This last weekend the Portuguese circuit of Portimao not only welcomed the third round of the FIA GT1 World Championship, but also the kick-off of the European FIA GT3 competition, which Maxime Martin was thoroughly looking forward to, as he was competing in four races over a period of two days! Unfortunately both in GT1 and GT3, the young Belgian’s assignment was to be a pretty complicated one.
« And yet everything had started off really well in FIA GT1, as together with my French team mate Yann Clairay (Fred Makowiecki having been withheld in the 1000 Km of Spa.), we had registered the 2nd best time during the free practice session. But after that our main competitors dropped their times and it became hard to play up front. On this track the Nissan GT-R and the Lamborghini Murcielago were quite simply ahead of the pack, and we spent all weekend chasing after them … »
Once again Maxime Martin proved that he had the speed at the wheel of the Marc VDS Racing Ford GT, reaching Q3 during the qualifying sessions, even though he did not compete in the final segment knowing that he could not achieve anything better than 8th. A place he defended on the grid of the first race, held on Saturday, and what has now become the norm in FIA GT1, with some serious bustling and blows at the start resulting in Maxime racing with a bent Ford GT front suspension. « Together with Yann we did what we possibly could under these conditions, and we should consider our 6th place to be a good result. This Sunday my team mate took the start, and on the 3rd lap he was hit by the Corvette of Mike Hezemans. That’s racing. Game over. It’s all the more frustrating seeing the Ford GT should normally have run well at Portimao, as we had seen last year. But certain cars are quite simply untouchable, and in those conditions it’s difficult to hope of even clinching the lowest tread of a podium … »
A situation which unfortunately was to repeat itself in the FIA GT3 European Championship, where Maxime was joined by his French team mate Gaël Lesoudier at the wheel of the LMP Motorsport Aston Martin DBRS9. « As compared to the Blancpain Endurance Series, the flanges are different, we don’t have the latest aero kit fitted neither can we use the larger brakes, Martin explained. Over one lap the car remains competitive, as I managed to prove with my 4th best lap time during qualifying; however under race conditions it becomes more complicated. During this Sunday’s round I remained in 3rd spot during my relay, and we finally finished the race in 7th place, having been forced to retire the previous day. It’s not that easy. Notwithstanding that the team seem satisfied with our performance, as we were up with the front players, but one must not underestimate the potential of the Aston Martin in these conditions… »
Next 2011 stage for Maxime Martin as from next weekend on the German Sachsenring circuit, for the next round of the FIA GT1 World Championship.
Source : Maxime Martin