Despite the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya wasn´t a good ally for Chevrolets Corvette C6/ZR1, the Spaniard of Kurdish heritage finished 5th overall and placed 3rd in Super GT class on Sunday, despite Andrea Montermini collided with his car. A year of records with wins and podiums Tutumlu finished 5th in the drivers´ classification.
Isaac Tutumlu and Barzani Racing Team ended the season at home, in Barcelona, taking part in the 16th race of the International GT Open. As Saturday proved, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya didn´t fit the Chevrolet Corvette C6/ZR1 features entered by Selleslagh Racing Team by Barzani and shared by Tutumlu himself and Archie Hamilton.
After finishing 9th on Saturday, Tutumlu qualified the car in Q2. Despite the team decided to make some set-up changes, the 29-year-old driver was able to adapt rapidly to the new driving style at the wheel of the American muscle car, securing 4th row on the starting grid posting a lap time of 1:48.225, less than a second slower than the pole-sitter. It was a good start for Sunday´s race, as handicap time was less unfavorable. Race start was dramatic, but Tutumlu managed to avoid any incident running 8th at the beginning. Little by little he managed to overtake several cars and was running 5th before pitting. With Hamilton behind the wheel of the Chevrolet, former Formula 1 star Andrea Montermini collided with the Briton, 7th by then. But Hamilton, after spinning his Selleslagh Racing Team by Barzani Chevrolet, battled his way through the field and finished 5th, 3rd in Super GT class.
“We decided to make some suspension changes in the morning, softer, to help Archie and his driving style to feel slightly more comfortable. My adaption was pretty quick, because I immediately changed my driving style. But I couldn´t improve my 8th place on the grid, because there are two sectors at this track penalizing Chevrolets GTS. In fact Pastorelli is behind me”, Tutumlu explains. In the race, “this start was a very difficult one. I didn´t like how the car performed, because my lap times were worse despite we were on better tires. At least Archie felt more comfortable and his stint was quicker than on Saturday. Our season was a very rewarding one as we won at Algarve and Spa-Francorchamps and finished on the podium in Hungary, England or Italy, sitting 5th overall. It was an outstanding season everyone at Barzani Racing Team”.