With two top-ten finishes and points earned in both races, you would think Wirth would be leaving the EuroSpeedway Lausitzring feeling somewhat satisfied. That unfortunately isnt the case as disappointment continues to loiter in the garage of the #3 Z06R GT3 Callaway Competition Corvette.
Wirth and the #3 team seem completely unable to shake what is proving to be a run of bad luck lasting almost two seasons long. The ever familiar disappointment crept in early this weekend with poor practice and qualifying results as they rolled the dice and went the wrong direction with their decision on set-up. Sadly, both the #3 and their sister-car lagged in qualifyingan uncharacteristic turn of events for the team after what seemed to be a strong turn-around after the summer break.
Starting on the grid from 16th and 17th place, the weekend would definitely prove to be a challenge, so no one was more surprised than Wirth when the #3 came away with two points-paying finishesand yet he still isnt happy. When asked to explain, Wirth said, As usual we had our share of frustration this weekend, there was some confusion on our set-up, and a problem with our brakes wasn't identified early enough, so we struggled. Im actually pretty surprised that we were able to pull off some points in both racesIf youd asked me on Friday when we just didn't seem to have the car dialed in Id have told you it was impossiblebecause all this bad luck can really mess with your head sometimes, I just didn't see anything good happening for us. Starting so far back in the field you just know it can go wrong pretty quick - there are a lot of things out of your control, and it was tough back there for sure - I was getting hit by everyone. On top of that we had some braking issues so we couldn't push - I tagged the wall a couple of times and had to back off and play it a bit safer so Id have a car to hand-off to Christian (Hohenadel). Sunday was a bit betterthe car improved for sure with the brake change, and that shows because we were able to push and managed a 7th place finish from 17th.
"I know I should be happy having made up 10 places today and 6 yesterday (the #3 Callaway Competition Corvette finished 10th on Saturday and 7th on Sunday), but I need to see some wins and podiums, until I can get back to that, Ill just never be 100% happy. I know our cars are capable, so its really disappointing that we cant consistently put it together and get in the hunt. This late in the season we know we just have to keep working hard, earn some points and give our fans and sponsors the very best we can. Obviously wed hoped and planned for a much better year, but it doesn't seem it was meant to be. Again, we look forward, put the bad stuff behind us and work hard.
Andreas returns to the track for the penultimate round of 2013 ADAC GT Masters competition in just two weeks - September 13-15th at the Slovakiaring.
