21. May 2018 · Blancpain Endurance Series

Marco Seefried ended the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup’s second weekend in Silverstone GB with a Top Ten ranking. After a powerful qualifying by Seefried and his teammates Christian Klien and Albert Costa, the Lexus trio also produced a flawless race performance, despite setbacks, and finished the race in ninth position.

Qualifying had already proved that the Bavarian and his team colleagues were capable of battling with the frontrunners. Christian Klien made a good race start from the second row and after the first hour pitted in fourth position. He handed over to Marco Seefried, who returned to the track as eighth, due to a pit stop hitch. His stint was dominated by exciting two-car battles, after which final driver Albert Costa took the wheel and secured the first Endurance Cup points for the #14 Lexus RC F GT3.

“We had an excellent starting position from a grid third, unfortunately we couldn’t quite develop that in the race as we would have liked”, Seefried summarized. “Everything went according to plan in the first stint, but during the first driver change there was a problem with the impact wrench and this cost us several positions. I had front tyre trouble in my stint, which we sorted out for the final stint, however, all this meant we only achieved an overall ninth.”

Nevertheless, the upward trend of the season’s second race allows the stalwart to feel confident about upcoming races: “In comparison to the season opener in Monza, the Emil Frey Racing team has made enormous progress with the car and we are now absolutely competitive. Looking to the future, we need to get rid of the remaining problems and make an all-out attack. Congratulations to our team colleagues, who clinched a first-time podium for the Lexus sister car! ”

Seefried continues on 1 to 2 June to the 6-hour Endurance Cup race on the Circuit Paul Ricard in France. This race functions as general rehearsal for the Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours in late July.

14. May 2018 · 24H Nürburgring

Marco Seefried drove a Porsche 911 GT3 R for Frikadelli Racing at the legendary 24 Hours of the Nürburgring. After a strong qualifying and a good first half, the squad had to give up the race during the night because of several incidents.

The 24 Hour race at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife is unpredictable, something that Marco Seefried came up against in the 46th edition of the endurance classic. Despite a good qualifying start from position three and hopes raised for a top result, a lot went wrong during the race. “Somehow it wasn’t meant to be”, Seefried summed up. “The tyre pressure was not optimal at the start and that put the car out of balance during the first stint. So I couldn’t quite keep the frontrunners pace and had to fight pretty hard during my start stint.”

The team corrected the pressure of the next tyre set and Seefried handed the car over to team mate Norbert Siedler, who unfortunately also had to cope with unexpected problems. First he had a clash with a weaker BMW during lapping and the team had to repair the car. The next incident followed shortly after, when a communication misunderstanding caused Siedler to recognize a Code 60 zone too late and he had to drive onto the grass to avoid colliding with slower cars. After that, the air intakes were so blocked, he was forced to pull up on the track and clean up the mishap. This made the Porsche #31 then fall back considerably.

After nightfall, the #31 driver crew could gain ground. “Things were going much better than at the beginning. The car was definitely running more smoothly and balance was good again. Although there were a few Code 60 phases, it was fun driving”, said the stalwart, who was satisfied at this point. A few hours later, the big disappointment occurred: team mate Mathieu Jaminet radioed loss of speed and stranded in the area between Aremberg and Fuchsröhre. Mechanics rushed to the scene and diagnosed transmission damage, after which the team decided to remove the car from the race.

“Of course, that’s incredibly disappointing. Considering race progress, you can work out what would have been possible without all the problems, but that’s the way things are in endurance racing, especially here on the Nordschleife. I am however very happy about our sister car #30’s 11th place – a good result”, the Porsche driver remarked.

Endurance specialist Seefried is back on track again from 20 to 22 May, this time in Silverstone for the second race of the Blancpain Endurance Series.

23. April 2018 · Blancpain Endurance Series

Together with Emil Frey Racing, Marco Seefried took part in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup in Monza. The team delivered a solid performance in the Lexus RC F GT3 during the three-hour race and finished in 17th position – a penalty prevented a better result.

“This race definitely took the team a step forwards after the season’s opening in Zolder. We knew we wouldn’t be driving right up at the front, as we still have a few minor details to sort out”, Seefried sums up. “We are not quite there yet, but can be content with 17th place after the penalty. Now it’s vital we analyse the data to push even harder in Silverstone.”

