Eventful Sunday race for BMW works driver Alessandro Zanardi at Zolder

Zolder (BE), 19th October 2014. BMW works driver Alessandro Zanardi (IT) experienced a difficult Sunday at Circuit Zolder (BE). He finished an eventful Blancpain Sprint Series main race in 13th in his BMW Z4 GT3 entered by ROAL Motosport. The Belgian track hosted the penultimate round of the 2014 season. The main race saw a hectic start with many cars making contact in the first corner.

Starting from tenth on the grid, Zanardi had hoped for a strong result as the warm-up in the morning had been promising regarding the speed of the car. But his hopes ended early in the turmoil of the first corner after the rolling start. Zanardi’s car suffered a right front puncture and he had to change the tyre immediately at the end of the first lap. He re-joined the race in 20th position and tried to work his way back up the field. Fifteen minutes into the race he was on the outside behind a Mercedes, when it suddenly also steered towards the outside, spun directly in front of Zanardi and crashed heavily into the barrier. Zanardi’s BMW Z4 GT3 suffered damage at the front, but he was able to continue in the race. After an hour he crossed the finish line in 13th.

After the race, Zanardi commented: “Honestly, everything happened so rapidly in turn one that I don’t know who I had contact with. It was a typical racing first corner, where everybody tries for positions and a bunch of cars go out wide. I was keeping to my line and one of the cars came back on very quickly from the outside onto the racing line and hit me. That unfortunately compromised my race. I had to come in for a new tyre as I picked up a puncture. Then I just drove my race and I came up to the back of the Mercedes. I was fighting with him for position. When we went out turn 4, he was very slow so I had a good run on him. I tried to go on the inside but he was blocking me, so I went for the outside and when we were about to brake he just came onto my line and spun around at the front of my car. In the rest of the race we had a bit more speed than the cars in front of me, but it was very difficult to pass them. So overall, it was an unfortunate race. For sure, with the speed we had in the car, had we survived lap one, we would have had a completely different race, but this is it, and we can’t change it.”

The main race was won by Maximilian Götz (DE) and Maximilian Buhk (DE). The best placed BMW car was the BMW Z4 GT3 of BMW Sports Trophy Team Brasil, driven by Caca Bueno and Sergio Jimenez (both BR), who finished eighth. The final round of the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series will be held from on 1st and 2nd November at Baku (AZ).