The Marc VDS Racing Team ended the 2011 GT1 World Championship season with a top ten finish in Argentina, in an action packed race that saw the team championship title decided only on the final lap.
The two Marc VDS cars started the final race of the season from the back of the grid, which allowed them to avoid the start line collision involving five cars and which resulted in the deployment of the safety car. With the recovery teams working to clear the track, the safety car stayed out for most of the first stint, only returning to pit lane just one minute before the opening of the pit window.
Bas Leinders in the #40 Ford GT and Maxime Martin in the #41 Ford GT only completed one racing lap before the pit lane window opened, with Leinders immediately pitting to hand over to Ricardo Risatti while Martin opted to stay out, only coming in towards the end of the pit window to hand over to Yann Clairay.
A good pit stop saw Clairay rejoin in ninth position, but an injury to one of the crew during his pit stop dropped Risatti back to 11th. Both drivers made up a further two places during their 30-minute stint, to lie 7th and 9th respectively as the race entered the final stages. Unfortunately a collision between the #40 and #41 Ford GTs in the final minutes of the race dropped them down the field to 9th and 11th and these were the positions in which they finished. Maxime Martin ended the season as the highest placed Marc VDS driver in the championship standings in sixth position.
After a hectic season that has seen the Marc VDS Racing Team compete in the Blancpain Endurance Series, in the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as running two teams in the GT1 World Championship, everyone is looking forward to some downtime following today’s final race of the 2011 season.
Bas Leinders: Ford GT #40 – 9th Position
“I drove the first stint and I was lucky not to be involved in the big crash at the start. I couldn’t see what was happening because of all the smoke and dust, but I just stayed over to the right and managed to escape unscathed. The crash brought out the safety car, but not al the cars respected the flags and that caused some confusion. I only managed one race lap before handing over, but then we lost time at the pit stop after an injury to one of the crew. At the end there was a coming together between our car and the #41 Ford GT, but we managed to finish inside the top ten, which was some consolation. With the #40 Ford GT we have had problems and bad luck from the first race until the last, so this is a season I’m happy to finally have finished and one I hope to forget.”
Maxime Martin: Ford GT #41 – 11th Position
“It’s been a tough weekend because we just haven’t been able to match the outright speed of the other cars. I took the start and there was a big crash, like there has been at almost every single race this season, and I ended up sat behind the safety car for most of my stint. Yann drive a good stint after the pit stop to move us up to 7th, but then a collision with our sister car dropped us back to 11th at the chequered flag. Sixth isn’t where I was aiming to finish in the championship and it’s frustrating that what has been a successful season for us, with wins in GT1, Blancpain Endurance and GT3, has ended in such a disappointing fashion. But, it happens, so now we need to go away, recharge our batteries and come back even stronger next season.”
Source : Marc VDS Racing Team