Busy times for Marc VDS

28/07/2010

Spa will be a busy weekend for 'home' team Marc VDS Racing. Apart from their GT1 duties, they have also entered two cars in the Total 24 Hours of Spa.

The fifth round of the FIA GT1 World Championship will feature regular drivers Bas Leinders and Maxime Martin in the No.40 and Markus Palttala and Renaud Kuppens in the No.41.

Marc VDS would appear to be in good shape for the rigours of the weekend given that the team scored a GT1 win in the Spa 1000 km race a couple of weeks' ago.

Fourth place in the Championship Race at Paul Ricard also suggests that the Ford GT is on the up. Leinders said. "Of course I hope that we can continue where we left off. Our fourth place in Le Castellet was our best result until now and I am sure that we can claim a top 10 spot in the Championship.

"For a first season that would be great. Obviously, I am also looking forward to racing in front of our home crowd, I quietly hope we can claim a podium finish."

His co-driver Martin is equally bullish despite havng to carry success ballast into Spa: "The Paul Ricard result really gave us wings," he said. "Yes, we will have to carry 10 kg success ballast because of our fourth place, but that should not hinder us too much.

"Still, we will have to work hard to find the right set-up for qualifying, in order to use the full potential of our tyres. That qualifying session really is crucial, it is the part of the weekend where we can make the most progress, since in the races we can follow the rhythm of the fastest cars.

"In the Spa 24 Hours I hope I can repeat last year's result, since I won the GT3-class with the Ford. We'll see what happens this year."

Meanwhile, Kuppens does not have far to travel to race this weekend: "Of all the GT1 drivers I am pretty sure that I live closest to the track, only some 15 minutes away, but strangely enough I am also one of the drivers that has driven here the least," he said.

For his part, Palttala is looking to replicate the 1,000km result. "I can hardly wait to drive in Spa again, because this is the home race of the team. Spa is a real driver's track and I am looking forward to driving the Ford GT here, especially since our win during the Spa 1,000 km shows that the car performs well here."

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