Fastest race lap for MRS Nissan at Moscow Speedway‏ Blancpain

Motorsport News

We offer creative digital solutions for website, software, video, app and brand development.

Specialists in delivering digital projects for clients all around the world for over 30 years. We love car stuff but do non-automotive too...so get in touch if you think we can help +44 (0)1252 961775

See Our Work

July 5, 2015 in Motorsport

Fastest race lap for MRS Nissan at Moscow Speedway‏ Blancpain Sprint

The fourth round of the Blancpain Sprint Series celebrated its premiere at the Moscow Speedway in Russia this weekend. It was the very first time since the opening of the 4-km-long circuit for a GT race to take place. Molitor Racing Systems took part with the #73 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 and the drivers Craig Dolby and Sean Walkinshaw.

Sean Walkinshaw set very good lap times in the first qualifying session and went through into round two with a fifth place. But in the second running the times saw the Nissan qualify in the 16th position only, from which Craig Dolby started in the one-hour qualification race on Saturday. After a good start, Dolby had a tough first 27 minutes of the race.

“The car felt really good all weekend”, said Craig Dolby. “We lost speed at the exit of the corners and that made overtaking difficult. We had a real disadvantage with the Balance of Performance (BoP).” Walkinshaw drove the second part of the race and was able to gain a place by passing the GT Russian Mercedes. The #73 Nissan crossed the finishing line in P12.

Walkinshaw started into the main race from the sixth row on the grid. The first race was a quiet one, but the second one was full of action. Walkinshaw did good avoiding the chaos at the start and the spinning Porsche, but he lost a lot of places in due course. From P13, Walkinshaw pitted and after a good stopp, Craig Dolby joined the race again. Dolby had a good fight ploughing through the backmarkers and had a great manoeuvre passed Bouchut into eleventh position. The Englishman finished the race in this position and proofed once more the capability of the Nissan GT-R with setting the fastest lap of the race.

“I really did everything I could and I am really happy to have set the fastest lap time”, said Dolby. “We had a lot of bad luck at the start and lost a lot of ground.”

Despite the frustrating result, the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 is a strong and competitive racing car. “The positive is that we are quick enough to be on the podium, because we managed to get very consistent lap times in the main race,” said Sean Walkinshaw. “We just have to try and put everything together in one weekend.”

The next race will be the 24-hours of Spa-Francorchamps at the end of July.

Back to News Index