Isaac Tutumlu claims GT Pro podium and top-ten at Yas Marina

VThe Spaniard finished 3rd in GT Pro class during the seventh edition of the Gulf 12 hours at the wheel of the Attempto Racing-entered Lamborghini Huracán GT3 with pairing of Aly Çapan and Clemens Schmid. The trio experienced problems with fuel pump and lost two laps with 30 minutes to go, costing them a fifth place overall battling with experienced GT3 and LMP3 crews.

Isaac Tutumlu completed a positive weekend during the Gulf 12 hours at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina circuit. Spaniard Tutumlu, Turkish Aly Çapan and Austrian Clemens Schmid teamed up to fight for a podium finish in the race despite a world-class entry list including several factory drivers such as Davide Rigon or Miguel Molina.

Tutumlu and his teammates made a strong start to the weekend finishing in the top five overall in their Attempto Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3. Despite they set to start from the back of the grid due to minor issues in qualifying, they charged their way through the field during the 12-hour race, which was divided into two halves of six hours each on Saturday. Çapan took the first stint on his GT debut at the beginning. A two-minute drive through penalty and four laps down were a tough challenge but both Tutumlu and Schmid delivered strong performances in the remaining hours. At the hallway point they were running 10th overall and with one hour to go the Attempto Lamborghini had climbed up to fifth. Unfortunately, Tutumlu and his teammates lost five places due to fuel pump problems and brought a 3rd place in class and 10th place overall home.

“It was an interesting, challenging race despite the end result doesn’t reflect the quality of the effort. We proved to be competitive battling with Ferrari cars entered by Kessel Racing and Rinaldi with factory drivers such as Rigon or Molina. Aly made the start, a valuable experience for the future. He completed a mistake-free opening stint and kept away from incidents”, said Tutumlu. The Barcelona-born driver underlined that “Clemens and I charged from the back and four laps down to fifth place, even handing a two-minute penalty for speeding in the pit-lane. It was a huge effort. Such a pity we had the fuel pump issue with 30 minutes to go because we lost several places. It was still a rewarding experience!”