Arkiv: Okategoriserade

Tidigt slut i andra GT Masters-racet

Det blev ett tidigt slut på söndagens race för WestCoast Racing. Redan på det tredje varvet tvingades Martin Matzke bryta i depån efter att blivit påkörd av en Porsche och intryckt i räcket. Han var mycket missnöjd när han återvände till depån och tvingades bryta racet.
– Det var fel redan från start och de borde aldrig ha släppt starten, berättar Martin. Längre ner i fältet var det stora luckor och flera led. Jag tappade flera placeringar men kunde börja ta tillbaka dem och bilen kändes bra. Jag låg klart på insidan av Porschen när han bara styrde in i mig, jag vet inte vad han tänkte på eller gjorde. Han knuffade mig av banan och in i räcket och ut på banan igen träffade jag en Camaro och styrstaget gick av. Det hela var väldigt onödigt.

Fredrik Lestrup tvingades konstatera i depån att det inte skulle bli något kört idag.
– Jag är självklart väldigt besviken. Bilen kändes väldigt bra i warm-up och jag såg fram emot racet. Tyvärr såg det ut som många körde onödigt aggressivt idag. Martin kunde inte göra något utan blev tryckt av banan och racet var slut. Vi biter ihop och kommer igen till Sachsenring, en bana jag verkligen gillar.

Teamchef Dick Jönsson Wigroth var också missnöjd med dagens händelse och tyckte det det var onödigt vårdslös körning.
– Martin var oskyldig idag, det var tyvärr alltför många som inte höll tillräckligt bra koll idag. Det är för stora risker med att starta längre bak och det känns nästan som ett lotteri om man ska råka ut för något eller inte. Det måste bli bättre. Vi kommer igen till Sachsenring.

Racereport in English

Resultat, race 2 ADAC GT Masters, Zandvoort

Early exit in the second race at Zandvoort

An early exit for WestCoast Racing in the Sunday race in ADAC GT Masters at Zandvoort. Martin Matzke was forced to retire on the third lap after he was hit by a Porsche and pushed into the barriers. He returned to the pits and was forced to retire, obviously very dissapointed.
“It was wrong already from the start as they should not have released the field,” he said afterwards. “Further down the grid there were big gaps and several lanes. I lost some places but could start gaining them back as the car felt very good. On the third lap I was clearly on the inside of the Porsche when he just turned into me, I don’t know what he was thinking. He pushed me into the barrier and back on the track I hit a Camaro which bent the steering arm. This incident was completely unneccessary.”

Fredrik Lestrup had to realise the race ended early without him getting a chance to drive today.
“Of course I’m very dissapointed. The car felt really good in the warm-up and I was looking forward to the race. Unfortunately it looked like a lot of drivers drove too aggressive today. There was nothing Martin could do, he just got pushed off the track and that was the end of our race. We’ll return at Sachsenring, a track I really like,” Fredrik said.

The dissapointing end to the weekend left Dick Jönsson Wigroth a bit puzzled with what he think was unneccssary reckless driving.
“There was nothing Martin could do about this. It looked like too many drove to reckless today. The risks are just to high when you start further back and it almost feels like a lottery whether you will get through it or not. This must improve, now we have a lot of work to do before we can return at Sachsenring.”

Result, race 2 ADAC GT Masters, Zandvoort

Poängplats i GT Masters på Zandvoort

Det blev säsongens första poängplats i GT Masters för WestCoast Racing när det första av helgens två GT Masters-race kördes på Zandvoort i Holland idag. Fredrik Lestrup och Martin Matzke gjorde ett säkert race och kunde säkra poäng i ännu ett spännande race i ADAC GT Masters. Fredrik tog starten och undvek problem i den tighta första kurvan. Han hade därefter en bra fart men tappade mycket tid bakom en Porsche som hindrade framfarten i början.
– Starten var bra men de framför bromsade upp ganska mycket vilket tvingade mig att bromsa och tappa två bilar på yttern, berättar Fredrik. Det var väldigt trångt in i första kurvan och jag ville inte ta några stora risker utan såg till att vi kom igenom starten säkert. Tyvärr innebar det att jag fastnade bakom en Porsche som var snabb på fel ställen och körde väldigt nervöst och defensivt. Jag kunde till slut trycka mig förbi honom och köra ikapp klungan framför som slogs om femte till åttonde plats innan det var dags för depåstoppet.

