Jimmy Eriksson adds to Blancpain GT Series points tally

Press Release

Jimmy Eriksson and HTP Motorsport team-mate Dominik Baumann brought home their #86 Mercedes-AMG GT3 in a points-paying seventh place at this weekend’s Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup round at the Hungaroring, finishing second best among the Mercedes contingent.

Eriksson and Baumann carved their way from a midfield qualifying slot of 17th to make steady progress across two races at the Budapest venue, finishing the opening Qualifying Race in 11th and then completing their rise to the points with seventh in Sunday’s finale.

The result saw Eriksson/Baumann finish just 1.7 seconds behind HTP Motorsport colleagues Maximilian Buhk/Franck Perera in sixth, as the German team spearheaded the Mercedes charge on a weekend which saw the top five occupied by four Audis and one Lamborghini.

A total of 30 cars contested the Hungarian meeting, the penultimate round of the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup.

“I think we have to be pleased with our performance in this race, and in the qualifying race yesterday,” Jimmy Eriksson says. “From where we came from after qualifying, this was the best we could achieve in our own right, without capitalising on the misfortune of others. The guys did two perfect pit stops, which was a big help in our recovery especially in the qualifying race, and we made pretty much zero mistakes. Apart from qualifying, where I felt I was struggling a bit with understeer, we maximised the package and it’s good to take some points away from here.”

From 11th on the grid in the Main Race, the #86 crew’s ascent was initiated by Baumann during a strong opening stint, in which the Austrian took the car up to a net eighth.

Staying out the longest among the frontrunners in a bid to gain time on a clear track, Baumann briefly held the lead before handing the car over to Eriksson at the end of the pit stop window, the HTP Motorsport mechanics turning the car around in trademark swift manner.

Eriksson rejoined the race in seventh, just edging ahead of Buhk – shod with a set of new tyres – out of the pitlane but having to relinquish the position at Turn 2.

The Swede then regained seventh place when the #7 Bentley of Andy Soucek retired after colliding with a slower Ferrari at Turn 11 a few laps later, and then maintained the position across the finish line.

Unlike most of the other frontrunners, Eriksson completed his stint on used tyres after the #86 squad opted to run their new set to recover from 17th on the grid in Saturday’s qualifying race.

Both the Qualifying Race and the Main Race was won by the #5 Audi R8 LMS of Dries Vanthoor and Marcel Fässler.

The final round of the 2017 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup – and the penultimate event of the aggregate 2017 Blancpain GT Series season that also includes the Endurance Cup – takes place at the Nürburgring on 15-17 September.

Jimmy Eriksson holds ninth in the overall standings.

RESULTS (top five)

Blancpain GT Series | Rd. 8
Sprint Cup | Rd. 4
Hungaroring, Hungary