Marc VDS: Difficult weekend

30/08/2010

Marc VDS had a difficult weekend with their pair of Ford GTs at Nurburgring. For Bas Leinders and Maxime Martin in the No.40 it started to go wrong in the first corner of the Qualifying Race, even though they managed to claim 11th in the Championship event.

Markus Palttala Renaud Kuppens in the No.41 had rather uneventful races, finishing 12th and 17th.

The weather conditions played a big hand in the sixth round of the championship. Conditions that normally suit the Marc VDS Racing Team but in Qualifying Leinders and Martin had to settle for 16th place.

Leinders took the start of the Qualifying Race, but it ended in the first corner, when the Ford GT collided with newcomer Yann Clairay in the Hexis Aston Martin.

Leinders was as forthright as ever. "If that clumsy driver hadn't hit me, I could have finished in eighth," he said.

Martin lined up for the Championship Race in 19th. The Brussels driver had a strong start, was 16th in the first corner, but then had his own coming together with rival cars. "The car was hit on the left front, causing understeer," Martin said.

Still, he managed to end his stint in 13th and Leinders continued the climb in the classification to end in 11th. Not really the result the team was looking for. "As long as our top speed is lower than that of the competition, I'm afraid this is the best we can do," Leinders concluded

The No.41 car, that started the Qualifying Race in a lowly 22nd place, finished in an encouraging 12th. In the Championship Race, Kuppens and Palttala eventually finished in 17th, after being spun round by a slower car.

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