Young Driver AMR had some mixed emotions after the Qualifying Race of the first race of the GT1 World Championship in China. Stefan Mücke (GER) and Darren Turner (GBR) finished the Qualifying Race in 8th position in their Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9in Ordos in Inner Mongolia, while Alex Müller (GER) and Tomas Enge (CZE) had bad luck in the second Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9 and suffered engine issues.
Mücke and Turner had no luck in the Qualifying and qualified for the 13th position, but steady fought their way forward after the start. The Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9 had some contacts with competitors right at the start and also in the first half of the race, but Mücke managed to hand over the DBR9 to Darren Turner in 12th position. A quick pit stop of the Young Driver AMR-pit crew gained Mücke/Turner four positions, Turner finally finished eight.
Müller and Enge and their crew experienced a race before the race. The two drivers of the Gulf livered car qualified sixth of the grid, but had engine issues at the end of the Qualifying session. In only 90 minutes, the Young Driver AMR-crew changed the 6-litre-V12 engine before the Qualifying Race, but finally missed the way into the starting grid by only 15 seconds. This meant Alex Müller had to start into the 60-minute from the pit lane. A few laps into the race, Alex Müller again had engine issues. When Tomas Enge heard some rather unknown noises in the car during his stint, he brought the car to the pits for a security check to avoid further damage to the engine.
In Sunday’s Qualifying Race, Mücke/Turner will start from a promising eight position, while Müller/Enge have to start from the back of the grid according to the regulations due to the engine chance after the Qualifying.
Quotes after the Qualifying Race:
Hardy Fischer (Team principal Young Driver AMR): “The track is certainly not ours. But until now, it’s somehow much better then expected. Stefan Mücke and Darren Turner have a promising starting position for the Championship Race. Alex Müller and Tomas Enge are faced with a much more difficult job, as they have to start from the back of the grid. Really big credits go out to my team, which did an amazing job the change the engine in only 90 minutes. Our main goal for the Championship Race is to survive with a many points as we can get.”
Alex Müller (#7 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “We had to change the engine after the Qualifying and missed it by only 15 seconds to get out in time in the starting grid, so I had to start from the pit lane. After three or four laps, I again had some engine troubles. Tomas also had some problems at the end of the race. For the Championship Race, we have to have look at the engine again, it might not be mechanical, but an electrical issue.”
Stefan Mücke (#8 Young Driver-Aston Martin DBR9): “The start of the race was more like a stock-car race, I got hit on all four sides, but still managed to again a few position. After that I had a quite normal race, but a had fight with a Ford GT. It was not easy to defend my position, as I lost my rear mirrors at the start. The Ford finally hit my right front wheel and which affected the front axle and didn’t made things easier for us. Place eight could be better, this that gives us a good starting position for the race and a good chance for a top five finish.”
