Isaac Tutumlu in contention for a podium finish at Sachsenring

Spaniard Isaac Tutumlu had to cope with rear tire´s low pressure and his Car Collection Motorsport-entered Audi R8 LMS was hit by another rival once again running in the top-5. Tutumlu crossed the finish line in 20th but the Barcelona-born driver and van der Linde showed fighting spirit over the course of the weekend.

Lady Luck keeps turning a blind eye to Isaac Tutumlu in the ADAC GT Masters but the only Spanish driver in the series fought for podium places on Sunday. Unfortunately, a number of factors spoiled what would have been a wonderful result at Sachsenring, only in his second start in the series.

South-Africa´s Kelvin van der Linde took seventh spot on the grid in the morning and delivered another strong performance later in the race. Van der Linde gained another place at the race start and after twenty-two minutes, he made two passes on the outside of Nicolai Sylvest and Daniel Abt moving up to fourth. He pitted from fourth handing over the Audi to Tutumlu. The latter showed his great defensive skills keeping his rivals at bay. But soon he struggled with rear tire´s low pressure and the safety car period compromised his race. Philip Geipel hit the back of Tutumlu´s car and a lapped Lamborghini failed to see his approach and, as a result, he lost several places. Finally, Tutumlu had to serve a drive through penalty as he went across the white line of pit exit by a few centimeters. Tutumlu finished 20th after completing 43 laps.

“It was another unlucky race as it was hindered by a number of issues. Kelvin made superb progress with our best qualifying effort. He moved up to fourth during his stint. In my stint, I noticed low pressure on the right rear tire, which it´s always the most important at Sachsenring, and it was getting lower and lower. Geipel hit me and a lapped car, which cost me a few places. But the drive through ruined our hopes again at the end of the race”, Tutumlu commented. But Sachsenring brought positive findings, as he added “I´ve learnt a lot, gaining valuable experience in the car and in the series. At the end, I was able to set competitive laps times despite our low pressure issues. I feel confident for future events. Let´s see!”

The ADAC GT Masters will resume at Lausitzring on 3-5 June.