First ever 24-hour win for Audi R8 LMS GT2 in Zolder, Belgium

The Audi R8 LMS GT2 of Team PK Carsport won its first-ever 24-hour race in Zolder, Belgium.

As reported by the Audi MediaCentre on Monday, August 15, Team PK Carsport won the Zolder 24 Hours, the fourth round of the Belcar Endurance Championship, with the Audi R8 LMS GT2. The four Belgian privateers: Peter Guelinckx, Bert Longin, Stienes Longin, and Nicolas Saelens, received support from their compatriot and Audi Sport driver Dries Vanthoor.

Throughout the race, they fought a duel with the Porsche of Team Q1 TrackRacing. No fewer than 25 lead changes characterised the endurance race.

In the second hour of the race, the Audi privateer team had a three-lap deficit but worked its way back to the front by the sixth hour. Their breakthrough came with a strong drive by Dries Vanthoor on Sunday morning, in the course of which he set new lap records several times with the Audi R8 LMS GT2.

After covering 3,088km, the team celebrated a special victory in more ways than one. After the Belgian squad had been the first team to contest a 24-hour race with the GT2 version in Dubai in January and won its class, the success at Zolder marked the first overall 24-hour victory for the Audi R8 LMS GT2.

For Audi Sport customer racing, it was the third triumph in a GT category at this race that has been held since 1983. In 2011 and 2012, the GT3 version prevailed there.

Dries Vanthoor, who hails from Zolder, was delighted with his third 24-hour overall victory this season at his home race. The 24-year-old junior driver was part of the fastest driver line-up in Dubai in January and won the Nurburgring 24 Hours with his teammates in May.

Privateer driver Bert Longin has moved to the top of the statistics for the Zolder 24 Hours. Exactly 20 years after his first success in this classic, he stood at the top of the podium again, for the seventh time. This means he now records one more success than Marc Goossens and Anthony Kumpen, who was active as a driver back then and is Longin’s team boss today.

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