Rinaldi Ferrari Out With Engine Failure

Norbert Siedler will not be able to fight for the Blancpain Sprint Series drivers’ title at Zandvoort today.

The Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 458 Italia the Austrian shares with local hero Jeroen Bleekemolen only did a handful of laps in the warm-up session this morning before the engine suddenly lost power.

After inspection the German squad team decided to throw in the towel and pack up early, with team boss Michele Rinaldi visibly disappointed.

The green machine finished fourth in yesterday’s Qualifying Race and faced a 15-point deficit heading in today’s Main Race, with 25 points still on offer.

The battle for the title is now reduced to a two-way fight between the pole sitting HTP Bentley of Maxi Buhk and Vincent Abril, and Robin Frijns in the No. 1 WRT Audi, who will start from 14th on the grid.

The Rinaldi Ferrari was one of the surprise packages in Blancpain Sprint this season, putting in some strong results with very limited resources, including a dominant showing at Misano last weekend.

An unexpected clash with his FIA WEC commitments meant Marco Seefried, Siedler’s regular teammate, was replaced by Bleekemolen this weekend.