Nurburgring: India's Sailesh Bolisetti and his team-mate Phil Glew clinched victory in the second race of the British GT championship here Saturday after having finished a disappointing fifth in the first race.
The weekend had started on a positive note for the Vizag pilot with his Lotus Sport UK team finishing third and first in the two official practice sessions, but technical gremlins prevented the duo from exploiting the performance of their Lotus Evora GT4 during the qualifying sessions.
The first race turned out to be a disaster of a different kind when a sudden drizzle left the track damp leading to Bolisetti spinning out on the warm-up lap while the car was on full slick tyres.
The brush with the barriers left the Evora slightly bruised, but the team was able to stitch it up in time for race start.
A slow puncture and a broken side view mirror further added to his woes and impeded progress during the race. Glew then took over after the mandatory pit stop and tyre change, but could manage to do no better than fifth.
"After showing promising pace in qualifying, it was disheartening to endure all the bad luck we did. We definitely deserved better. The pace was there all along and we fancied ourselves to challenge for the podium, but it was ultimately not to be," said Bolisetti.
Things didn't look brighter for race two as it was cloudy in the morning. Glew was behind the wheel for the opening stint this time and he proceeded to battle all the way through with the front-running Ginetta for the lead, just managing to keep them behind.
Glew pitted from the lead for the mandatory pit stop just past the 30-minute mark, giving Bolisetti the important task of keeping the victory challenge alive.
"When Phil handed me the car from lead, the first thought in my mind was to preserve it and try to keep the opposition behind and the car out of the barriers.
"The margin was slim, but we managed to turn the car around in pits quicker than our competitors so I had a little more breathing space," said Bolisetti.
Soon after, one of the Ginetta's retired from the race dueto a mechanical issue giving Bolisetti further leeway to hold on to the lead. From then on, it was just a matter of maintaining the cushion and driving to the car's limits.
Finally, Bolisetti crossed the finish line 27 seconds in the lead from the second-placed Ginetta, clinching his maiden victory in the series.
"The team really deserved this given the tough weekend we had. They were extremely patient and perseverant throughout.
"To win at a track which we've never driven or tested is the cherry on the cake, and it isn't just any other circuit, but a place like Nurburgring which is steeped in motor racing history," quipped an emotional Bolisetti.
The championship returns to Britain where the third round will be held at Rockingham on June 9. (IANS)
