In any motorsport season there are difficult weekends, whilst others are highly successful. For Maxime Martin, the FIA GT1 World Championship round organised on the Ordos circuit, in China, will forever remain a wonderful souvenir. Teamed up with the Frenchman Fred Makowiecki, the young Belgian pulled out all the stops, clinching pole position with a view to the Qualifying Race, prior to imposing himself a first time on Chinese soil at the wheel of the Ford GT Marc VDS Racing. For the Martin/’Mako’ duo, it meant the third victory of the season, all gained during the so-called ‘qualifying’ races.
« One week after our victory in the Blancpain Endurance Series with the BMW Z4, it is particularly enjoyable to be able to continue in this way, an overjoyed Maxime commented after this great performance. But since the beginning of the season Saturday sessions have often gone our way, contrary to the Sunday. It’s now up to us to invert this trend … »
All that remained was to make the most of the Sunday, in the Championship Race. And once again, notwithstanding the pressure exerted by the fastest of the Nissans GT-R, success was at the rendezvous, ending off an absolutely perfect meeting. « This Ordos circuit, which we did not know rather suited our car, whose overall power is not its best feature, Maxime explained. As from Friday, during the free practice sessions, we were right up there, ending the day with a mere 15 thousands of a second from the Aston which had set the best time. On Saturday and Sunday everything slotted in without a single wrong move. Saturday I finished off the great work put in by ‘Mako’, whereas this Sunday I attacked right from the start to take the lead, prior to the Safety Car putting in an appearance and reducing everything back to nothing. I then needed to keep the Nissan behind me, which was faster on the straights. The team once again put up one of those incredible pit stops for which it holds the secret, and Fred performed another great relay stint. This double victory proves how well the Marc VDS Racing team is holding its own in this FIA GT1 World Championship. It also underlines the on-going evolutions made to the Ford GT. We were dreaming of the perfect weekend, trouble- free, and we got it. Absolutely brilliant!”
For Maxime Martin the Chinese adventure is not over as yet, seeing that as from next weekend the World FIA GT1 will experience its penultimate round in the streets of Peking. « It would be particularly pleasant to be able to continue on the same rhythm, but we must remain realistic, Maxime continued. Having won the Ordos rounds, we’ll have to take on 45 kilos ballast for the next weekend. Everything will be quite different, with a city circuit, another team mate in the guise of Bertrand Baguette, who has been supporting us as from this weekend in the Marc VDS Racing pits, and a Ford GT whose handling could well suffer as the result of this ballast. But all in all we must not complain. If they have added extra weight it’s proof that we were brilliant this weekend. Time for champagne! »
Source : Maxime Martin