 Last WE the 4th race of the Le Mans Series was organized on the Portimao circuit in Algarve (Portugal). It was already the 2nd time this season (after Spa) that Nico took the start, but not for a long time: in the first round of the race he had to abandon due to a problem with the petrol pump.
For the 2nd time the 2009 Formula Le Mans Champion was asked by Hope Polevision to strengthen the team, in the nr 48 car together with Christophe Pillon and Vincent Capillaire. During free practice Nico realized fantastic laps; also during qualifying everything went well until a red flag appeared: the team had to change his strategy. Before the incident Nico had realized the 2nd time in his category and the 12th overall.
The team had worked till 4 AM to prepare the car for the race. "During the formation lap the car felt great, but during the 1st lap, in corner 3, the engine all of a sudden stopped: over and out... What a pity, as I had already overtaken a LMP2 car and was attacking the Formula Le Mans in front. Although the car is very competitive and the team did a fantastic job the mechanism failed. I hope to get another chance to prove the qualities of the car, the team and the pilots," Nico explains. Besides the 2nd car got the same trouble and had to quit the race as well. The team will investigate the problem and try to find a solution.
Nico will forget the unlucky weekend quickly: next 2 weeks will be very busy!
"Thanks to ALD Automotive and Michael Bartels I have the great opportunity to make my first appearance in the World Championships FIA GT1 in a Maserati MC12. This week I go to the Maserati headquarters for my 'seat' made to measure, I also give karting lessons in Genk and I work my physical condition to be prepared well for the start of the FIA GT1 heat during the 24h race at Spa".
Nico will be fighting for a place at the top of the world championship GT cars with his team mate Bert Longin. The races are on Friday 30th and Saturday 31st July on the circuit of Spa-Francorchamps. |
