Arkiv: 2012

Good pace but no points at Red Bull Ring

EngelskaNewsOkategoriserade

A quick pit stop and a couple of laps free from traffick. That’s how WestCoast Racing could climb from 30th on the grid to 16th place at the finish. The weekend at Red Bull Ring didn’t yield any points as the BMW-teams struggled to get competitive on this track.

WestCoast Racing did however managed to build on the speed from Saturday and could climb 14 places in the second race on Sunday. The key to this was one of the fastest pit stops of the race as soon as the pit window was open.

Fredrik Lestrup started the race but got caught in traffic behind cars faster in a straight line preventing any overtaking. When the pit window was opened the team chosed to bring him in early for the mandatory driver change and give Martin Öhlin a few laps clear of traffic. This gained him several places.

Towards the end of his stint and the race Martin Öhlin also got caught behind slower cars with a straighline advantage and when the race eventually was finished behind the safety car he was prevented to climb any further. Fredrik Lestrup and Martin Öhlin finished 16th overall.

”I’m pretty pleased with my stint,” Martin said. ”We did a very good pit stop and I managed to get a few clear laps and could set competitive lap times. Unfortunately I got stuck behind a Camaro for a few too many laps before I managed to get pass. The car worked really well today and the tyres held up great. But this was a track where our car just wasn’t competitive and the overall result is not soemthing to be to pleased with. We got out most of the car in the end but it wasn’t enough. It was a fun weekend though and a good build up for me before my next race weekend in Sweden and TTA already in five days. I already look forward to my second GT Masters weekend in two weeks time at Lausitzring.”

”I had a very messy first stint and I’m not so pleased,” Fredrik Lestrup said afterwards. ”The start was chaotic and I had to go off track to avoid spinning cars in front of me and this cost me a few positions. After that I was stuck in traffic and it was the right decision to bring me in early and get Martin out in clean air. This was a tough weekend for us where our car didn’t suit this track. Unfortunately we know that Lausitzring will be tough for us as well but we’ll take the positives from this weekend and recharge for Lausitzring.”

Results, Race 2 Red Bull Ring

Ingen målgång men positiva besked på Red Bull Ring

NyheterOkategoriserade

Det blev ingen målgång för WestCoast Racing i helgens första ADAC GT Masters race på Red Bull Ring. Men trots det fanns det positiva saker att ta med sig till helgens andra race på en bana som har visat sig vara svår för samtliga BMW-bilar.

Martin Öhlin och Fredrik Lestrup körde på i stort sett samma varvtid i sina respektive kvalpass på fredagen, Martin Öhlins tid räckte till en sjuttonde plats medan Fredrik Lestrups tid räckte till den 29:e plats i den snabbare andra kvalgruppen till söndagens race.

Martin Öhlin fick sin stint uppdelad i två perioder av säkerhetsbil och det blev ganska få rena racevarv. Redan på första varvet kom säkerhetsbilen ut och efter 9 varv var det dags igen. Teamet valde att behålla Martin ute lite längre och han gick i depå med 28 minuter kvar av racet och lämnade över till Fredrik Lestrup. I samband med depåstoppet gick justeringsarmen till stolen vilket gjorde att depåstoppet tog 38 sekunder längre och stolen hamnade i bakersta läget. Fredrik kunde trots detta ändå köra på bra varvtider och hade bättre varvtider i racet än bästa BMW-tid i kvalet. Med fyra minuter kvar av racet tvingades han dock bryta i depån när bilen tappade drivning.

– Det blev inte så mycket racing i mitt första GT Masters race tyvärr med många omstarter bakom säkerhetsbilen, sa Martin Öhlin efteråt. Det är tråkigt att vi tvingades bryta men idag fungerade bilen betydligt bättre än under gårdagen så vi hoppas kunna ladda om för imorgon och ta med oss det. Vi startar ännu längre bak då men det här är händelserika race så allting kan hända.

– Banan har inte visat sig passa BMW:n men idag kändes bilen ändå riktigt bra, berättade Fredrik Lestrup. Tyvärr tvingades vi bryta när någonting hände med kopplingen eller växellådan och jag tappade all drivning. Dessutom gick stolsjusteringen sönder i depåstoppet så det blev inte helt lättkört. Det positiva är att vi fick till känslan i bilen och hade bättre varvtid i racet idag än i kvalet och dessutom hade helgens bästa BMW-tid så här långt. Förhoppningsvis kan vi använda det i racet imorgon även om vi startar väldigt långt bak då.

English version

Resultat, race 1 Red Bull Ring

Positives despite DNF at Red Bull Ring

EngelskaNewsOkategoriserade

WestCoast Racing didn’t manage to finish the first ADAC GT Masters race of the weekend at Red Bull Ring. But despite that there were positives to bring into Sunday’s race at a track which has proven to be difficult for the BMW’s.

Martin Öhlin and Fredrik Lestrup drove equal lap times in qualifying in their respective qualifying sessions. The time set by Martin Öhlin was enough for 17th place in the grid while the same time set by Fredrik Lestrup only was only good enough for 29th place in the grid for the Sunday race in a faster second qualifying session.