Fredrik Lestrup lämnade över ratten till Martin Matzke efter drygt halva racet och Martin Matzke kunde förvalta tiondeplats och säkra teamets första poängplats för säsongen.
– Vi ska vara glada för våra första poäng, fortsätter Fredrik. Det är egentligen idag som vår säsong startar på riktigt. Martin förvaltade placeringen väl och gjorde ett bra jobb i sin stint. Vi har speeden för topplaceringarna och nu gäller det att knyta ihop allting på en och samma gång. Det är väldigt jämnt i de här racen, det går lika fort nere på tjugonde plats som i toppen så kvalen är väldigt viktiga. Nu ska vi bara få ihop allt.

Martin Matzke körde som sagt racets andra stint och han kunde förvalta tiondeplatsen in i mål. Han kom ut mitt i en klunga efter sitt depåstopp och hade i början av stinten en fight med Farnbacherteamets Ferrari han några varv senare kunde skapa sig en lucka till.
– Fredrik gjorde ett bra jobb i starten som gav oss möjlighet att ta poäng idag, säger Martin. Jag fokuserade på att köra säkert och ta oss i mål. Jag kunde öka avstånden till Ferrarin bakom men tyvärr var Mercedesen framför oss lite för långt före för att jag skulle kunna köra ikapp den. Min stint var ok, balansen i bilen var bra hela tiden och däcken kändes bra under hela stinten. Jag fick justera mina spårval lite mot slutet för att ha grepp men det var inga större problem.

Martin kommer nu att starta söndagens race som han startar från tjugonde plats.
– Det kommer att bli en tuff start mitt i fältet i morgon och det kommer bli trångt i första kurvan. Starten idag såg disciplinerad ut så förhoppningsvis blir det likadant imorgon. Vi ska försöka köra upp oss till poäng imorgon också, får vi en bra start finns chansen, avslutar Martin.

Racereport in English

Inofficiellt resultat, topp 10 ADAC GT Masters race 1, Zandvoort:
1: D. Alessi/D.Keilwitz, Chevrolet Corvette 35 varv
2: S. Knap/J. de Boer, BMW Z4 + 0,411
3: R. Renauer/J. Bleekemolen, Porsche 911 GT3 R + 34,841
4: J. Krohn/N. Verdonck, Ford GT GT3 + 35,409
5: D. Lunardi/M. Martin, BMW Alpina B6 + 35,741
6: J. Stuck/F. Stuck, Aston Martin V12 Vantage + 36,054
7: S. Asch/M. Götz, Mercedes Benz AMG SLS + 38,010
8: D. Baumann/H. Proczyk, Mercedes Benz AMG SLS + 41,911
9: F. Stoll/D. Dobitsch, Mercedes Benz AMG SLS, + 45,349
10: F. Lestrup/M. Matzke, BMW Z4 + 53,570

Komplett officiellt resultat, race 1 Zandvoort

Points scored in race 1 at Zandvoort

WestCoast Racing scored its’ first points for the season in the first GT Masters race of the weekend at Zandvoort today. Fredrik Lestrup and Martin Matzke drove a solid race and could secure a points finish in another exciting GT Masters race. Fredrik drove the first stint and managed to avoid trouble in the first corner in another tight start. He kept a competitive pace throughout the rest of the stint but lost a lot of time behind a slower Porsche in the early stages.
“The start was good but the guys in front slowed down quite a lot which forced me to brake and lose two guys around the outside. It got very tight and I didn’t want to take any risks in the start and instead make sure we got through clean. Unfortunately that dropped me just behind a Porsche who was faster in the wrong places and drove very nervous and defensive. It took me some time to get past him but finally I could push through. Once clear of him I quickly caught the pack fighting over fifth to eight place before it was time for my pit stop,” Fredrik said.

After half the race Fredrik turned over to Martin Matzke who could secure tenth position in this stint and take the first points of the season.
“We whould be happy with scoring points today,” Fredrik continued. “Our season really just start this weekend. We have the pace for the top, we just need to get everything together at the same time. These races are close, the speed down in P20 is just as high as at the top so qualifying is very important. When we get everything together we will give everyone a fight.”

