Emil Frey Racing
| Founded | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Emil Frey Group |
| Base | Safenwil, Switzerland |
| Team principal(s) |  Lorenz Frey |
| Former series | Blancpain Endurance Series, VLN Championship |
| Website | emilfreyracing.com |
Emil Frey Racing is a Swiss racing team. Established in 2011, the team debuted in the 2012 Blancpain Endurance Series season with a bespoke Jaguar XK race car designed completely in-house. After serving as a Lexus factory team from 2015 to 2019, the team switched affiliation to Lamborghini in 2019 and to Ferrari in 2023. The team now competes across multiple European championships with the Ferrari 296 GT3, including DTM and Ferrari Challenge Europe.
History
[edit]The Emil Frey Group, a national automotive retail chain founded in 1924, established Emil Frey Racing as a means to expand the family's racing heritage. After decades of small-scale vehicle modification and racing by members of the Frey family, eponymous company founder Emil Frey named his son Lorenz Frey team principal of the new team in 2011. As opposed to purchasing an off-the-shelf grand-touring race car from one of the established manufacturers, the team decided to engineer and produce a completely bespoke bespoke GT3 race car derived from the Lexus XK.
Jaguar XK Emil Frey G3
[edit]| Constructor | Emil Frey Racing |
|---|---|
| Homologation | RACB G3 (G3-105) |
| Technical specifications | |
| Chassis | Jaguar XKR based aluminium space frame |
| Suspension (front) | Four-way adjustable racing dampers |
| Suspension (rear) | Four-way adjustable racing dampers |
| Engine | Ilmor prepared Jaguar 5,000 cc (305.1 cu in) V8 front engine |
| Transmission | Xtrac 6-speed sequential |
| Weight | 1,240 kg (2,733.7 lb) |
| Tyres | Pirelli |
| Competition history | |
| Competition | Blancpain Endurance Series |
| Notable entrants | Emil Frey Racing |
| Debut | Circuit Paul Ricard 2012 |
Development of the race car was led by Frey and Swiss FIA Silver driver Fredy Barth. Once the design process was complete, chassis manufacturing was delegated to Bemani Motorenbau AG in Beinwil am See. The car completed its first shakedown at Anneau du Rhin in France in early 2012,[1] and the design was eventually homologated as a member of the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium's (RACB) G3 class.[2] Despite intending to homologate the car as a member of Group GT3, the team's development schedule prohibited this. However, the car's RABC G3 designation still permitted entry into the 2012 Blancpain Endurance Series in the same class as FIA Group GT3 entries.
The team and car debuted at the third round of the season at Circuit Paul Ricard. Driven by Frey, Barth, and Gabriel Gardel, the all-Swiss lineup finished 31st overall.[3] The team then failed to the 24 Hours of Spa and failed to finish at the season finale at Circuito de Navarra.[1][4]
In an attempt to diagnose and rectify issues with the Jaguar XK, the team appeared at two races of the 2013 Blancpain Endurance Series with an Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3.[5] The team failed to start the 24 Hours of Spa after a puncture during qualifying and failed to finish at the season finale at the Nürburgring.[6][7]
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The Jaguar XK Emil Frey G3 returned for the 2014 Blancpain Endurance Series with a new power unit tuned by British engineering company Ilmor. The team intended to complete the full championship season for the first time in 2014, and the revised XK G3 was second-fastest in first practice at the season opener at Monza.[8] However, a fire followed by mechanical issues caused retirements at the first two rounds of the season.[9][10] The team eventually achieved a best result of nineteenth overall at the season finale at the Nürburgring.
Jürg Flach, former operations director at Sauber, joined the team to fulfill the same role for the 2015 season.[11] In 2015, the team achieved a best result of first in class at the season finale at Nürburgring, achieving the team and car's first notable competitive result. In 2016, a new lineup paired Frey with Albert Costa and Stéphane Ortelli.[12] The team achieved a best result of seventh overall, again at season finale at the Nürburgring. The team entered two XK G3 chassis for the first time in 2017, with each car achieving a best result of tenth overall on two separate occasions. After the 2018 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup Season, the in-house Jaguar XK was retired from active competition.
