Fred Makowiecki and Maxime Martin were unlucky to miss out on a podium finish, after a frantic battle for third place on the final lap of today’s championship race at Paul Ricard. Martin eventually brought the #41 Ford GT home in sixth place. There was also disappointment for Bas Leinders and Marc Hennerici, who lost time at the pit stop due to damage sustained in a first lap collision, leaving them down in 12th position at the chequered flag.
Leinders, pushing hard to make up for a bad start, was involved in a collision with the #9 Ford GT of Vanina Ickx on the opening lap, damaging the steering and the rear of the #40 Ford GT. Further time was lost at the pit stop, as damage to a rear rim made the wheel difficult to remove.
Makowiecki got a good start from fourth on the grid, but was forced wide into turn one and lost a place, dropping back to fifth. The Frenchman was put under pressure from the start from the faster Nissan of Richard Westbrook, eventually relinquishing the place four laps into the race. Makowiecki then maintained station until the pit stop window opened and he handed the car over to Martin.
A textbook pit stop from the #41 crew gained Martin two places in pit lane and, as the race approached the final stages, the Marc VDS driver closed onto the back of the third placed Aston Martin of Alex Muller, with the Nissan of David Brabham also in close attendance. Under pressure from Brabham on the final lap Martin had no option but to try and pass the Aston Martin, only to have the door firmly shut on him. Brabham and Andrea Piccini in the #4 Aston Martin took advantage of the unfolding situation, using their superior power to drive past the Ford GT on the straight, demoting Martin to sixth at the chequered flag.
Maxime Martin: Ford GT #41
“It was impossible today. There was just nothing I could do to get past the Aston Martin, or hold off the Nissan. I lined Muller up in every corner, but as soon as the track opened up he put his foot down and was gone. All the time the Nissan was big in my mirrors and looked like it was about to pass at any moment. On the last lap I was pretty much forced into trying the move on Muller, just to stop the Nissan from doing the same to me. It didn’t work and it lost me two places to Brabham and Piccini. It’s frustrating, there is simply no way we can compete against cars that have such a big advantage over our Ford GT. Sixth place is no consolation, as we deserved better today, especially after such a fantastic pit stop from the team. I’m very disappointed with the whole situation.”
Bas Leinders: Ford GT #40
“Starting from the back of the grid was never going to be easy, but then they gave the green light while I was still in the last corner and everyone just disappeared. I was pushing hard and managed to pass Vanina, but then the car went a little sideways as she came alongside and we touched. It damaged the steering, which took some time to get used to, but after a few laps I was able to match the times of the front runners and pass a few people. Unfortunately the rear rim was also damaged in the collision, which lost us further time at the pit stop. A top ten finish was possible today, so it’s disappointing to finish down in 12th position.”
Jean-Michel Delporte: Team Manager
“Firstly, I want to congratulate the whole team on a great job today. The guys have worked hard all weekend, especially the crew on the #40 car, who had to fix the crash damage yesterday and then change a gearbox this morning. Both crews performed superbly at the pit stops today, gaining us places in pit lane. I can’t ask for more than that. On the other hand I’m frustrated with our result today because, with a better engine, we could easily have left here with a podium finish in both races. We saw today that the other teams have made significant improvements to their engines over the past two seasons, while the engines with which we’ve been supplied have remained the same. This is a world championship, so you develop or die. We will now look for an engine supplier who understands this, and has the capability to do the development. After all the hard work by the team to achieve the best results possible, to be let down in this way is very frustrating.”
Source : Marc VDS Racing Team