Blancpain Sprint Series an immediate success

The first edition of the Blancpain Sprint Series proved to be successful with drivers, teams and fans. Both the Drivers and Teams titles were only decided at the last round in the Baku World Challenge : the best possible proof that the inaugural season of the Blancpain Sprint Series was a close-fought battle. Time to take a look at some of the key numbers of 2014.

0: the number of pole positions new champion Maximilian Götz needed on his way to the title

0: the number of wins in a Qualifying Race new champion Maximilian Götz needed on his way to the title

0,022 sec: smallest margin to take a pole (Laurens Vanthoor over Maximilian Götz at Brands Hatch)

0,408 sec: smallest gap between winner and second placed car (#28 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini and #84 HTP Motorsport Mercedes), after the Qualifying Race in Brands Hatch

1 pole position, is all Mateusz Lisowski and Vincent Abril needed on their way to the Silver Cup title.

2: the number of races where Laurens Vanthoor and Cesar Ramos failed to score points

2: the number of laps Dominik Baumann and Thomas Jäger led before taking their first win

3 different team-mates shared a podium finish with Stéphane Ortelli (Grégory Guilvert, Fabian Hamprecht and Stéphane Richelmi)

3 flag-to-flag race wins, all in Qualifying Races

4 different drivers claimed pole position

4: number of times the crew of the #5 Phoenix Racing Audi produced the fastest pit stop

5: the highest number of cars leading the same race (Zolder Main Race)

6 different cars finished in the overall top three

9 prestigious car brands were represented during the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series

12 races : how long Niki Mayr-Melnhof and Markus Winkelhock had to wait between their first and second podium finish of 2014 (Qualifying Race in Nogaro and Main Race in Baku)

12 consecutive races in the points for champion Maximilian Götz

18 different cars led at least one lap this season

18 different teams scored at least one point

19: highest number of cars within the same second after a qualifying session (Q2 in Zolder)

22 different driver nationalities were represented during the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series

27 different drivers stood on the overall podium

30 cars were on the largest entry list of the year, at the Baku World Challenge

62 different drivers scored points for the overall classification

127 minutes, 45.766 seconds: duration of the longest race (the rain-stopped Qualifying Race at the Slovakia Ring)

144: highest number of laps led, by the #1 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi

487 laps were completed this year

Stephane Ratel (CEO and founder of the SRO Motorsports Group): "In the name of the SRO Motorsports Group I would like to thank all teams and drivers that entered the inaugural edition of the Blancpain Sprint Series and congratulate our new champions. Harbouring the Blancpain Endurance Series and Blancpain Sprint Series under the same banner proved to be a success. One only has to look at the full starting grids throughout the year to see that there is a genuine interest in our Series. We are already looking forward to the second year of the Blancpain Sprint Series, with exciting new venues like Moscow and Misano on the calendar. Finally, I would also like to thank all of our partners, without whom it would not have been possible to organize and promote the Blancpain Sprint Series."

Calendar 2015 Blancpain Sprint Series

18th -19th March Official Blancpain Sprint Series Test Days Misano (ITA)
4th -6th April Nogaro (FRA)
9th -10th May Brands Hatch (GBR)
5th -7th June Zolder (BEL)
3rd -5th July Moscow City (RUS)*
4th -6th September Algarve (PRT)
2nd -4th October Misano (ITA)
24th - 25th October Baku World Challenge (AZE)

*Pending Race Promotor agreement

Blancpain - Innovation is our Tradition

Founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain, the watch brand bearing his name is the oldest in the world. Blancpain is currently engaged to the renewal of mechanical watchmaking and to passing on exceptional expertise from one generation to the next through constant investment in human resources, production facilities and research. This approach is its strength and the expression of our long-term vision, even though it goes against the tide of a certain tendency to seek immediate profit. From the creation of components through to watch design, Blancpain is distinguished by its ability to develop exceptional movements. Over the past nine years, the Manufacture has indeed developed no less than 33 new calibres.

Through its various models, Blancpain preserves its heritage of precision and elegance, while also displaying an innovative and occasionally provocative spirit. Its range encompasses the sportive L-evolution line, the legendary Fifty Fathoms diver's watch, as well as the classic Villeret collection, the high complication from Le Brassus collection and the Women models.

Pirelli - Official Tyre Supplier

Pirelli is a tyre manufacturer and world leader in the automotive industry. It has an exclusive relationship with over 50 racing series worldwide, including Formula One.

Pirelli has a long and illustrious history in endurance racing, and has also claimed a huge variety of class wins in GT racing all over the world. The design of the new Pirelli GT tyres meets the needs of GT racing while maintaining the performance characteristics that endurance drivers have appreciated in the past.The slick tyres used for GT racing are branded Zero: just like the slicks that have become a central feature of Formula One. The name P Zero is used in the highest categories of motorsport such as GT racing.

SRO Motorsports Group

SRO Motorsports Group was founded by Stephane Ratel and has specialised in the promotion, support and organisation of many national and international motorsport series since 1995.

In 2014, SRO promotes several championships and series, such as the Blancpain GT Series with the Blancpain Sprint Series and the Blancpain Endurance Series, including the iconic Total 24 hours of Spa, the Cooper Tires British F3 Championship, the Avon Tyres British GT Championship and has various franchise agreements including the GT4 European Series.

SRO has offices in London, Paris and Liège.
For further information contact:Adelheid Terryn
PR Manager

aterryn@sromg.be
Tel: +32 473 201 709