I was an early start to the season 2012 with the start of the Dubai 24h race last weekend. In the GT3 version of the GTR prepared by JRM we were able to to qualify in P3 which was a good position to start the race. After I took the start I settled in fifth position, but then after already 20 or 30 minutes into the stint I got hit heavily by a Lamborghini driver, which damaged our car heavily.
This weekend I enjoyed the Nismo Festival very much and I want to say thanks to Nismo and all the fans for such a nice and warm welcome for me. Lucas is really sorry that he couldn't make it, unfortunately he couldn't get his passport back from the Indian Embassy in time. As we both go the FIA Prize Giving in New Delhi this weekend. I'm sure he would have loved the Festival and the drive in the World Championship Winning Nissan GTR.
The weekend started rather difficult with Lucas and me struggling for pace at the street circuit of San Luis at the Friday free practices. But it was then that our biggest title rival had an accident and couldn't continue to drive for the weekend. That incident did obviously help us, but nevertheless it wasn't won just yet. When Lucas and me entered Qualifying on Saturday morning with a revised setup, we both were extremely tense to say the least. The pressure has gotten to us big time.
After a long break since the China races, we have the comfort to head to San Luis still as the Chamoionship leaders. The only downside is that we carry 30kg of success ballast. But weight hasn't stopped us before from getting good results. More important will be to have a faultless weekend not only from the driving side, but also at pitstops, setup work and machine reliability. The Nissan GTR hasn't let us down this year even once, so I believe that actually won't be an issue.
We got away lucky in China by still leading the Championship with 11 points. Before we went there, the target was to still stay in the Championship fight, as with 60kg of ballast in Ordos, it was always going to be an uphill struggle. Then starting from the back of the grid in Beijing, didn't help our cause much. Nevertheless a big change in fortune was the rain and thanks to that we were able to finish in P3.
We had a bit of a nightmare at our last race in Ordos, or at least regarding our pitstops. Blistering fast pitstops have earned us victories this year, but last weekend in Ordos it was unfortunately the opposite and we stood still for as much as 40 seconds at times, when we really should be done in 20. But that is racing and a big part of it, so in the end we were lucky to still escape with P9 and 2 points, more importantly the championship lead. Our Nissan GTR was performing extremely well with the 60kg success ballast and it would have been possible to finish in P5 with a proper pitstop.
Only 3 races to go and in theory we look in good shape for the Championship. Our Nissan GTR leads with 13 points. So the next 2 races in China will be crucial. The downside is really that now carry 60kg of success ballast plus the outlook of racing on circuits that are very low speed and that don't favor us really.
Finally the book "Driving on the Edge" is available in English here:
Thank you to Icon Publishing and Autocourse for making this possible!
Michael
It was definitely the best weekend for Lucas and me that we experienced this year. Not only did we manage to qualify in the front row, we also won the qualify and Championship race. We knew that the Nissan GTR was going to be competitive, but we have not expected to score the maximum possible points at the weekend.
This weekend we will be in Paul Ricard for round 7 of the FIA GT1 World Championship. It's a circuit that fits well for the Nissan GTR as we have finished second in the championship race there last year. Also Paul Ricard is one of my favorite circuits and with only about 200km from Monaco, it's my home race really!
We knew it was an uphill battle in Navarra, as not only it's a track that not really suits us with all its 1st gear corners, but also carrying 35kg of success ballast didn't help the matter. Nevertheless we managed to qualify an excellent P4 after finding a really good balance in the GTR. So it was me starting for the QF race before Lucas took over and the first corner went everything but smooth.
It was an exciting weekend again at the Nordschleife in the Nissan 370Z. The car was very fast in general and even though qualifying in P52 doesn't sound like a fantastic result, considering there were about 200 cars, its not bad! I started on slicks on a drying track and and after we finished 4 stints we were already moving up to P33 and even P3 in class. So all looked good really, until unfortunately a series of technical problems started.
This weekend is the 24h of the Nurburgring where I will drive with a Nissan 370Z for RJN racing. I'm very much looking forward to this race, as driving the Nordschleife is always something very special. Our target is to make it to the top 3 in class, but to achieve that we must first get through without major trouble. Hopefully there will be no rain or fog!
The english version of my book "Driving on the Edge" will be released by the end of July. Here is the Press Release
Michael
Surely we were positive and expected a good result for the 5th round of the FIA GT1 World Championship in Silverstone, but that we would walk away with victory was especially nice as this also meant that we took over the championship lead. We had to work hard on the Nissan GTR at the Friday practice, changin the setup of the car several times in order to find the perfect balance for the all important qualifying session on Saturday.
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