8 LMS ultra.
Sainteloc Racing is the other Audi team in GT Tour, they are managing three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars. The best ranked Sainteloc car finished in sixth, the #42 Audi R8 LMS ultra of David Smet (Hallyday) and Gregory Guilvert. The #83 car finished in nineteenth position with drivers Frank Zattera and Fabrice Rossello, whilst the #82 machine of Marc Sourd and Mathieu Jaminet retired after only two laps. The race 1 results can be seen here.
The first race was a great showing for Audi. Fingers crossed for both Team Speed Car and Sainteloc ahead of Race 2 tomorrow.
Photo credit: Team Speed Car
