Mixed weather and cool temperatures awaited the participants of the FIA GT3 European Championship for the second round in Zolder, Belgium. Having scored 18 points in the first two races in Nogaro (FRA), Swede Max Nilsson travelled to Belgium to score further points with his Finnish teammate Mika Vähämäki. Both pilots share a HEICO Gravity Charouz Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. Familiar with the 4,004m (2.49 miles) long race track in Zolder, Nilsson was able to focus on finding the racing line and the optimal set-up with his team. After a heavy rain shower he started his qualifying on a wet track which later dried. Nilsson did a great job in the gull-winged car, setting the fifth fastest time and therefore grabbing start position 5 for the first race on Saturday evening.
His colleague Vähämäki failed to grab a better start position than P9 for the race on Sunday afternoon. Given the weather conditions, Max Nilsson started race 1 on Saturday on wet tyres. He managed to maintain his position harassing Harald Proczyk in the Lamborghini #11 in front of him. His partner Mika Vähämäki took the SLS over in P5 after the first half of the race and managed to rejoin in P4 after a quick pit stop. When the car in P3 spun, the Finn grabbed that place. It became obvious though that the Ferrari #50 behind him was closing the gap after changing to slick tyres during the pit stop. He had a clear advantage over the cars still on wet tyres. Therefore, all cars dropped one place and Nilsson/Vähämäki narrowly missed a well-deserved place on the podium.
The second race on Sunday afternoon was delayed due to the weather. With freak weather like on the previous days it started to rain again and again. After a good start Vähämaki spun in turn 5 on lap 3 and was stuck in the gravel temporarily. When he was able to continue driving all other cars had passed him. Max Nilsson took over for the second half of the race. He had a good pace right from the start and reached the fastest sector times of all cars. Nevertheless, he was not able to gain back the places lost, driving across the finish line in P9.
Max Nilsson: “We are still at disadvantage on the straight. The Balance of Performance still does not seem to work. When the track is dry we do not stand a chance against the other cars. Of course, this is not much fun. The conditions this weekend were extremely bad. The continuous rain showers and the drying track afterwards resulted in a tyre gamble for all teams. This cost us the podium in the first race. At least we scored 12 points which was quite good. Now we look ahead to the next race in Navarra (ESP)”.
The next race will take place in Navarra (ESP) from 25 – 27 May 2012.
Source : Max Nilsson