The fourth round of the FIA GT3 European Championship took place in the sunny Algarve in the South of Portugal last weekend, where Max Nilsson continued his success story. Sharing a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 with Finn Mika Vähämäki he competed for points for the HEICO Gravitiy-Charouz team. The very demanding track with its differences in elevation and parts that are hard to see was not new to the Swede. He had already gained some experiences, driving there in the FIA GT1 World Championship and in the free practice sessions.
In his qualifying session Nilsson showed that he and the team had found the perfect set-up for the gull-winged car and grabbed P2 in the first row as a start position for the Mercedes. His partner, Vähämäki, secured the same place in his qualifying session. “I had good sector times. Unfortunately, I made a mistake in the last sector. Otherwise we might have scored the pole position”, said Max Nilsson.
Nilsson was spun by a Ferrari right after the start of the first race on Saturday and dropped to the back of the field in P10. Nilsson went back on the racing line immediately and attacked from the back. Having gradually gained back places, he had moved up to P4 in time for the driver change after the first half of the race. Vähämäki took over and gained back the original start position P2, securing a podium place for the drivers.
They did not win a podium place in the second race. Vähämäki drove the Mercedes during the first part and Nilsson took over at the mandatory pit stop. Shortly before the end of the race, a punctured tyre almost meant the end for Max Nilsson’s race. The rear left tyre punctured in a very fast part of the last turn before the start-finish straight. Nilsson brought the GT3 car under control again, avoiding further damage. After heading back to the pit for a tyre change he rejoined the race. However, under these conditions P10 was the best possible place. Nilsson/Vähämäki remain fifth in the overall standings, with 86 points each.
Max Nilsson:
“I am happy with the weekend. My start in Race 1 was ok. However, the Ferrari seemed to have missed the braking point in the first turn. He hit me and I spun. Afterwards I pushed as hard as possible. I set good lap times and moved up into P4. Mika (Vähämäki) gained another two places for us after a good pit stop. I felt uneasy when my tyre punctured in the second race, causing me to spin into the opposite direction because I saw all the other cars driving towards me. But it ended well”.
Brice Bosi (team manager):
“Max showed a fantastic performance when he brought the car under control again in this speed after his tyre punctured. He also avoided further damage. After heading back to the pit for a tyre change he rejoined the race. He also fought hard in the first race, when he pushed forward from P10 to P4 after he spun at the start”.
Source : Max Nilsson