Stefan Mucke drove a flawless lights to flag victory in the #97 W11.com Aston Martin to see Craft-Bamboo Racing take pole position for the pinnacle GT event of the year, the FIA GT World Cup in Macau on Sunday. Teammates, Richard Lyons and Darryl O’Young, fought to move up the field but with a majority of the race run under the safety car, they weren’t given the opportunity to fully challenge the competition.
The Aston Martin Works driver, Mucke, took a commanding lead from the Mercedes after executing a perfect rolling start. Teammate, Richard Lyons, in the #99 Gulf Marine Interush was able to dive up the inside of third driver, Darryl O’Young, to claim P6 at the first corner. O’Young kept his focus and continued his assault finding his rhythm before the safety car was called out. Mucke’s growing lead was suddenly dashed as the field bunched up behind the safety car. It would be another five laps before racing would resume and Mucke needed to make another good start or he risked coming under attack once again from the Mercedes.
The safety car dove into the pits and Mucke was away, getting the better of his second place opponent . Lyons was now pressuring P6 by putting in some brilliant sectors. He was all over the back of the Audi but was finding it difficult to pass as the race reached the final laps. O’Young had held his position in P8 and the Craft-Bamboo trio were on their way to a solid finish. Mucke was driving flawlessly and crossed the line 1.6 seconds ahead of second place to take a commanding win and set himself up for another victory challenge in Sunday’s FIA GT World Cup main event. Lyons finished the race in P6, while O’Young followed closely in P8 to complete the trio of drivers who will be looking to take both championship titles tomorrow.
Quotes
Darryl O’Young, Driver #55 VLT
“It wasn’t the easiest race, I struggled with tyre warm up until the second lap and lost a couple of positions but I was then able to bring the car back. It was unfortunate to lose those positions for tomorrow’s race but we are doing some fine tuning and we will be focusing on better results tomorrow.”
Stefan Mucke, Driver #97 W11.com
“I’m absolutely delighted, I had a great car and thanks to Craft-Bamboo for that. I cant believe it is only my second time here and winning the first race is a great result. The Mercedes was close behind on both starts, so I had to push 100 percent every lap. It is going to be tough tomorrow with the Mercedes next to us but I will be doing my best to finish on the podium again.”
Richard Lyons, Driver #99 Gulf Marine Interush
“It was a great start to our world cup weekend, I had a good start and was able to take a position early on. We pushed on and were able to have good pace over the race and I am really happy with the car. It looks like we will have a good performance tomorrow as long as we can keep everything together and do some good prep work tonight.”
Richard Coleman, CEO of Craft-Bamboo Racing
“Fantastic lights to flag victory! Stefan kept the car under control and made a great restart. We managed to cruise home and not take too many risks. We weren’t under too much pressure and the good news is that we are quick in a straight line. We are feeling a little more confident about tomorrow but the start is going to be crucial.