The results sheets showed at the end of the three-hour Blancpain Endurance Series race at the Nurburgring in Germany that the two Gulf Racing UK McLaren MP4-12C GT3s were classified in 30th and 31st places. However, these bald facts in no way reflect the pace and performance shown by the British team over the weekend. They nevertheless reflect that both cars finished a Blancpain race for the first time this season.

Forty five racers from the world’s leading luxury car manufacturers, including Gulf Racing’s two Gulf Oil International-liveried McLaren MP4-12Cs GT3s, were present for the premier GT3 racing championship. Rob Bell proved his credentials as one of the best GT drivers in Britain today by not only qualifying the No.9 Gulf entry the fastest of all the seven McLarens present but also by leading the race.

The No.9 qualified in 14th place but, following a grid penalty for pit lane speeding incurred earlier in the weekend (one of a number allocated to entrants up and down the grid), Rob Bell lined up in 15th place in cold by sunny conditions. The Merseyside-based driver explained how the race panned out.

Rob Bell: “To be honest, despite the disappointing final result, I’m really pleased with lots of aspects of the weekend. The car preparation was brilliant and the team did a great job all weekend with set up, strategy and dealing with race issues. At the start I managed to make up four places on the first lap and then picked a few off over the next couple of laps. I was confident I could catch the leaders but a long safety car period which started just over 30 minutes into the race spoiled that charge a bit. I did manage to get to the front though and pulled out a bit of a lead which was a good demonstration of the McLaren MP4-12C’s pace and performance.”

Unfortunately the lead wasn’t to remain as, shortly after Mike Wainwright took the wheel in the second hour, he was hit on the right rear of the car and lost time getting going again. A further delay to attend to a seat belt problem set back the No.9 to a position it wasn’t able to recover from.

Roald Goethe and Stuart Hall also had to endure a disappointing Nurburgring as the German driver was unfortunate to pick up a puncture caused by debris in the first safety car period. That unscheduled stop adversely shuffled them to the back of the pack and marred what was otherwise a faultless run by both Goethe and Hall.

The final round of the Blancpain Endurance Series takes place at the Navarra circuit in Spain on Sunday, 14th October.

Source : Gulf Racing UK