FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Chamberlain Motorsport racing with Chrysler Iberia entered one Chamberlain GTS-R Viper for the Portuguese round of the Spanish GT Series at Vila do Conde last weekend.
The drivers were Ni Amorim (P), Chamberlain's regular driver in the FIA GT series, and Luis Perez Sala (S), the former Minardi F1 driver, making a guest appearance with the Team - shown above.
1st Qualifying - Saturday 10 July
After minor adjustments to ride height and roll bars from Free Practice, Sala soon got into a good rhythm and qualified in second position in what was a shortened 30-minute session. This represented an excellent achievement from someone who had only had about 25 minutes seat time in a car, which he had not even seen before and on a circuit, which he had not previously driven on. The Mustang driven by Palau took Pole position.
2nd Qualifying - Saturday 10 July
A new set of tyres was used for the second qualifying session with a small adjustment to the pressures due to the heat. Amorim brought the tyres in with some slow laps as these tyres were also to be used for the race (maximum tyre allocation is three sets for the weekend). He was soon in his stride and qualified the car on Pole, the only driver to break the 1 minute 14 second mark. This was an excellent result due in part to his experience in the Viper and also of the circuit, but mainly to his driving skills. Obviously on a circuit of this nature, Pole Position is a big advantage as overtaking is very difficult on Vila do Conde's street circuit.
1st Race - Sunday 11 July
After a delay due to track damage, the Pit Lane was opened and Sala lined up on the grid behind the Pole-sitting Mustang. Team tactics for the race were very important as the two Konrad Porsches had an advantage during their pit stops. Chamberlain had to be sure that we were more than 10 seconds and 30 seconds respectively in front of the two Konrad cars before we made our own stop, to ensure that we were not caught behind them after our own stop. Overtaking them was envisaged to be a major problem.
Sala made a good start and kept within a short distance behind the Mustang. The driver change had to be between laps 13 and 24 and our plan was to stop when we had pulled out our 10 and 30 seconds on the Konrad Porsches or come in on lap 24 if this had not been achieved. On lap 21 we pitted having pulled out enough on the Porsches to stay in front. Our driver change went well and Amorim rejoined the race. The Mustang then pitted but they were delayed when a small oil fire broke out, and they rejoined behind what was now our leading car. Amorim kept the lead for the remainder of the race to give Chamberlain their first win of the day
2nd Race - Sunday 11 July
Amorim took up his Pole Position on the grid after a further delayed start and as the lights turned green made an excellent start. He put in some very quick laps to pull out a big lead from the second placed Konrad car and the third placed Mustang. Our plan was the same as for the first race and on lap 20 we pitted for our driver change. When Sala went to start the car it refused to fire and there was some confusion as to the position of the ignition and fuel pump switches. With the aid of a jump battery the engine finally burst into life and Sala left the pits. We had lost a lot of time but good fortune played into our hands when the now-leading Konrad Porsche ran into problems and we started gaining on it every lap. Sala drove expertly and took the Porsche for the lead, bringing the car home for Car 10's second win of the day.
Derek Kemp, Team Manager states: 'Someone once said "We came, we saw, we conquered - that's how we feel today. It's been a very satisfying weekend at this beautiful street circuit and we will be looking in to whether we can pull a budget together to complete the Spanish series. As far as Vila do Conde is concerned, with fine drivers and two fine results, we could have asked for little more'.
Chamberlain Motorsport race again this weekend at the FIA GT event at Zolder, Belgium.
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