South African racing driver David Perel clinched the European Blancpain GT Sprint AM Championship by winning the first of two races in Hungary this past weekend.
Perel and American team-mate Stephen Earle failed to finish Sunday's finale in their Kessel Ferrari 458 Italia, but their result on Saturday was enough to secure the championship with two rounds to go.
Perel now needs just one point from the next two rounds (two races each) at the Nurburgring and Catalunya to claim the overall Blancpain GT AM title.
Picture: Blancpain GT via Motorsport Media“We had one aim this weekend and it was simply to finish the first race in order to clinch the Sprint championship,” David explained.
“Our weekend started tough but in the end we managed to do it with a race win!” Perel is the first South African to win a championship in the world's most competitive GT3 series, but he is not done yet.
“My primary aim this year was to win the Endurance Championship, but a last minute agreement with my team meant that I was able compete in the Sprint Cup, which means I am eligible for the overall title as well.
“Winning the Sprint title is already a huge achievement for me personally - I am massively proud to represent South Africa in such a competitive series.”