Saturday 31 May: GT Asia Series Update & Streaming Video

31 May 2014

We came into the first race at the GT Asia Series at the Autopolis Circuit starting from position 13 after Dilantha Malagamuwa’s qualifying session. Our strategy was for Dilantha to start the race and for me to jump into the car at our pit stop to finish the race.

Nathan-Antunes-GT-Asia-Dilango-Racing-Lamborghini-GT3

The start was very busy. I could hardly watch the TV screens as the field roared into turn one. Dilantha kept the Dilango Racing Lamborghini out of trouble and we settled into position 12. With our pit stop about to happen he was sitting about 15 seconds off the leaders. One minute before the pit window opened the safety car was deployed because of a car stopped on circuit. This played into our hands really well because it bunched the field up nice and close, so that we were able to gain an advantage in the pit stop.

The race restarted without dramas but because of a little pit lane confusion Dilantha came in 2 laps too late according to our strategy, which meant I had less time to claw some time back from the leaders when I got into the car. I jumped in and it was head down and game on.

My pace was really good. My 1st flying lap was 2 seconds faster than anyone else on the track. The way it was looking we were heading for a podium position and an excellent result for Dilango Racing and Lamborghini. But this wasn’t to be. About 10 minutes from the end of the race, I had warning lights flashing telling me the engine oil pressure was low and I was forced to slow right down and head back into the pits to prevent a possible engine blow out.

We were forced into retirement and didn’t finish the race.

After a thorough check up back in the pits, it became clear that there was irreparable damage and an engine change was needed.

The car feels good so with a fresh engine and we will have a fresh start for the second race tomorrow. I will start the race this time from the front row of the grid and am very excited for what will be a great race I’m sure.

Watch today’s opening race at Autopolis on video and follow me on Facebook for ongoing updates.