April 25, 2015

 

Team search for a problem free race meeting now ranking up there with the search for the Lost Ark and the Loch Ness monster as the season passes the quarter mile marker.
The team arrived in Turkey looking to build on their double points finish in the sprint race in Portugal. The Istanbul Park Circuit presented new challenges for the team, with neither driver happy with the final setup heading into the race meeting.

Despite hitting the simulators early to get a feel for the circuit, Philip was unhappy with the balance in the car. Adam struggled for practice time with issues with his graphics card that severely limited his practice time.

Round Five - Istanbul

Philip Cullen:
Qualifying: 14th
Feature Race: DNS
Sprint Race: 9th

Adam Rouse:
Qualifying: 18th
Feature Race: 22nd
Sprint Race: 15th

As per usual, qualifying was a close affair in the Supercup and neither driver extracted the maximum from their efforts. While both drivers qualified within 1.1 second of the overall pole, both were disappointed with the gap, having been closer to the ultimate time on previous occasions. Yet again, poor qualifying left the team having to play catch-up in the race.

A lack of practice led to Adam choosing a two stop strategy, a call he regretted after the race. Like Portugal last time out, little to no time on the prime tyre left him guessing what the compound was capable of. The Englishman was happy enough with his racecraft throughout, although was unhappy with a driving error that saw him hit one of the Storm Racing cars prior to his pit-stop.

Philip's race never got started as a disconnection on the warm-up lap forced him to sit out. The Irishman's hope of a restart never came and left him stewing while he waited for the event to end.

While the Feature Race turned out to be a disaster for the team, the Sprint Race offered redemption.

Again, Adam chose the more aggressive strategy with the option tyres with an intent to stop. His run through the field of prime runners was not entirely clean, resulting in been squeezed off the circuit on the exit of turn ten which slowed his progress. Despite this, he got as high as second place before peeling into the pits.

After his stop, Adam managed to secure the final points paying position with 15th place, some solace after a difficult build up the event.

Philip drove with the red mist firmly down after the non-event that was his Feature Race. More frustration was added after a longer wait to start the race to allow another driver to return. This bottled up aggression was let loose on the circuit as he gained twenty positions from lights out to the flag, taking ninth on the final few corners from Menno Klont.

The team is left to look at the positives that how the negatives can be used as a powerful motivator to gain results. Yet again the team leaves the venue wanting for a race meeting to go off without a hitch. As the circus heads to Monaco, one of the most challenging venues on the calendar, the desire for a clean meeting is more evident.