Optimum Motorsport secures podium and title momentum in Austria
Optimum Motorsport arrived at the Red Bull Ring at the weekend (21-22 July 2017) keen to show their pace and ensure a podium position for the Michelin Le Mans Cup championship race, something they achieved with great success.
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Having notched up a second place at Monza and then suffered fuelling issues at Le Mans, the team tested extensively at Spa Francorchamps ahead of the Austrian third round of the championship to ensure all fuel flow issues that blighted their challenge at Le Mans had been rectified.Practice saw Haigh put in the laps, 61 in total, before heading into qualifying, making gains throughout the session, before recording a time good enough for second on the grid.
Team Principal Shaun Goff
“It was a huge sigh of relief to get a podium; Le Mans had so much promise and we can away with only 1.5 points. We were unfortunate to have not finished P2 but we are here to win. Everyone did a great job and looking forward to racing at Paul Ricard from P3 in the standings…”
Flick Haigh
“The car ran like clockwork, which after Le Mans was a huge deal. I enjoyed my race and stayed clear of some aggressive moves at the first turn and then ran a good pace to hand over to Joe who brought the car home P3, good weekend.”
Joe Osborne
“The way I take turn nine is obviously too fast, it’s a difficult one to judge in the car as you’re on the left-hand side as it feels like you’re keeping it on the track, but obviously not. Second or third looked the target today as it didn’t look like we’d win today which was a shame. Now I look ahead to Paul Ricard that should suit the car a bit better, as this was our bogey circuit by far.”
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Race 4
Haigh made a great getaway from the start, avoiding a pincer moment at the first turn to run third in the GT3 class. Haigh spent much of her stint chasing the leading duo ahead before handing over to Joe Osborne.With the #5 RAM Racing car hitting trouble, Osborne ran second until the closing stages of the race when he was adjudged to have infringed track limits and therefore had to serve a stop-go penalty.Duties complete, Osborne pushed on to take the chequered flag third, securing 15 valuable points for Optimum and moving the team third in the championship race ahead of the next round at Paul Ricard.
Le Mans Cup - RBR on Social Media
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Decent FP1 here in @redbullring_. P3 in the @audisport @OptimumMSport R8 GT3. pic.twitter.com/sDacxOW4ji
— Joe Osborne (@osbornejoe) July 21, 2017
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Good start from Flick has a clear run in in P2, drops to P3 but a clean start pic.twitter.com/FE2iAIJAi1
— Optimum Motorsport (@OptimumMSport) July 22, 2017
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Joe and Flick on the podium in Austria #lmc Time to celebrate!! pic.twitter.com/nOTXy3P8bE
— Optimum Motorsport (@OptimumMSport) July 22, 2017
Congrats Shaun and Team
— Schroth iNDi Seat (@SchrothIndiSeat) July 22, 2017
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@OptimumMSport finished third in the GT3 class after 2 hours of racing in the @LeMansCup at the @redbullring_ #GT3 #LeagueofPerformance pic.twitter.com/dtINzNvMXV
— Audi Sport (@audisport) July 22, 2017
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Supportive snapchat from one of my mechanics after my track limit penalty yesterday. pic.twitter.com/1u4grwtq3T
— Joe Osborne (@osbornejoe) July 23, 2017
The next race for Optimum Motorsport will be the penultimate British GT Championship round at Brands Hatch GP on the first weekend of August. Paul Ricard will host the fourth round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup on the 26th of August.For more information on Optimum Motorsport and its racing activities, please ‘like’ the team’s official Facebook page or follow @OptimumMSport on Twitter.