A great weekend for Joel Camathias, who leaves Silverstone, where was held the fifth round of the season of the 2014 International GT Open 2014 with a win and a second! The Swiss driver and his Italian team mate, Matteo Beretta, have put a brilliant performance since the first training sessions at the wheel of the competitive Porsche 911R impeccably prepared by Autorlando Sport.
Race 1, which took place with warm and humid weather, has been extremely closely-fought, with much rubbing and touching. After an excellent first stint, where he was always among the top four, despite a spin provoked by a rival, Joel gave the car to Beretta, who rejoined second and made the decisive overtake meaning a well-deserved win in the penultimate lap.
In Race 2, Beretta took the lead at the start but the heavier time handicap resulting from the win the day before put the car in second after the pit stop, a position that Joel kept with no problems. The pair is now lying fourth in the points standings. The International GT Open will resume after the summer break, on 6-7 September at Spa-Francorchamps.
Joel Camathias:
“Everything went superbly well, beyond any prediction, and we obviously are very happy of this nice weekend that rewards everybody in the team of the good work done. The car was well-balanced since the first practice sessions, quite at ease on this fast track, and that allowed us to qualify well for both races, despite the hot and stormy weather. The first race, on Saturday, was a real battle. I managed to stay always with the front-runners, despite being touched by Montermini and sent into a spin. Luckily, this hasn’t affected the car’s behavior. Then Matteo has completed the work with a great overtake in the very closing laps, after a safety-car period. Sunday, the excellent position on the grid has helped us a lot and only the heavier handicap has prevented us from obtaining another stunning result. Second is great anyway, and this is our fifth podium finish this year. It has been a great round for us and I want to thank Matteo, Orlando and everybody in the team.”