Isaac Tutumlu shows competitiveness at Oschersleben

On his debut in ADAC GT Masters, Tutumlu delivered a good performance qualifying in seventh row but his race was hampered by throttle issues and a “stop&go” penalty. Tutumlu and his teammate van der Linde couldn’t made it in the top-ten with the Car Collection Motorsport Audi R8 LMS.

Isaac Tutumlu made his official ADAC GT Masters debut and while the result was not as expected, he has potential of doing great things throughout the season. After three free practice sessions on Friday, Tutumlu clinched a row seven starting slot in the sole qualifying session held this morning. More importantly, he was only eight tenths slower than the pole position time. It was a good start for the pair of the Car Collecton Motorsport Audi R8 LMS.

But, later in the race, circumstances weren´t so positive. Tutumlu struggled with throttle issues during his stint, costing him time and several places and, at the halfway point, the safety car was deployed. Car Collection Motorsport called for mandatory pit stop but it was moments before pit window open. It resulted in a stop&go penalty and van der Linde, with such a heavy burden, couldn´t fight for a top-ten finish in the second half of the race.

“Qualifying session was quite good, under the circumstances, as it was my debut in ADAC GT Masters and at Oschersleben. Race start was a tricky moment, as its first corner chicane is always a source of accidents, but I kept the car in one piece. But throttle issues were much to cope with and I couldn´t equal my rivals´ pace. Then, we were given a stop&go penalty and it completely ruined our options. With no penalty, we would have finished 7th. Later, we also noticed a damaged shock absorber. We have another chance tomorrow in Race 2”, Tutumlu commented.

As today, Sunday´s 1-hour race is due to start at 13.15.