Lexus Factory Team and Expansion
[edit]In 2014, the team was selected by Lexus to serve as a factory team in support of the new Lexus RC F GT3.[13] Built by Toyota Technocraft in Japan,[14] the team expanded into the VLN Championship to support the new car. The team achieved success immediately, finishing second in class at the car's debut in 2015 with Frey, Jordan Tresson and Markus Oestreich as drivers.[15] The team finished second overall again at the 2015 Opel 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen.[16] The team returned to VLN in 2016 as a non-homologated car in the SPX class.[17] The team achieved a best result of tenth overall and second in class at the 56. ADAC Reinoldus-Langstreckenrennen at the Nürburgring.[18] In 2017, the team left VLN and entered the International GT Open Championship.[19] Drivers Albert Costa and Philipp Frommenwiler achieved substantial success in the series, winning four races and finishing third in the overall team standings.[20][21][22] In 2018, the team introduced the Lexus to its regular series, the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, where they competed two RC F GT3 entries alongside their in-house Jaguar XK.
Lamborghini Affiliation
[edit]
In 2019, Emil Frey's partnership with Lexus ended and the team began a new affiliation with Lamborghini. After being supplied with two Lamborhini Huracán GT3 Evo chassis,[23] the team won the 2019 International GT Open Championship with each car taking four wins apiece. The team moved to the GT World Challenge Europe in 2020, finishing fifth in the Team's Championship with two wins. The team expanded to a three car operation in 2021, achieving multiple wins and the Silver Class Team's Championship.[24]
Switch to Ferrari
[edit]After the 2022 racing season, the team exited its most successful manufacturer affiliation to join Ferrari for the 2023 season. Team representatives stated that the switch was made "purely on marketing" due to the Emil Frey Group's new contract for a Ferrari dealership in Munich.[25]
Race Results
[edit]Blancpain Endurance Series
[edit](key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Blancpain Endurance Series | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Car | No. | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Pos. | Pts |
| 2012 | Jaguar XK Emil Frey G3 | 80 | Fredy Barth
|
MON | SIL DNS |
LEC 31 |
SPA DNS |
NÜR | NAV Ret |
- | - |
| Gabriele Gardel
| |||||||||||
| Lorenz Frey
| |||||||||||
| 2013 | Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 | 80 | Fredy Barth
|
MON 28 |
SIL | LEC | SPA | - | - | ||
| Jaguar XK Emil Frey G3 | Gabriele Gardel
|
NÜR Ret | |||||||||
| Lorenz Frey
| |||||||||||
| 2014 | Jaguar XK Emil Frey G3 | 14 | Lorenz Frey
|
MON 28 |
SIL Ret |
LEC 32 |
SPA Ret |
10th | 6 | ||
| Fredy Barth
|
NÜR 19 | ||||||||||
| Gabriele Gardel
| |||||||||||
| Jonathan Hirschi
|
|||||||||||
| 2015 | Jaguar XK Emil Frey G3 | 14 | Lorenz Frey
|
MON Ret |
SIL 16 |
LEC 43 |
SPA 27 |
NÜR 16 |
8th | 51 | |
| Fredy Barth
| |||||||||||
| Gabriele Gardel
| |||||||||||
| Jonathan Hirschi
|
|||||||||||
| 2016 | Jaguar XK Emil Frey G3 | 14 |  Albert Costa
|
MON 20 |
SIL 43 |
LEC 42 |
SPA 53 |
NÜR Ret |
18th | 8 | |
| Lorenz Frey
| |||||||||||
 Stéphane Ortelli
| |||||||||||
| 114 |  Markus Palttala
|
MON | SIL | LEC | SPA 49 |
||||||
| Jonathan Hirschi
|
NÜR 7 | ||||||||||
 Christian Klien
| |||||||||||
| Norbert Siedler
|
|||||||||||
| 2017 | Jaguar XK Emil Frey G3 | 14 | Albert Costa
|
MON 31 |
SIL 10 |
LEC 55 |
SPA Ret |
16th | 6 | ||
| Lorenz Frey
| |||||||||||
| Stéphane Ortelli
|
NÜR 11 | ||||||||||
| Norbert Siedler
| |||||||||||
| 114 | Jonathan Hirschi
|
MON Ret |
SIL 12 |
LEC 34 |
SPA Ret |
NÜR 10 |
|||||
 Marco Seefried
| |||||||||||
| Christian Klien
| |||||||||||
Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring (VLN)
[edit]| Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Car | No. | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos. | Pts |
| 2015 | Lexus RC F GT3 | 54 | Lorenz Frey
|
NÜR | NÜR | NÜR | NÜR 11 |
NÜR | NÜR | NÜR 13 |
NÜR Ret |
NÜR | NÜR | - | - |
| Markus Oestreich
| |||||||||||||||
 Jordan Tresson
| |||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Lexus RC F GT3 | 54 | Lorenz Frey