Martin Öhlin took the start stint in todays race and got his stint divided by two periods of safety car after incidents in the early laps. The team chosed to keep Martin out for a bit longer and he went into the pits with 28 minutes remaining of the race to hand over to Fredrik Lestrup. In the pitstop the adjustment arm for the seat broke and the seat was stuck in the rearward position. This delayed the pitstop with an extra 38 seconds and thus ending all hopes of scoring a point. Despite this Fredrik Lestrup managed to keep a strong pace and managed to be faster in the race than the best BMW-time set in qualifying. With four minutes remaining he lost all drive in the BMW and was forced to retire in the pits.

”I didn’t get so many real race laps in my first GT Masters race unfortunately with several laps spent behind the safety car,” Martin said afterwards. ”It’s disapointing we had to retire but the car worked much better today which is promising for tomorrow. We will start even further back then but these races are usually eventful so anything is possible.”

”This track has proven not to suit the BMW but our car felt really good in the race today,” Fredrik said. ”Unfortunately we had to retire when something happened with the gearbox or the clutch and I lost all drive. On top of that the adjustment to the seat got broken in the pitstop so it was a bit challenging. The positives are that we got the feeling back in the car and had a better laptime in the race than set by a BMW in any other session this weekend. Hopefully we can use that in the race tomorrow despite starting a long way back.”

Results, race 1 Red Bull Ring

Martin Öhlin in när WestCoast Racing inleder andra säsongshalvan

NyheterOkategoriserade

WestCoast Racing inleder med en ny förare inför andra halvan av säsongen i ADAC GT Masters. Teamets svenska TTA-förare Martin Öhlin delar bilen med Fredrik Lestrup på Red Bull Ring nu i helgen och på Lausitzring två veckor senare. Martin Öhlin ersätter Martin Matzke i de två kommande racen.
– Vi planerade tillsammans med våra partners inför säsongen att Martin Öhlin skulle köra två race i ADAC GT Masters med oss och nu var en lämplig tidpunkt att göra det, förklarar teamchef Dick Jönsson Wigroth. Martin kommer att köra de två kommande racen tillsammans med Fredrik Lestrup. Vi vill samtidigt tacka Martin Matzke för hans insatser för oss de fyra första helgerna och har alla dörrar öppna för säsongens två sista tävlingshelger.

Martin Öhlin gör i år sin tredje säsong för WestCoast Racing och tävlar i år för teamet i nystartade svenska mästerskapet TTA. Han har också kört ett race i år för WestCoast Racing i svenska GT-mästerskapet tillsammans med Fredrik Lestrup ochs er nu fram emot att möta konkurrensen i ADAC GT Masters.
– Det ska bli kul att göra debut i GT Masters och köra Z4:an igen, säger Martin. Jag förväntar mig att det blir en tuff men rolig helg på Red Bull Ring som är en rolig bana. Jag ser fram emot att köra Z4:an för ett svenskt team i Europa och att dela bilen med Fredrik. Vi har jobbat bra tillsammans tidigare och målet är självklart att göra vårt bästa.

Fredrik Lestrup ser fram emot att vara igång med säsongen igen och att tävla på Red Bull Ring, en bana han inte har tävlat på tidigare.
– Det ska bli väldigt kul att ha Martin Öhlin som teamkamrat, säger Fredrik. Vi jobbar bra ihop och jag hoppas vi kan ha en problemfri helg den här helgen. Red Bull-banan verkar väldigt spännande men det är svårt att säga hur väl den passar bilen. Den har partier som talar till vår styrka men också några längre raksträckor. Det ser ut att vara svårt att köra om vilket gör kvalet extra viktigt den här helgen. Jag ser fram emot en bra helg på en fantastisk anläggning.

English version

New driver as WestCoast Racing enters second half of season

EngelskaNewsOkategoriserade

The second half of the ADAC GT Masters season starts this weekend for WestCoast Racing and the team makes a drivers change for the coming two weekends. The team’s Swedish TTA-driver Martin Öhlin will step in and share the car with Fredrik Lestrup at Red Bull Ring this weekend and Lausitzring two weeks later. He will replace Martin Matzke for these two rounds.
”Earlier this year we, together with our partners, planned to have Martin Öhlin drive two races for us in ADAC GT Masters,” team manager Dick Jönsson Wigroth explains. ”Martin will drive the coming two races together with Fredrik Lestrup. We want to take this opportunity to thank Martin Matzke for his efforts in the first four race weekends with us and we’ll keep all doors open for the last two race weekends.”

Martin Öhlin drives his third season for WestCoast Racing and competes in the newly formed TTA championship in Sweden this season. He has also driven a race for the team in the Z4 in the Swedish GT-league and now looks forward to face the competition in ADAC GT Masters.
”It will be a lot of fun to make my first start in GT Masters and drive the BMW Z4 again,” Martin says. I expect a tough but fun weekend at Red Bull Ring which looks like an exciting track. I look forward to drive a Z4 for a Swedish team in Europe and share the car with Fredrik. We work very well together and our goal is of course to do our best.”

Fredrik Lestrup looks forward to restart the season again and compete at Red Bull Ring, a track he hasn’t raced at before.
”I look forward to have Martin Öhlin as a team mate for the coming two races,” Fredrik says. ”We have a good cooperation and I hope we can have a smooth weekend. Red Bull Ring looks like a fun track but it’s hard to say how well it will suit our car. There are parts of the track which looks like them plays to the advantage of our car but there are also two long straights. Overtaking might be tricky here so qualifying will be very important this weekend. I look forward to a good race weekend at a fantastic venue.”

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