In a spectacle of a race, Lexus took a shock-win in the 1000km of Paul Ricard last June. The Emil Frey Racing squad struggled in the opening races of the Blancpain GT season, but rebounded in the south of France with a victory and going into the 24 Hours of Spa with momentum. GT REPORT caught up with Norbert Siedler to find out a little more.
“The test at Spa went well for us, but we don’t know what the others have in the pocket,” says Emil Frey Racing driver Norbert Siedler, who races the sister car to the Paul Ricard victor.
“That’s always a problem with Spa: the competition is a bit slower before Spa, so I would say in Paul Ricard they weren’t pushing as hard while we were pushing all the time. I don’t think we have much more left; I think the Audi, Mercedes and everyone else will have some more, but we will see in three weeks. We will fight for it and hope to have a good result there.”
The key, Siedler claims, is consistency over a full stint.
“It’s very important to have a good car over one hour that’s consistent on new tyres. I think that’s the most important—it’s not qualification. You just need a good car for one hour, over one stint, and that’s it.”
Despite his team’s win in Paul Ricard, Siedler isn’t ready to proclaim themselves favourites for Spa 24 Hours glory.
“It’s very hard to say anything. The Porsche was quick at the test—again. So was Bentley, and Audi will be there.
“I think it will be hard, but we will fight.”
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