Marco Seefried joined the Emil Frey Racing team for the start of the Endurance Cup and complemented the driver pairing Albert Costa and Christian Klien, who were both already on the road in the Swiss team’s Lexus RC F GT3 in the Sprint Cup.

After initial adjustment work, the troop improved steadily over the weekend and started the three-hour Sunday race as 22nd out of 54 cars on the grid. Thanks to a positive start and a consistent performance, the drivers quickly made a few positions good, but a drive-through penalty set the car #14 back again. Finally, the Lexus team had to make do with 17th place.

“Our penalty was really unfortunate. The unsafe release was just like blinking, but things like that happen in motor racing”, the 42-year-old explains after the race.

The second Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup race is scheduled for 18 to 20 May in Silverstone, Great Britain. However, stalwart Seefried returns to the wheel a week earlier and will be at the start of the Nürburgring 24 Hours from 10 to 13 May.

16. April 2018 · 24H Nürburgring

A bad dress rehearsal means a great opening night: For Marco Seefried, this year’s 24 Hours of the Nürburgring will prove whether there’s any truth in this old saying. In the qualifying race for the endurance classic, the 42-year-old was forced to retire early due to an accident that wasn’t his fault.

“We made a great deal of progress this weekend and were competitive both in dry and wet conditions,” Marco Seefried said. “Obviously it would have been hugely important for us to gather some more data and sort out the remaining issues, but something like this can always happen on the Nordschleife.”

The reason for the early retirement was a collision on the fourth lap. A competitor lost control of his vehicle and collected the Frikadelli 911 in the process. Seefried, who at this point was fighting in the lead group, had no chance and left the track at speed. The car was so damaged that the team was unable to continue the race.

Despite the unlucky retirement from the qualifying race, the 42-year-old is in a confident mood ahead of the main event, the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, in May: “It was important that we made it into the top 30 qualifying. Now we have to look ahead and focus on the highlight of the season,” the Porsche driver added.

Marco Seefried’s next on-track action will be at Monza in Italy on 22 and 23 April with the first round of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup. Here, Seefried will make his debut in the Emil Frey Racing Lexus RC F GT3.

1. 24/03/2018    64. ADAC Westfalenfahrt
2. 07/04/2018   43. DMV 4-Stunden-Rennen
3. 14/04/2018    6h Qualifikation for 24h Nürburgring
4. 12/05/2018    24h Nürburgring
5. 23/06/2018     60. ADAC ACAS H&R-Cup
6. 07/07/2018     49. Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy
7. 18/08/2018     ROWE 6 Stunden ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen
8. 01/09/2018     41. RCM DMV Grenzlandrennen
9. 22/09/2018     58. ADAC Reinoldus-Langstreckenrennen
10. 06/10/2017     50. ADAC Barbarossapreis
11. 20/10/2017     43. DMV Münsterlandpokal

Team: This year Marco Seefried races in the VLN Endurance Championship as well as the 24h at the Nürburgring together with the Frikadelli Racing Team. For more than ten years the “fastest meatball in the world” has been an integral part of the VLN and enjoys cult status among many fans.

Car: This season, Marco Seefried is driving the team’s Porsche 911 GT3 R. The GT3 R features a 500 plus horsepower engine and is powered by a cutting-edge four litre flat-six unit. In developing the Porsche special attention was paid to a lightweight design and a better aerodynamiv efficiency.

*Confirmed races are highlighted bold

1. 22/04/2018     Monza (Italy) – Endurance Cup
2. 20/05/2018     Silverstone (Great Britain) – Endurance Cup
3. 02/06/2018     Paul Ricard (France) – Endurance Cup
4. 29/07/2018     24h Spa (Belgium) – Endurance Cup
5. 30/10/2018     Barcelona (Spain) – Endurance Cup

Team: Emil Frey Racing is the racing division of the Swiss vehicle retailer Emil Frey. The team from Safenwil has been involved in worldwide motorsport since the 60’s. Marco Seefried has been racing with the team in the Blancpain GT Series in 2017 already.

Car: Marco Seefried will be behind the wheel of the Lexus RC F GT3. The Swiss team’s racing car is powered by a 500+ bhp V8 engine and weighs 1.300 kg.

*Confirmed races are highlighted bold