Emil Frey Racing with a difficult weekend at the Red Bull Ring

Red Bull Ring, 2nd October 2024

Emil Frey Racing had a difficult weekend at Red Bull's home race at the Red Bull Ring. While the team scored few points in the two DTM races, the #14 Ferrari 296 GT3 pulled the iron out of the fire in the ADAC GT Masters race on Sunday with second place for a conciliatory finish.

DTM 
A rain shower shortly before qualifying made for difficult conditions and with the track drying slowly, the field was thoroughly shuffled. Thierry Vermeulen put in a strong performance with 10th place in the #69 Ferrari 296 GT3, while Jack Aitken in the #14 sister car was only 17th. 

Thierry Vermeulen had a strong start and made up three positions on the first lap. But in the fiercely contested opening phase, the #69 Ferrari was touched by an opponent, resulting in a burst tyre valve. The young Dutchman had to make an unscheduled pitstop and finished the race in a disappointing 19th place despite setting the absolute best lap time.

Jack Aitken, the only driver in the field to have won three races so far this season, did some damage control and showed his fighting spirit in a hot final phase. Lying in 15th place, the Englishman took 14th place in a spirited overtaking manoeuvre on the last corner before the black and white chequered flag. 

In the second qualifying session, both riders set their best lap times at the end of the second qualifying session and finished a disappointing 15th (Thierry Vermeulen #69) and 19th (Jack Aitken #14).

Thierry Vermeulen had another strong start and was in 13th place after the first lap, but despite great duels and a quick pitstop of 7.1 seconds, the driver of the #69 Ferrari only finished in 13th place. 

His team-mate Jack Aitken had nothing to lose and started his race to catch up right at the start and was already in 12th place by the time he pitted. He overtook his team-mate in the final phase and ultimately crossed the finish line in 10^th place after a tough race.

ADAC GT Masters 
Jean-Luc D'Auria took his place in the #14 Ferrari 296 GT3 for the first qualifying session on Saturday and secured a great third place. However, the team was subsequently relegated to last place on the grid due to a technical offence and despite a good pace, they were unable to score any points in the race. 

All hopes were therefore pinned on Sunday and fans and guests of Emil Frey Racing were not disappointed. After second place for the #14 Ferrari 296 GT3 by Alain Valente, the Swiss driver was able to fight for the top position with the #1 Mercedes right from the start. After the pitstop, Jean-Luc D'Auria came back into the race in third place and took second place from the #79 Mercedes on lap 24. 

A serious accident occurred on lap 33 and the race was red-flagged. As a result, the Emil Frey Racing Team secured a podium result with second place at the end of a tough weekend.

Team Quotes Emil Frey Racing
Lorenz Frey-Hilti, Team Principal
“Unfortunately, it was a disappointing DTM weekend. But it's good to score some points in the DTM even under these circumstances, and we'll have a better weekend at Hockenheim. We were obviously delighted with the podium in the ADAC GT Masters.”

Jürg Flach, Technical Director
“All in all, it was an eventful and difficult weekend. A conciliatory finish, at least in the GT Masters with second place. After a disappointing Saturday and today's qualifying, we were able to score important points with the BOP change for the second race and a good strategy.”

Driver Quotes DTM
Jack Aitken (Great Britain) #14
“The Red Bull Ring is not normally a good track for us, and combined with a difficult day of practice, we were a little behind. I think we should have been more competitive. It was definitely a frustrating weekend!”

Thierry Vermeulen (The Netherlands) #69
“All in all, it was a difficult weekend in which we had to deal with various problems, but all in all, we simply lacked the pace.”

Driver Quotes ADAC GT Masters 
Jean-Luc D´Auria (Switzerland) #14
“After Saturday, we can be satisfied with the result on Sunday, even though we were faster in terms of the pace. The team can be proud of the podium. The season was difficult. We are now looking forward to a great end to the season in Hockenheim."

Alain Valente (Switzerland) #14
“The car felt very good, even if it wasn't enough for first place. Many thanks to the whole team, it was a nice end to a difficult weekend.”