RML's sportscar team competed in the 11th and final round of the FIA GTChampionship at Zhuhai, China on Sunday in an eventful race that saw the No8 Saleen of Chris Goodwin and Michael Mallock cross the line in 7th positionand Mike Newton and Tommy Erdos in the No 7 Saleen take 12th position inclass after being hit with a run of misfortune.
Having qualified in 6th position Tommy took his place on the third row ofthe grid in the No 7 car and an outstanding start saw him gain 2nd positionon the first lap. Maintaining his position for the first ten laps of therace he was then hit from behind by the Maserati of Johnny Herbert droppinghim to 5th position. He then received another blow when the Ferrari of KarlWendlinger made contact with him, forcing him into a spin and triggering anelectrical problem which hampered Tommy's progress until the team were ableto replace a faulty alternator at the first pit stop. Mike drove atrouble-free middle stint, working hard to make up lost ground, beforehanding the car back to Tommy who crossed the line in 14th place, 12th inGT.
Chris and Michael in the No 8 Saleen had a strong race run having started ina lowly 13th grid position due to lost time in qualifying. Chris madesteady progress from the start of the race before handing the car over toMichael at the first scheduled pit stop. Having had little time in the carbefore the race and suffering from leg cramp Michael drove a conservativestint before Chris took over for his final stint of the season and broughtthe car home in 7th place.
Tommy Erdos commented "I had a good start and climbed to 2nd but was hitfrom behind, first from the Maserati and then the Ferrari, I was just apassenger and did all I could to keep on track. I had problems with lowbattery voltage which was unfortunate. We didn't get the result we hadhoped for".
Mike Newton commented "It's a little disappointing to end the season in thisposition as we had a good start. I maintained good pace throughout my stint& bought the car back but we had already lost too much time with theextended pit to make an impression".
Chris Goodwin commented "I had a good start and made steady progress in myfirst stint. The car ran well and we had a better set up than in practice.Michael did a good job considering his lack of time in the car and he stayedout of trouble, it was a hard earned 7th place".
Michael Mallock commented "I had no time in the car on Saturday and littlerunning in practice so I decided not to take any risks. The car felt goodand although I struggled with a bad leg cramp I managed to run to myscheduled stop. The team did a great job during the weekend and the car setup was good so its unfortunate we didn't get a better result".
Both RML Saleens' were handed over to Franz Konrad at the end of the racewho has bought the cars from owner/driver Mike Newton. Mike plans to focuson the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Le Mans Endurance Series next year with theMG Lola prototype.
