The upcoming fourth championship round of the International GT Open will mark the season´s halfway-point in what has been an exciting and rewarding season for the Emil Frey Lexus Racing Team. After three very different tracks, the Swiss team is now heading to Budapest to the 4.381-km-long Hungaroring in a bid to extend the lead in the Drivers’ championship and retrieve the first position in the team´s standings.

Emil Frey Lexus Racing took to this season purely to test and run the all-new Lexus RC F GT3 in order to prepare it well for the next motorsport season. After six races of the European GT-Championship, the crew has not only achieved two phenomenal race victories, but has also shown the potential of the Lexus at diverse track layouts. “It´s hard to imagine that we have already completed half of the season”, reflects Hannes Gautschi, Technical Coordinator at Emil Frey Lexus Racing. “At the beginning of the season we knew what a great car we would be running with the Lexus RC F GT3, but it was down to the hard work by everyone in the team and the great job by the drivers to have pulled out the results we have.

“Budapest is once again a totally new track as it is much slower compared to Spa or Paul Ricard. It is a flowing circuit with a lot of bumps and it is very important to have the right Set-up. But since we have mastered the other tracks quite well, I am confident that the whole team can do a good job again.”

Emil Frey Lexus Racing had taken the lead in the Team´s Championship following the first race at Paul Ricard, but after ninth place in the second race and no points, the team is currently running in P3 with a gap of eight points. Since it is the first time in the history for both Emil Frey Racing and the Japanese car manufacturer Lexus to race at the Hungaroring, the whole team is extra motivated. “We are very excited to race at Budapest for the very first time”, says Lorenz Frey, Team Principal Emil Frey Lexus Racing. “Although I will miss the first race day on Saturday as I will have the privilege of driving the Lexus RC F GT3 MY15 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed representing the brand, I am sure the team can achieve a good result on Saturday and we will be strong again all weekend.”

The race weekend at Budapest will start with two 60-minutes free practice sessions on Friday, 30th June 2017. The first qualifying will take place on Saturday at 10.50am, with the first race of 70 minutes to follow at 4.15pm. Sunday sees the second qualifying at 9.10am with the 60-minute race at 2.15pm.

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Driver Quotes Emil Frey Lexus Racing #54

Albert Costa Balboa (ESP)

“I have raced at Budapest a few times during my years of motorsport, even in my Formula days, and every time I went there I ended up with a win or on the podium. I am quite excited to go there. The handicap we have in the car will have less impact at a track like Budapest, because you have no long straights like at Paul Ricard. Budapest is a track where you can improve a lot through driving skills. We will have to defend our championship lead and will also try and push the team into P1. We are all in a good mood and everyone is really motivated, which is great.”

Philipp Frommenwiler (CH)

“I have raced in Budapest twice during my years in the Supercup and the track is really my favourite one. I very much enjoy racing there, because it is technically quite demanding and very often it is extremely hot, which challenges us drivers even more and I like that. We are well-prepared for the weekend and I think, Albert and I can do a great job to make-up some ground. We are looking forward to it.”