I managed to complete a clean sweep of Championship wins in Barcelona this past weekend after winning the Blancpain Endurance Cup with Kessel Ferrari. What an honor!
The weekend was trouble free as myself and my team mates, Jacques Duyver and Marco Zanuttini, were fast in both wet and dry conditions during practice.
I took Pole Position in class during qualifying with a so-so lap (didn’t want to bin it before the race!) but my we were forced to start from the pit lane after an engine issue stopped us getting to the grid. It was a nervous moment but in the end it was a small issue and we managed to take the start, and even though we were now in last place it also meant we could avoid trouble at the first corner.
At the beginning of this year I decided to make racing my primary focus in my life and it’s proven to be an inspired choice.
The aim for me and my team was simply to cross the finish line as we just required four points to seal the title.
In the end we team managed to grab a podium in the AM class and more importantly seal the Blancpain Endurance Championship.
This result means that I have won all three Blancpain GT Championships in 2017:
- Blancpain Sprint Cup with Stephen Earle, aka The Doc
- Blancpain Endurance Cup with Jacques Duyver and Marco Zanuttini
- Blancpain AM Overall Championship
I could not have dreamt of a more incredible year. We won all the big races and I managed to win every Championship I competed in. At the beginning of this year I decided to make racing my primary focus in my life and it’s proven to be an inspired choice. It’s an incredible feeling and I’d just like to thank everyone who’s made this possible.
I’m acutely aware that years like this do not come around very often so I won’t be resting on laurels for 2018. It will be a massive challenge as I potentially move up a category to Pro-Am where the pace and competition will be considerably tougher. Nevertheless the dream to one day race at Le Mans is still well and truly alive and the results from this year can only help!
Photo Credit: Xynamic
