GT Corse by Rinaldi misses the title win in Blancpain Endurance Series at Nürburgring by one point.

Team GT Corse by Rinaldi celebrates second place in the Gentlemen Trophy at its home race at the Nürburgring: In the end, only a single point is missing to win the title in the class.
Team GT Corse by Rinaldi worked hard at the final home race at the Nürburgring, fought impressively and still came up a wafer-thin second in the final standings. In the final race of the Blancpain Endurance Series (BES) season, Frank Schmickler, Pierre Ehret and Alexander Mattschull drove to a strong second place in the Gentlemen Trophy in the Ferrari 458 Italia (start number 458) in difficult conditions. Even this further podium place was not enough to win the title in the class. In the final classification of the 2014 BES season, Team GT Corse by Rinaldi is only one point behind the AF Corse team.

Danny Pfeil (Team Principal): “We dominated the practice sessions, took pole in qualifying and at one point had our hands on the big trophy. Unfortunately, in the difficult conditions at the Nürburgring, we didn’t quite make it to the front in the race. Alexander Mattschull put in a great performance in our red Ferrari, but he couldn’t quite make up the deficit from the previous stints. In the final standings, we are only one point short in the team classification, which would certainly have been within reach at the climax in Spa-Francorchamps with a little less bad luck. Alexander and Frank finish the season as vice-champions – a great result. In the first moment, it’s a shame to miss out on the title so narrowly, but in the second moment, the brilliant results from the whole season come to the fore. In five races we took three class wins and one-second place. In the first year under the technical direction of Michele Rinaldi, it became clear that our move into the Blancpain Endurance Series was a bold one, but completely the right one. Congratulations to Audi for winning the Pro Championship title and to our colleagues from Scuderia Villorba Corse for their triumph in the Pro-Am category.”

Michele Rinaldi (Technical Director): “Our drivers have had a strong season. Alexander in particular gave everything once again in the finale to make the big coup possible. The race weekend was once again a great advertisement for motorsport. Once again, we presented a strong performance. Our red Ferrari was in first place in all practice sessions and we started the race from pole. At the start of the final, we were on course for the title in the virtual classification, but then we dropped back to eighth place. When we crossed the line in second place at the end, we weren’t sure at first whether it was enough. Two steps later, however, it was clear: we were missing that one single point. The Blancpain Endurance Series offers the best sport with strong teams and great drivers. If you finish second in such a championship in your first year, then that is worthy of all honour. We won second place and didn’t lose first place. Overall, the 2014 season was truly cinematic and the best advertisement for high-class GT sport.”