By Antoni Coppi
Laurens Vanthoor will compete in the demanding Spa 24 Hours endurane race driving a new Audi R8 LMS from Audi Sport Team WRT. The 2014 Blancpain GT Series champion won the event last year and will be joined by René Rast and Markus Winkelhock.
We had a quick chat with Laurens Vanthoor at the Spa 24 Hours test day about the upcoming Belgian classic and more.
What are your expectations for the Spa 24 Hours?
The new car already won at the Nürburgring 24 Hours but we know it's not going to be easy. The target will be of course to win the race again or at least secure a podium.
Now we have to work more on the Pirelli tires.
How different is the new Audi R8 LMS compared to the Audi R8 LMS ultra?
For us drivers the new car is better, quicker and has a better fuel efficiency. Everything has been improved (TC, ABS...) compared to the seven-year old first generation model.
That said, it won't be that obvious to see very big improvements on track. After all GT3 racing is all about Balance of Performance.
Spa 24 Hours vs Nürburgring 24 Hours, which one is harder?
I would say the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Both races are very hard with intense traffic but the Nürburgring circuit is really challenging.
For me that endurance event has everything in order to be considered as the hardest race in the world.
Photo credit: Audi Media
