Bentley Team HTP wins Blancpain Sprint Series

Zandvoort, The Netherlands - It was a perfect end to the season for Bentley Team HTP: For the final with the Bentley Continental GT3 in 2015 HTP Motorsport won the Blancpain Sprint Series. The victory of Bentley Tea HTP marks the first championship win for the Bentley Continental GT3 since the competitive debut of the Bentley in late 2013.

In a heart-stopping finale, Maximilian Buhk (D) and Vincent Abril (F) secured both the Driver´s Title and the Runner-Up title for the Team in Zandvoort/The Netherlands, thanks to a great performance and two victories from start to finish. The Dutch driver pairing Max van Splunteren (NL) und Jules Szymkowiak (NL) finished in seventh and sixth place. Szymkowiak finished his first-ever season in GT-Racing as the winner of the Silver-Cup-Class, a category reserved for young drivers.

Buhk/Abril win Driver’s Title in Sprint Series

Buhk set the foundation for a good weekend in qualifying, since he set the best record time in the third session. The Hamburg-based racer started from P1 into the Qualification Race and drove a superb Start-Finish-Win together with teammate Abril. Buhk/Abril had one point advantage in the leader’s ranking after their win in the Qualification Race.

Abril started from Pole Position into the final one-hour race of the season. Following a flawless drive by the young racer from Monaco, Buhk was able to stay in the lead after the driver change. A great battle developed towards the end of the race, when Robin Frijns (Audi), the main title contender, wanted to fight for victory and title. The Bentley and the Audi were nose-to-tail lap-by-lap, but Buhk remained calm, took the race win and gained the title.

Szymkowiak takes Silver Cup Title

Szymkowiak/van Splunteren impressed with a great home race. Following an off during qualifying, both Dutch drivers were forced to start the Qualification Race from the back of the grid and fought their way up into an incredible seventh place. The two youngsters had great chances to drive onto the podium in the main race, but a full course yellow spoilt their run. Szymkowiak/van Splunteren finished in sixth position.

Perfect inaugural season

"The title belongs to the entire team, each and every one can be very proud“, said Norbert Brückner, Bentley Team HTP-principal. “We worked extremely hard this year and this is the well-deserved pay-off for the entire crew. Maxi and Abril drove majestically and Jules and Max shown with a great performance in the last race of their first GT-season. This title makes our inaugural season with Bentley perfect. We have won the driver’s title in the Sprint Series, one race victory in the ADAC GT Masters and so far we secured the best-ever results for Bentley in both the 24-hours at Nürburgring and Spa. We can be really proud about this record and it will be a great incentive for the coming season.”

Driver Quotes

Maximilian Buhk: "It is just crazy, what happend today. A big thank you to the HTP Motorsport, who started with a new car this year and did a superb job all year round. Thank you to Bentley for the excellent support. The last few laps were really hard today and I am so incredibly happy that we made it. Robin (Frijns) was very strong today, especially in the second sector and under braking. I tried to run the same strategy as in Saturday’s race and luckily it worked. We prepared really well for the final weekend of the season and the car had the perfect Set-up. We saw our chances and we followed them through consequently during the weekend. I am very proud to have won the title in my first year as a Bentley Works-driver.”

Vincent Abril: "I cannot really understand what happened today. My emotions went wild when Maxi crossed the finishing line. The last laps were so nerve-racking and Maxi did a fabulous job. It is all so crazy and we are just over the moon. I am proud, to be able to share this title with Maxi and to win it for a brand like Bentley makes it even more special. Thank you to HTP and Maxi, this was an incredible season.”

Jules Szymkowiak: "The weekend was a real rollercoaster ride. After the free practise, we had a car we could have won with, but after the off in qualifying, we had to start right from the back and fight our way back up. It was down to a yellow flag during the main race, otherwise we could have ended up on the podium. It was still a good end to my very first season in GT-Sport. Thank you to the whole HTP Team, I learned so much and I look forward to 2016.”

Bentley Team HTP