|
NÜR | NÜR | NÜR | NÜR | NÜR 10 |
NÜR Ret |
NÜR | NÜR | NÜR | NÜR | - | - |
| Stéphane Ortelli
| |||||||||||||||
International GT Open
[edit]| International GT Open | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Car | No. | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Pos. | Pts |
| 2017 | Lexus RC F GT3 | 54 | Albert Costa
|
EST 1 |
EST 5 |
SPA 1 |
SPA 7 |
LEC 3 |
LEC 6 |
HUN 3 |
HUN Ret |
SIL 1 |
SIL 3 |
MON 8 |
MON 5 |
BAR Ret |
BAR 1 |
3rd | 57 |
| Philipp Frommenwiler
| |||||||||||||||||||
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
[edit]| Year | Car | Drivers | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | D.C. | T.C. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Ferrari 296 GT3 |  Jack Aitken
|
14 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 82 | 14th | 7th |
 Thierry Vermeulen
|
16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 16th | |||
| Albert Costa
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 28th | |||
| 2024 | Ferrari 296 GT3 | Jack Aitken
|
16 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 128 | 8th | 7th |
| Thierry Vermeulen
|
16 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 71 | 15th |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Zwischen tradition und zukunft". Vectura Magazin. Archived from the original on 21 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ "A Closer Look At The Privateer Jaguar GT Programmes". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ "Blancpain Endurance Series 2012 Round 3 - Paul Ricard HTTT". AutoMobilSport.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ "Blancpain Endurance Series - FRONTPAGE". web.archive.org. 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
- ^ "A good test race for Emil Frey Racing" (PDF). Emil Frey Racing. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ "Total 24 Hours of Spa: Qualifying Report". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ Goodwin, Graham (2013-07-26). "Total 24 Hours of Spa: Qualifying Report". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
- ^ "Blancpain Endurance Series Monza Bronze Test". Blancpain GT Series. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ "Emil Frey Racing with promising result in first testing" (PDF). Emil Frey Racing. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ "Blancpain Endurance Series: Silverstone, Full Report, Bentley's Breakthrough Win". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ "Emil Frey Racing 2015 Press kit". Emil Frey Racing. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ "Emil Frey Racing marks ambitious start to 2016 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup". Blancpain GT Series. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ "LEXUS RC F GT3 WINS CLASS ON VLN SERIES DEBUT". Lexus.
- ^ "Motorsports". Toyota Technocraft. Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
- ^ "04.07.2015: 46. Adenauer ADAC Worldpeace Trophy" (PDF). VLN.
- ^ "05.09.2015: Opel 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen" (PDF). VLN.
- ^ "Lexus RC F GT3 Delayed, Emil Frey Exploring Jaguar Options". dailysportscar.com.
- ^ "16.07.2016: 56. ADAC Reinoldus-Langstreckenrennen" (PDF). VLN.
- ^ "2017 Balance of Performance for 2017 FIA GT3 Specifications". FIA.
- ^ "Emil Frey Lexus Racing celebrates debut in Portugal at GT Open season-opener". Emil Frey Racing. Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
- ^ "Race 1: Costa-Frommenwiler (Emil Frey Lexus) again at the top". GT Open.
- ^ "Disappointing Race-Sunday for Emil Frey Lexus Racing at debut weekend at Hungaroring". Emil Frey Racing. Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
- ^ "Target Racing to field two Lambos in stepped-up effort". www.gtopen.net. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
- ^ "Emil Frey Racing expands to three Lamborghini car effort for GT World Challenge Europe". Lamborghini.com (in French). 2025-01-27. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
- ^ Lloyd, Daniel (2023-02-13). "Emil Frey's Ferrari Switch Based "Purely on Marketing" Reasons – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2025-02-09.