After Qualifying, the Matech Competition Ford GT1 of Romain Grosjean and Thomas Mutsch, started Race 1 from 15th position on the grid.
After a hard but good start, Thomas Mutsch on the 9th lap unfortunately spun off off at Becketts corner. Thomas thankfully managed to get the car going again and returned to the pits to hand over to Romain Grosjean in 21th position.
After the pit stop Romain finished the race without any problem, driving at a similar pace as the leaders to finish in 21th position, which means that they will start Sunday’s Championship Race from the 11th row.
The team Marc VDS, also racing with Ford GT, was doing a good race but a problem during the pit stop stopped their dream.Thomas Mutsch:“During Qualifying there was a problem to get the right pace as the car is missing out on top speed and corner speed. The start of the race was difficult as I couldn’t see the lights and I had to guess when they went out. Some cars braked in front of me so I had to slow down and a Maserati spun off on the first corner so I had to go over the grass. From that point on I was stuck behind a Lamborghini and I couldn’t get past. He was faster on the straight and although I managed to catch up in the corners, unfortunately it was not good enough to pass. And then two or three laps before the pitstop I went on the kerb and touched the ground with the wooden plank and spun. Fortunately I managed to get going again and got the car back to the pits to hand over to Romain.”
Romain Grosjean:“We have improved a lot compared to yesterday. Obviously the change of the balance of performance cost us a lot of time and we can see we are missing some performance. “During the race unfortunately with Thomas’ spin we lost a lot of time. The team are still trying to improve the car as much as we can and we are trying to get back on the pace. Fingers crossed we can get everything going in the right direction - and hopefully tomorrow it might rain and we can make it to the podium!”
Martin Bartek : “Abu Dhabi was a good track for the Ford GT, being both flat and twisty. However Silverstone does not seem to suit the car so well and the balance of performance has not helped us. It’s evident that the changes made by the FIA through the balance of performance after Abu Dhabi may have been too strong and too early, however the team and drivers will certainly do their best for the race tomorrow.”