Martin Matzke drove a solid second stint and could secure tenth place. He reentered the track in the middle of a pack and had a close fight for a few laps with the Farnbacher Ferrari before he could open up a gap.
“Fredrik did a good job in the start which gave us the possibility to score points today,” Martin said. I focused on just driving safe and get us to the finish. I managed to increase the gap to the Ferrari but unfortunately the Mercedes in front of us was a little bit too far away for me to catch them. I had a good stint, the balance in the car was good and the tyres felt good throughout the stint.  had to adjust my lines slightly to find more grip but it was never a big issue.”

Martin will now start tomorrows race from row 10 on the grid in position 20.
“It will be a very tough start right in the middle of the field tomorrow. The start today seemed to be quite good so hopefully it will be the same tomorrow. We will try to gain some places tomorrow and maybe be able to fight for points again.”

Provisional resultat, top 10 ADAC GT Masters race 1, Zandvoort:
1: D. Alessi/D.Keilwitz, Chevrolet Corvette 35 laps
2: S. Knap/J. de Boer, BMW Z4 + 0,411
3: R. Renauer/J. Bleekemolen, Porsche 911 GT3 R + 34,841
4: J. Krohn/N. Verdonck, Ford GT GT3 + 35,409
5: D. Lunardi/M. Martin, BMW Alpina B6 + 35,741
6: J. Stuck/F. Stuck, Aston Martin V12 Vantage + 36,054
7: S. Asch/M. Götz, Mercedes Benz AMG SLS + 38,010
8: D. Baumann/H. Proczyk, Mercedes Benz AMG SLS + 41,911
9: F. Stoll/D. Dobitsch, Mercedes Benz AMG SLS, + 45,349
10: F. Lestrup/M. Matzke, BMW Z4 + 53,570

Official results, race 1 Zandvoort

BMW Dealer Team WCR fastest at final TTA-test

Fredrik Larsson ahead of Richard Göransson. That is the summary of the third and final testday in TTA that ended at Anderstorp Raceway today. Both drivers enjoyed a very good testday and their fastest times in the morning stood up for the rest of the day putting the two of them at the top of the time sheets. Fredrik Larsson had the fastest time overall and was very pleased with his testday.
“A very good testday where we could follow our plan from start to finish and could end up with fastest time as well. We have followed our plan with both qualifying and race simulations and gathered a lot of important information. It’s great to see Richard be equally fast, it gives us plenty of useful information to compare. The car is great fun to drive but also very demanding and it’s really close. This will be a tough and fun season,” Fredrik said.

Richard Göransson was very pleased with his three testdays and the amount of work he and the team has managed to get done. Today he could drive both qualifying and race simulations and his best time was a mere 54 thousands of a second behind the best time of Fredrik Larsson.
“We’ve had three great testdays. The whole team has been focused and determined and the fact we finish these three days by being first and second and with all four cars in top eight is a representative sign of our work. We have achieved what we came here to do and gotten a lot of information out of these three days. I’ve learned a lot about how the new car is to drive and the mechanics have learned a lot about how the car is to work with. The car is hysterically fun to drive and absolutely fantastic when you find the right settings. I’m ready and very eager for the very first TTA-race ever next weekend,” en enthusiastic Richard summarized.

The sisterteam WestCoast Racing also had a good final day. Andreas Ebbesson was sixth overall on the final day and was pleased with his testprogram.
“It’s been a good day I’m very pleased with. We have worked hard today with different kind of tests and we have also had time to do qualifying and race runs. The car is demanding but a lot of fun to drive and you really need to be focused behind the wheel.”

Team mate Martin Öhlin could bounce back from a difficult day yesterday and had a whole day of running today. He set the eight best time.
“It worked much better today and we have gotten a lot of important work done today. We can finally start working with the car now and it’s great fun. I’m really looking forward to the first race weekend.”

This concludes the official TTA testdays. The team will now make the final preparations ahead of the season start at Gelleråsen next weekend.

Anderstorp Raceway test – Day 2 – Top 10

1 Fredrik Larsson BMW SR 1:33.586
2 Richard Göransson BMW SR +0.054
3 Fredrik Ekblom Volvo S60 +0.212
4 Stefan Söderberg Citroën C5 +0.260
5 Robert Dahlgren Volvo S60 +0.292
6 Andreas Ebbesson BMW SR +0.603
7 Linus Ohlsson Saab 9-3 +0.630
8 Martin Öhlin BMW SR +0.684
9 Thed Björk Volvo S60 +0.693
10 Tommy Rustad Volvo S60 +0.726

Complete results, downloadable file