Jimmy Eriksson takes second consecutive podium

Press Release

Jimmy Eriksson claimed his second straight Blancpain GT Series podium with third place in Sunday’s Endurance Cup opener at Monza (Italy), forming part of the best-placed Mercedes crew.

Sharing the #84 Mercedes-AMG GT3 with HTP Motorsport team-mates Franck Perera (FRA) and Maximilian Buhk (GER), Eriksson overcame significant competition in a 50-plus car field to back up his Sprint Cup podium from three weeks ago at Misano.

”It’s incredible to be on the podium again, for the second consecutive race,” says Jimmy Eriksson. ”I’m especially pleased to have had these two results in one Sprint Cup round and one Endurance Cup round; it means we’ve got strong pace overall and good versatility. Also for me personally, it’s confirmation that I’m able to handle both formats. It’s a great feeling and I have to thank the team for the fast pit stops we had today as well.”

Eriksson/Buhk/Perera started the three-hour race from 16th on the grid, unable to make a top ten impact in qualifying, but quickly made progress once racing got properly underway following an early red-flag stoppage inflicted by an opening lap pile-up.

With Buhk in charge of driving duties in the first hour, the #84 was running ninth when Eriksson slotted into the cockpit for the middle stint, the Swede later handing the car over to Perera in fifth place with one hour remaining.

The Frenchman was then able to complete the podium rise in the closing stages as rivals faltered, coming home 38 seconds down on the race-winning Lamborghini of Christian Engelhart (GER)/Andrea Caldarelli (ITA)/Mirko Bortolotti as the top Mercedes package.

”It’s been an immensely positive start to life in this championship,” Eriksson concludes. ”Not just because of the results; the entire atmosphere is really nice and I’ve gained a greater understanding about motorsport at large after coming here. Now, the difficult bit will be to maintain this level of performance, but I’m feeling really confident. I’ve got a good team behind me, great team-mates in both the Sprint and Endurance Cup, and I really couldn’t be happier.”

The next Blancpain GT Series round sees the championship set camp at Brands Hatch, UK, on May 6-7.

RESULTS (top five)

Blancpain GT Series | Rd. 2
Endurance Cup
Monza, Italy