Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus (SCG), a brand driven by passion and excellence, concluded the opening 2016 VLN Endurance Series round prematurely due to an exhaust failure. The team displayed some excellent potential during the race, which bodes well for SCG in preparation for the ADAC Zurich Nurburgring 24 hour race.
The team qualified in 24th position, but the session was cut short when Thomas Mutsch made contact with the barriers on the Nordschleife. Mutsch completed his lap in order to qualify and then immediately returned to the pits. Macchinadue had suffered some damage to the steering rack and bodywork, presenting the team with only a two hour window to repair the car in order to start the race. The SCG mechanics faced a difficult challenge, working tirelessly to repair car 702 in time for Jeff Westphal to start the race at the back of the first pack via the pit lane.
Opening the race for the team, Westphal started in 65th position, making good progress through the field before handing over to Andreas Simonsen after seven laps. Simonsen rejoined the race in 58th position and started charging up the order. Ultimately Simonsen’s fast pace led him to reach 29th position at the start of SCG’s 16th lap, before being hampered by an exhaust issue with 90 minutes of the race remaining. Facing competition from over 160 cars and over 400 drivers including 2015 Le Mans winner Earl Bamber, SCG displayed the SCG003C’s true performance potential. This could be seen towards the end of Simonsen’s stint, delivering lap times worthy of the top 10 in the race. SCG retired car 702 at 16:00.
Christopher Ruud, Macchinadue owner/driver said: “Today was a test day for us, the first time this year back on the Nordschleife with the changes that we have made to the car. The team worked really hard after the crash this morning, to the extent that putting the car on the grid was an achievement. To be able to get the car in the race and learn the things that we have learned, despite the finish, means that the day was a success for testing. We just have to keep our focus. The goal is the 24 hour race and everything that we do is preparation towards that. I’m happy with the performance of the car, I think we have a couple of things to do to improve the handling. If we can already stay within a lap time similar to the frontrunners, I think we can do nothing but be more competitive for the big race when it comes.”
Jeff Westphal said: “I think from an engine standpoint, the car is competitive with the other cars. The balance is good in comparison to other GT cars. I think that there are some gains that we can make on the handling side. Otherwise the car was feeling good, it’s an improvement and a step in the right direction. It’s promising that we are this close. We have some performance to gain and if we can improve then we will have a really good chance at the 24 hour race. Ultimately the less hard we as drivers have to work, the less mistakes we make and the more consistent we can be. That’s what you need to win a 24 hour race.”
