A sensational start at Spa-Francorchamps
The sun shimmered over the Ardennes and anticipation buzzed through the paddock as D’Ieteren Luxury Performance’s ‘guest’ driver, Bertrand Baguette, took to the legendary track alongside NGT Racing teammate Robin Knutsson for the opening round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux, held from 8-10 May.
The first race delivered immediate thrills with a closely fought four-way battle, testing the drivers position and poise. Starting from pole, Knutsson hung onto his lead throughout to clinch the win. Baguette challenged in fourth for most of the race, before finally finding an opening and landing himself third place on the podium, behind Jaap van Lagen of Team RaceArt.
Home crowd glory for Baguette
Emotions were high in the 80,000 strong crowd as Race number two got underway on Saturday morning. Just like his team mate the day before, Baguette held onto pole position under intense pressure, to gain a commanding win on the race track he used to visit as a child. Winning in front of a home crowd is always sweet, and Baguette shared his joy. “Winning in the colours of D'Ieteren Luxury Performance during such a prestigious event is amazing. Working with NGT Racing is always a pleasure, and I’m already looking forward to the rest of the season.”
A childhood dream in full flight
Baguette began his partnership with D’Ieteren Luxury Performance last year at the 24-hours of Zolder, where it proved to be a winning formula. Although Baguette is a seasoned competitor on the international stage, currently racing in Japan, this was his first time racing the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup - type 992 and he praised it for being both beautiful and easy to handle. The track, the team and a home-town win: hopefully the first success of many this season.
