The eighth round of GP2 Series will take place on one of the tradition-richest race tracks in the world. For this event, the team of Hilmer Motorsport travels to Belgium to the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps with the legendary corner “Eau Rouge”. The 7.004 kilometer long track located in the Belgian Ardennes counts among the favourite circuits of many race drivers and is one of the most challenging tracks at the same time. The thrilling Ardennes “rollercoaster”, how it is called by insiders because of its uphill and downhill nature, is a mix of fast corners and long straights and pushes the drivers to their limits.

Last year the squad of Team Principal Franz Hilmer finished on the podium in the sprint race and also this year, a position on the podium is the goal of the team. Both Hilmer Motorsport drivers Daniel Abt and Jon Lancaster have good memories in Spa and had good results on this circuit in the past. After the successful weekend in Budapest with two fifth positions of Daniel Abt, the team wants to continue on a high note and to climb further up in Spa.

The race weekend will start as usual with Practice on Friday (22 August) at 12:00. The 30-minute Qualifying will take place later in the afternoon at 15:55. The start of the Main Race on Saturday (23 August) will be at 15:40 and the Sprint Race will commence on Sunday (24 August) at the usual time at 10:35. All races will be broadcast live on Sky Sport.

Franz Hilmer, Team Principal:

“After the two fifth places in Budapest we go to Spa with some extra motivation and of course we want to continue our upward trend. We made a big step forward in Hungary and could get the car there where it should be. The short summer break we used to close the small gap to the front and to be a serious competitor for the podium on this legendary race track. It is not all about the car in Spa, but also about the performance of the driver. The pilots have to stay focused all the time and must not make a mistake in the high speed corners like the infamous “Eau Rouge”. The track is the longest on the calendar and also one of the most challenging. Here it will be shown who is brave enough to drive through difficult and fast parts of the circuit at full throttle and who is not, this is what separates the wheat from the chaff. We feel confident that with Daniel and Jon we have right drivers in our team who are brave and ambitious enough to give everything and to show their true potential. And maybe in the end they will score a podium position.”

Daniel Abt, Driver #11:

“I am looking forward to Spa because it is a challenging and classic race circuit. I won my first race there in GP3 and so I have good memories in the track. It is important to build on the result in Budapest and to keep on improving so that we can finish the remaining four race weekends on a high note.”

Jon Lancaster, Driver #12:

“I am incredibly eager to get out on track at Spa, without doubt one of the greatest circuits in the world. After the terrible qualifying and following weekend in Budapest, I can’t wait to show where the hard work we have put in over the previous races since my return has gotten us. Spa is a circuit I have been to once before in 2010 and it really suited my style, the fast and flowing corners, high speeds and ‘ballsy’ corners are what I’m all about, similar to Silverstone where we won last year. I am looking forward to being back in the car after the small summer break and together with the team I want to show what we’ve really got.”

About Hilmer Motorsport

Hilmer Motorsport was established by Franz Hilmer in 2013 and participates in the GP2 Series and GP3 Series. After an impressive debut season with four race wins and seven podium finishes in the 2013 GP2 Series, the crew of Hilmer Motorsport concluded the season in an outstanding sixth position of the team championship. In 2014, Hilmer Motorsport is the official GP2 Partner of Sahara Force India and will compete in GP3 Series with three race cars in the colours of Sahara Force India as the Official GP3 Partner.