Aditya Patel got a new start to the 2018 Blancpain GT Series Asia season with OD Racing Team WRT at the Sepang International Circuit. However, the first two races did not go as planned, for the team.
The Audi R8 LMS GT3 was doing well in race 1 until the car’s hose pipe broke, costing the team what could have been a podium finish. In race 2, however, it was the higher temperatures that proved to be the problem. Both Aditya Patel and Mitch Gilbert had to drive a little more cautiously to finish the race and collect a single point.
Gilbert started race 2 from 11th position on the grid, after which he fought hard to gain a few sports but the brakes were wearing too quickly causing him to lower the pace. However, he kept his place and passed the car over to Aditya Patel in 12th position. After this, a smooth pit-stop and steady pace allowed Patel to make up two places and finish the race in 10th.
Gilbert was quoted saying, “I thought we were making progress over the weekend but we just keep coming across issues. We still have some work to do and we have a month to figure out what to do for the next round. At least we scored that one point today, and yesterday we could’ve scored six or seven points or more. So when we have a tough weekend we just have to make sure that we keep scoring points.”
The next race will be held on the 12th and 13th May, at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand.
Unnatee Gidithuri
Dipan Sur
