Maxime Martin put in an amazing first stint in the Championship Race at Beijing at the weekend to finish fourth in the No.41 Marc VDS Ford GT, after the car had failed to finish the Qualifying Race. Martin put the Ford GT – toting 40kg of ballast from his double success at Ordos the weekend prior – on pole with another blistering performance in Qualifying on Friday. But with appalling weather conditions hitting the Goldenport Park Circuit, Beijing, for race day on Saturday, Martin’s teammate Bertrand Baguette dumped the car in the gravel just three laps into the Qualifying Race while leading.
Baguette – standing in for Frederic Makowiecki in only his second appearance in GT1 this season – seemed in control heading into the hairpin but it appeared as if the Ford momentarily selected neutral instead of first, kicking the back end round and ending with an early retirement.
That left Martin way down in 14th for the main event, which began under a safety car due to the conditions. After five laps, it peeled off into the pits and racing began – but the safety car was back out almost instantaneously due to some high-profile retirements on the first racing lap.
Another 20 minutes of safety car procession meant Martin only had a maximum of ten minutes of racing to climb the field from ninth – and he produced arguably the drive of the weekend to achieve it, passing the lower top-ten runners before reeling in the leading Aston Martin trio and the JRM Nissan GT-R of Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr.
He left his pitstop late, running second behind the No.4 Hexis DB9 which he eventually passed before he came into the pits. By the time he handed over to Baguette at the very end of the pit window, the Ford had every chance of returning to the track in first place.
As it was, it emerged from the pits alongside the Hexis car, which took the lead, before Baguette – in his first wet race in GT1 – had to cede positions to both Young Driver Astons and the No.23 GT-R as he was on cold tyres and was playing it safe. He eventually managed to match the pace of the leading quartet, but couldn’t gain ground on them.
However, a stunning late off for the leading Hexis DB9 promoted the No.41 GT to fourth and 12 points at the flag – keeping Martin’s hopes of a top-three drivers’ standings finish alive.
Martin said: “Taking our second successive pole position of the season was a good start to the weekend. The Qualifying Race was the first time Bertrand has driven the car in the wet and, unfortunately, he got caught out three laps in and ran off the track.
“I started the Championship Race from 14th on the grid and, after a long safety car period, managed to fight my way through to the front of the race before handing the car over to Bertrand at the pitstop. He drove a solid race to fourth place in difficult conditions, picking up valuable championship points in the process.
“I’m reasonably satisfied with fourth, but also a little disappointed as we had the car to win both races at Beijing, in the wet or the dry.”
For Bas Leinders and Marc Hennerici in the sister No.40 car, it was another frustrating weekend in Beijing. After qualifying in sixth place, a technical problem ruled them out of the Qualifying Race, while damage sustained in a collision with the No.21 Sumo Power Nissan of David Brabham forced their retirement from the Championship Race.
Leinders said: “For the first time we didn’t have any problems in Free Practice. Unfortunately, it didn’t stay that way for the rest of what turned out to be another frustrating weekend in China. We had some problems with the clutch in Qualifying and then, after a good start in the Qualifying Race, we broke a driveshaft and had to retire from fifth position.
“Marc started the Championship Race behind the safety car and managed to fight his way through to seventh ahead of the pitstop. I came out behind the No.21 Nissan and was faster once the tyres had come in. I went for the pass around the outside at Turn One, leaving enough space on the inside, but still took a hit in the rear, which left the car too damaged to continue. It was another frustrating end to a weekend that started pretty well.”
Jean-Michel Delporte, Marc VDS team manager, added: “We had the car to win both races here this weekend, so to finish fourth is a disappointment. Max did a great job once again to qualify on pole, but we couldn’t take advantage in the wet Qualifying Race, as Bertrand had a gear selection problem that forced him off track and out of the race after just three laps. This was the critical point in our weekend, because it meant that Bertrand didn’t gain any experience with the car in wet conditions.
“In the Championship Race the extended safety car periods made things difficult for Max, but he drove brilliantly to fight his way through to the front and then pull away at the head of the race in just five laps. Another great pitstop from the team saw Bertrand rejoin at the head of the race, but his lack of wet laps in the Qualifying Race meant he initially struggled to get to grips with the car in wet conditions and wasn’t able to hold off the challenge from the Aston Martins.
“It was another disappointing weekend for the No.40 Ford GT, with Bas and Marc forced to retire from both races. On a more positive note, Max has closed the gap on third place in the Drivers’ Championship, which is now our main focus for the final race of the season in San Luis, Argentina.”
Fonte : http://www.gt1world.com