• Early finish at the 24-hours race after a heavy impact at Eau Rouge • Engelhart secures Runner-Up position in Supercup standings after race at Budapest
An early finish and a podium finish were the results for Molitor Racing Systems this weekend. Following an unfortunate race accident on a wet track, the Nissan was forced to retire from the 24 hours of Spa after only two completed hours. Christian Engelhart came home in third place at the Supercup race in Budapest.
Total 24 hours Spa Francorchamps
Last year´s 24 hours race took place in untypically hot conditions, this year the heavens opened just in time for race day on Saturday.
The #73 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3, featuring the brand-new red livery, impressed with constant lap times on long-distance runs. In Pre-Qualifying, Martin Plowman was behind the wheel when going into Turn 14 there was an incident with the #8 Bentley, but Plowman was able to bring the car back into the pits. A broken front suspension resulted and a penalty of five grid positions.
Craig Dolby secured 27th position during qualifying and with the combination of Night Qualifying, Dolby was going into the 24 hours race from P34. The team was very lucky during the wet Warm-Up session, when Dolby had a big moment going into Eau Rouge, but thanks to incredible car control was able to avoid an impact.
Due to heavy rain, the race was started behind the Safety Car and following an accident early on, it was deployed yet again 30 minutes into the race. Dolby had already made up good progress and was running in position 26. Thanks to a great strategy by the MRS team, the team was even running in seventh place after an hour into the race. Sean Walkinshaw was the second driver to take to the track, but continuing heavy rain made conditions very tough. The young Englishman was on his way to Eau Rouge when he lost the car on aquaplaning. Despite getting the car back to the pits and the team trying everything possible, the crew from Ulm was forced to retire the Nissan GT-R with a broken chassis after only two completed race hours.
“It is extremely frustrating to be out of the race so early on”, said Craig Dolby. “The impact was very heavy with 5G and the Chassis simply broke. There was nothing we could have done. I feel very sorry for the team and the mechanics, because they simply did not want to give up and did an incredible job.
But we are in good spirits and we will be back.”
Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Budapest (Hungary)
Having a good qualifying result is very vital around the Hungaroring, which is suited just on the outskirts of the Hungarian capital of Budapest. Therefore the 30-minute session on Saturday afternoon was already half the job done for the race.
Christian Engelhart impressed in Friday´s Free Practice session, setting the fourth fastest time on old and used tyres with a gap of only 0.7 seconds to the front runners, who were all on new Michelin tyres.
The 26 drivers took to the 4.4 km-long Grand Prix circuit with track temperatures exceeding the 50°C. The lap times were improving bit by bit and the top runners were giving it their all, making the last five minutes of qualifying a nerve-racking session with the Pole-Sitter changing every second. In the end, Engelhart was only lacking 0.195 seconds to the Pole time, but a starting position from the front row was going to be very important. Team-mate Spike Goddard set the 16th fastest time in qualifying, a great achievement on a difficult track for the young Australian.
“Overtaking is almost impossible, so having qualified in second was very good”, said Engelhart, who is one of two current winners at Budapest alongside Kuba Giermaziak. “I had two really good sets of tyres and on my fastest lap I even had to overtake someone, so I could have actually gone a bit quicker.”
Engelhart did not get away well on the dirtier side of the track, which was 20°C down on track temperature compared to the day before. The first part of the 14-lap race, Engelhart did well to stand the pressure by Alex Riberas, but in the second half the Ingolstadt-born racer pushed further. There was a great group with Ledogar, Engelhart and Riberas, all trying to secure a podium place. But since overtaking was not possible, Engelhart finished the race in third position, his first podium since the season opener in Barcelona.
“I did not have a great start and my tyres spun”, said Engelhart. “But I still managed to finish on the podium and I am very happy with that, because it was an important step into the right direction. We are only ten points behind the leader, Philipp Eng, now.” Spike Goddard made great progress during the race and finished in 15th place, scoring important points.
The MRS-drivers are now heading to the Austrian race track in Spielberg for the tenth and 11th round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany. “We already raced here a few weeks ago in the Supercup and we know we have a great car there”, said Engelhart. “I finished the race in fifth place and I think, considering the shape of the team, we will have a great weekend there.” The weekend will start with Free Practice on Friday at 1pm, with the races taking place Saturday 1.15pm and Sunday at 9.10am.
