Isaac Tutumlu and Barzani Racing  experienced a fateful weekend at Nurburgring where the International GT Open season opener was held. Tutumlu´s Porsche 997 GT3 R entered by Autorlando Sport suffered mechanical problems, retiring from both races.

After replacing the engine, Matteo Beretta was 13th in qualifying and 7th in Super GT class.   He was overtaken by two other cars at the start and, shortly after, another rival hit him and spun. When the pit window was open, Beretta pitted as soon as possible and Tutumlu took over from his teammate the car. Tutumlu passed several cars during his stint and a top-ten was not out of reach. Unfortunately a problem with car battery ruined any chance to finish as he was forced to pit and then retiring with ten minutes left.

“Everything seemed to go wrong this time. Mechanical problems and race incidents were constant in both races and it was absolutely impossible to shine. What made it worse was we couldn´t score points. But it will spur us on to work even harder for Portimao, and to put everything back or an even keel there. We have what is needed for fighting for top-places and will intensify our efforts to achieve it”, Tutumlu said.

The Portuguese Autódromo do Algarve will host the second International GT Open event on June 6-8.