It was weekend of "Oh so close" for the BGR Team Grote squad this past weekend at the opening rounds of the 2011 Formula Tour 1600 Series. While weather played a major role in the weekends proceedings the action on track was fast and furious. New Zealand racer Chris Vlok took very little time to get up to speed at the beautiful Mont Tremblant track and with a talented field on hand qualified his BGR prepped VanDieman 5th for round 1. He ran in that position for much of the race but on the 8th lap of the 12 lap race he had contact with another racer that left him on the sidelines for the remainder of the race.
Rebounding nicely though, Chris continued to impress as he put in another excellent qualifying performance and lined up P3 for the Sunday feature. Learning the tricks of rolling starts for the first time this past weekend he ran 3rd for the first stint of the race holding onto the 2 lead cars and building a slight advantage over 4th. A full course yellow would wipe-out his gap to 4th and the restart saw him drop a couple of spots. He quickly regained his position and once again started to build an advantage over 4th. A second full course caution had a similar result, however with the last lap starting and Chris fighting for a potential 4th place he was hit from behind on the final corner and put into a spin. He recovered quickly but the damage was done as he crossed the line in 12th position.
"Not the results we wanted or deserved but we know we have a very competitive driver for the remainder of the season. Without the yellows we would have had a likely podium but we are still proud of Chris and the job he did this weekend. He has a tough road ahead of him to continue to learn new tracks and build his knowledge but we are very confident he is up to the task." commented team principal Brian Graham.
Chris and the rest of BGR Team Grote return to action for the Canadian Grand Prix FF support race June 10-12. To learn more about BGR Team Grote visit the team website at www.briangrahamracing.com
No comments:
Post a Comment