At Portimao, where the track is featured by a natural rise and fall, Bhai Tech Racing Team experienced a bittersweet racing weekend. The Team scored its first points of the season with the two McLaren MP4 12C, however the Mestrino-based staff is not satisfied with on track performances, so far, even because of many limitations due to turbo engines.
The four drivers, Giorgio Pantano/Rafael Suzuki and Chris Van der Drift/Luiz Razia managed to climb back up the race by chalking up 29 passes, finishing in the top 10 in both races and scoring the first points. The long weekend started on Thursday with a two-hour free practice session during which the staff, directed by the engineer Mr. Roberto Costa, shook down the #65 car which was seriously damaged at Le Castellet, then continued to develop the two McLaren in order to be well prepared for the second race of the International GT Open Championship.
On Saturday afternoon, after qualifying in the ninth and tenth row, the racer from Padua Giorgio Pantano along with the Brazilian driver Rafael Suzuki drove an exciting recovery manoeuvre, jumping up to tenth (seventh in class) and scoring one point, while the two classmates Van der Drift and Razia finished 13th . During Sundays race the New-Zealander and Brazilian racing crew jumped up to the ninth position overall, which is the fourth in class. Recovering 10 positions was not enough for the Italo-Brazilian duo, who finished just one step behind the score zone.
We knew it wouldnt have been easy, as it was our debut in the dry. Due to its features the track at Portimao was an important test bench, as it gave us the opportunity to have a complete picture of our development and the areas where corrective actions have to be performed says the technical director Roberto Costa We tested car set-up so many times, trying to get the best balance, making a step forward in the second race. Now well have to make the most of the data gathered from the racing weekend in order to continue to develop the car over the next races, but, most of all, well have to continue to work together with the series arrangers to try to solve issues related to car balance and turbo engine, in order to take an equal struggle against rivals, finished the Brazilian engineer.
The Bhai Tech Advanced Vehicle Science Centre- based Team left Algarve aware to be a valid and hard rival, to be able to progress and strive for top positions. Next racing weekend will be held on the German track at Nurburgring on 1st-2nd June 2013.
