Tutumlu draws positive conclusions at Lausitzring

Despite Tutumlu was hit by a rival on the opening lap and was forced to pit for nine laps to repair bearing damage. The driver of Car Collection Motorsport returned to the track and lapped consistently quicker than most Audi drivers. The Barcelona-born driver remains optimistic for Sunday´s race.

Saturday didn´t go according to plan for Isaac Tutumlu, Spain´s driver contesting the third round of the ADAC GT Masters taking place at Lausitzring. The Car Collection Motorsport driver, teaming up with South Africa´s Kelvin van der Linde at the wheel of the Audi R8 LMS, made a strong start to the weekend by taking 3rd-fastest on Friday´s free practice session. But, in qualifying, an untimely red flag destroyed his best flying lap attempt, in which he was already four tenths faster than his previous best time. As a result, Tutumlu classified 18th on the 33-car starting grid.

Tutumlu took the rolling start but a rival hit his Audi on the opening lap. It resulted in an unscheduled pit stop to repair a damaged bearing. Losing ten minutes in the pits, Tutumlu returned to the track and focused on race preparation for tomorrow. “That incident on lap one ruined our chances and changed everything. I was forced to pit losing ten minutes and, after that, we were nine laps down to the leader. But we focused on working for race two. I´m making steady progress and my lap times were quicker than those set by drivers such as Sandström, Mies or Pommer. I´m eager to get back to the track tomorrow and I´m feeling optimistic because our set-up is quite good”, Tutumlu commented.

Race 2 is scheduled tomorrow at 13.08.