The FIA GT1 World Championship took place at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in the South of Portugal during the past few days. The well-designed and technically demanding 4.653km (2.89 miles) long track offers quite a few differences in elevation and some parts which are hard to see for the drivers. Duos Albert von Thurn und Taxis and Stefan Rosina (SVK) and Darryl O´Young (HKG) and Peter Kox (NLD) each share a Reiter Engineering Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+ for this exciting championship. The German team also entered some very successful customer teams in the FIA GT3 European Championship and the Portuguese GT Championship this weekend.

The sun was shining all weekend, with temperatures between 20 and 28 degrees Celsius. The driver duos took P9 (Thurn und Taxis und Rosina) and P5 (O´Young und Kox) in the one-hour three part qualifying session on Saturday morning. Stefan Rosina in the Lamborghini (#24) basically retired in the second lap of the Qualifying Race when a punctured tyre forced him to pit. Rosina lost a lot of time and finished his stint far behind the field, just like Albert von Thurn und Taxis who took over after the first part of the race.

Peter Kox defended his position in his Gallardo (#25) well after the start. However, he was kicked off the track by Alvaro Parente in the McLaren in lap 10. Therefore, Darryl O´Young did not get a chance to compete in that race. The result was a start position in the last row for both Reiter Lamborghini for the Championship Race on Sunday. Thus, both cars started from an unusual position far at the back. Thurn und Taxis and Rosina did not find their pace and retired the car as a precaution in lap 26 due to engine noises.

Darryl O´Young did not have anything to lose in the last row and had a fantastic start. He gained an incredible seven places in the first lap, kept his performance up in the second lap and was fifth in the timing in the following lap. After defending the place up until the driver change, he handed the Gallardo over to Peter Kox. After all teams had completed the driver change, he was in P5 in the standings. Pushing forward, he set the fastest lap of the race eight laps later. He spent the rest of the race harassing Buurman in the Vita4One BMW in front of him and overtook him after a clever last-minute manoeuvre. P4 and 12 points was a conciliatory end to the racing weekend in the Algarve for the drivers and the team.

Stefan Rosina (#24):

“The weekend started off with a great free practice session. However, there were some issues with the pace of the car and we discovered that the engine was damaged. We had a punctured tyre right at the start of Race 1 and were forced to pit which cost valuable time. It is a pity that we fight and are facing problems that we have no influence on at all”.

Albert von Thurn und Taxis (#24):

“We had a lot of bad luck and we probably did not found the right set-up. The pace was not good because the tyres were deteriorating rapidly. We were considerably slower compared to our sister car”.

Peter Kox (#25) :

“I like this track in Portimao, it is quite demanding. Unfortunately, it is also a bit bumpy. We were the fastest car in the second free practice session but I was not entirely happy with the car. Scoring the fifth fastest time in the qualifying was ok. I was kicked off the track by a McLaren in the Qualifying Race after the driver missed the braking point. Darryl delivered a fantastic performance in the Championship Race the following day, gaining a lot of places in the first lap. I took over in P5, then set the fastest lap and managed to overtake the BMW in the last minute”.

Darryl O´Young (#25):

“We worked hard this weekend to find the right set-up and found a good braking set-up. I was lucky in the Championship Race and gained a lot of places right away. We lost time during the pit stop; we need to work on our strategy there. Peter (Kox) drove a fantastic stint and gained another place”.

Hans Reiter (team principal):
„A conciliatory end to a disappointing weekend. Darryl (O´Young) demonstrated in the Championship Race that the Lambo runs well. Starting from the back, he took P4 with Peter (Kox). In general, the cars ran well and won races here as well as at the GT3 European Championship and the Portuguese Championship which took place this weekend”.

Source : Reiter Engineering