An action packed Round One of the Blancpain Endurance Series provided spectacular GT3 racing in Monza for British driver Adam Christodoulou this weekend.
At his debut competitive drive in the Black Falcon Mercedes SLS GT3 Christo joined team mates Klaas Hummel and Steve Jans on the famous Italian track.
Testing proved to be tough, with the three drivers all needing to lay down some track time whilst also fine-tuning the balance of the car for the three hour endurance race. With sixty cars all due on similar strategies, the pit lane was set to be busy, and in total the team decided to practice nearly sixty driver changes in preparation for the race.
Hummel was out for the first Sunday morning qualifying session; Jans stepped in for Qualifying 2, and Christodoulou took the wheel for the final session with a light fuel load and fresh tyres.
With only 15 minutes in the third qualifying session, there wasnt any time for setup adjustments, but almost immediately the red flag was shown - an incident on track which stopped the cars - and by the time this was cleared there were only 10 good minutes remaining.
The pressure was now on. As the lights went green, Christo was lucky to find some clear track, but the pace just wasnt there. Despite finishing the session as the top Mercedes, it only yielded a disappointing 39th starting place on the grid.
Hummel was first up for Black Falcon in the race. The gantry lights went green at 2:30pm local time, and the roar of 60 cars was deafening at the starting line. As the field of drivers piled together into turn one, a few skipped the kerbs and there was a flurry of contact between a number of others. However, Hummel kept a cool head and managed to stay out of any danger; by lap three the worst of the mayhem was over.
Having climbed six positions already, Hummel chipped away at the cars in front during his drive. Choosing to pit fractionally before the other teams did proved to be extremely fortuitous call. Jans replaced Hummel, and the following two laps proved to cause a scene of chaos in the pits, as the fast influx of cars blocked each other in, mechanics tripped over each other and equipment, and all the while the Mercedes was able to climb on up into 27th place,
A safety car period closed the gap between the field and the race leaders. As Jans approached the end of his stint, Christodoulou prepared to take the wheel and with an hour left, the team chose to box fractionally early once more to take benefit of the clear air in the pit lane before the rush. A speedy driver change and a clean refuelling with tyre change put the Mercedes in 20th position.
A new set of tyres made life easier for Christo. The car wasnt fastest on track, but a clean nose so far had paid dividends in race positioning.
By the time all the other cars had cycled through the pits, the Black Falcon Mercedes was in 10th overall position and in was set for podium position in its own class. Soon afterwards the team climbed again, this time into 8th place.
The gap to 2nd place in class was closing, and with 20 minutes to go there were just 8 seconds between the positions; a fantastic chance of of a significant result. This was just a little too much to ask though, and unexpectedly a car emerged from the pits between the two cars scuppering the chances of a final move.
With a single lap to go, the fuel warning light came on. Even finishing the race was now in the balance, and Christodoulou was instructed to ease off and cruise to the finish line, the only way to guarantee a finish. Despite this setback, a thirty second gap before the next in class ensured a podium result was safely in the teams hands.
Finishing 3rd in class and ending as the top Mercedes on the grid in the first race of the season, Christodoulou was thrilled with the result at his new team,
The race was awesome, after a poor qualifying position I was ready to go home. I didnt expect that we would be able to pull it back so clearly. The Black Falcon crew have done an awesome job in the pits today and both Klaas and Steve had faultless drives. All I had to do was follow their lead. Its been one of the most unexpected and satisfying results Ive had to date, and one of the most exciting races Ive been in. What an fantastic way to kick off the new season.
Christo returns to the famous 25km German Nurburgring circuit on 27th April for Round 2 of the VLN Nordschleife Championship.
