Minda Motorsport Press Release
Minda Motorsport Audi
R8 LMS GT3
Rnd#3, Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
Phillip Island, Victoria (24-26 May)
Rnd#3, Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
Phillip Island, Victoria (24-26 May)
Three
rounds into the 2013 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli, Minda
Motorsport’s reigning Trophy Class champions continue to punch above their
weight in the Equity-One Audi R8 LMS. Team-mates Dean Koutsoumidis and Andrew
McInnes continue to improve with every outing to be right in the championship
fight amongst an array of much newer 2013-specification cars.
“We weren’t
sure what to expect from the ‘upgrade’ from the Lamborghini we ran last season
to the newer specification 2011 Audi R8 LMS, especially given the large number
of new and upgraded cars we are competing against this year,” Dean Koutsoumidis
explained. “But so far, we’ve been able to mix it with some of the newer cars
and be right in the thick of the action, and here we are at the mid-point of
the season, and we’re doing very nicely thank you very much!”
Despite
almost three months since the Adelaide round with the V8 Supercars, the team
had been able to turn some practice laps during test sessions at Phillip Island,
with both drivers ‘in the groove’ ahead of the Phillip Island round, although by race day, Andrew McInnes was lamenting a lack
of time in the car..
“Our
arrangement is that whoever is the slower driver after qualifying buys dinner
for the team that night,” McInnes explained. “Dean drove in two of the three
practice sessions, the sponsor ride session and qualifying, and now he’s
faster, so it’s my shout.. #&*%!”
Despite the
unpredictable nature of the Phillip Island venue at this time of year, race one
provided cool but dry conditions, although with a 3:55pm start under cloud
cover, the fading light was always going to provide an added level of
intensity.
Off the
fourth row, alongside F3 star James Winslow in the 2012-spec Audi R8 ultra of
Rod Salmon (the former car owner of the #71 R8 LMS), Dean made a great start to
be in the thick of the battle over fourth position, although far enough back
not to be caught up in Justin McMillan’s wild spin on the exit of the final
corner on lap two.
From there
he sat comfortably, not too far off the battle for fourth, to be sixth by the
time he was due in for his compulsory pit stop [CPS]. Andrew rejoined in eighth
position, but was quickly through on Jim Manolios and Rod Salmon to take over
sixth, which became fifth after points leader Klark Quinn stopped again after
damaging a tyre.
“That’s not
a bad result,” Koutsoumidis grinned post-race. “It was nice to see Andrew have
a bit of a go for a change.. [laughs].”
Clearly
fired up by his team-mate’s comments, McInnes fired off the line in race two to
give the recovering Justin McMillan and Ferrari’s Peter Edwards something to
think about, the #71 Audi filling the mirrors of the two 2013-spec cars all the
way to the pit stop, handing the car over to Koutsoumidis in fifth place.
Dean
rejoined the race in seventh, which quickly became sixth after the demise of
Roger Lago’s Lamborghini, but during his stint he was caught and passed by
Winslow in Rod Salmon’s Audi, the Equity-One/Minda Motorsport Audi crossing the
line in seventh place for more valuable championship points.
“The car
was faultless all weekend,” Dean acknowledged afterwards. “It didn’t put a
wheel wrong, and our lap times improved with almost every session. Consistency
really is the key for us this year because we just don’t have the outright aero
grip of the newer cars, but we’re always there, and with three rounds still to
come, we’re still in the points race!”
For the Minda
Motorsport team the next round of the championship will come in six weeks time
at Sydney Motorsport Park (Eastern Creek) on July 12-14.
2013 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
Rnd#3, Phillip Island - Qualifying [May 25]
01. 36. Jack Le Brocq - Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 [CHAMP] - 1:26.5248R
02. 88. John Bowe - Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 [CHAMP] - 1:27.4308
03. 7. Tony Quinn - Aston Martin Vantage GT3 [CHAMP] - 1:28.0291
04. 23. Roger Lago - Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 GT3 [CHAMP] - 1:28.8855
05. 48. Justin McMillan - Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+ GT3 [CHAMP] - 1:29.0617
06. 1. Klark Quinn - Porsche GT3-R [CHAMP] - 1:29.1267
07. 71. Dean Koutsoumidis - Audi R8 LMS GT3 [CHAMP] - 1:30.5255
08. 6. Rod Salmon - Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra [CHAMP] - 1:31.3387
09. 75. Steve McLaughlan - Dodge Viper Competition Coupé [TROPHY] - 1:33.9012
10. 29. Jim Manolios - Chevrolet Corvette Z06.R [CHAMP] - 1:35.9553
Race #1 [May 25]
01. 36. Jack Le Brocq - Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 [CHAMP] - 39-laps
02. 7. Tony Quinn - Aston Martin Vantage GT3 [CHAMP]
03. 23. Roger Lago - Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 GT3 [CHAMP]
04. 88. John Bowe/Peter Edwards - Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 [CHAMP]
05. 71. Dean Koutsoumidis/Andrew McInnes - Audi R8 LMS GT3 [CHAMP] - 38-laps
06. 6. Rod Salmon/James Winslow - Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra [CHAMP]
07. 1. Klark Quinn - Porsche GT3-R [CHAMP] - 36-laps
08. 19. Mark Griffith/Jack Perkins - Ginetta G50 GT4 [Sport]
09. 29. Jim Manolios - Chevrolet Corvette Z06.R [CHAMP]
10. 73 Michael Hovey - Ginetta G50 GT4 [Sport] - 35-laps
Race #2 [May 26]
01. 36. Jack Le Brocq - Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 [CHAMP]- 38-laps
02. 7. Tony Quinn - Aston Martin Vantage GT3 [CHAMP]
03. 1. Klark Quinn - Porsche GT3-R [CHAMP]
04. 88. John Bowe/Peter Edwards - Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 [CHAMP]
05. 48. Justin McMillan - Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+ GT3 [CHAMP]
06. 6. Rod Salmon/James Winslow - Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra [CHAMP]
07. 71. Dean Koutsoumidis/Andrew McInnes - Audi R8 LMS GT3 [CHAMP] - 37-laps
08. 75. Steve McLaughlan - Dodge Viper Competition Coupé [TROPHY] - 36-laps
09. 29. Jim Manolios - Chevrolet Corvette Z06.R [CHAMP]
10. 19. Mark Griffith/Jack Perkins - Ginetta G50 GT4 [Sport]
A highlights package will be televised on SBS Speedweek on Sunday, June 9 from 2:00pm AEST (check local guides for confirmation).
Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
GT Championship points (after round three of six)
1. Klark Quinn (195 points), 2. Tony Quinn (141), 3. Roger Lago (135), 4. Craig Baird (133), 5. Peter Edwards/John Bowe (118), 6. Dean Koutsoumidis/Andrew McInnes (115), 7. Justin McMillan (111), 8. Jack Le Brocq (110), 9. Jim Manolios (70), 10. Rod Salmon (65), 11. Christian Klien (70), 12. Andrew Taplin (59), 13. Shane Van Gisbergen/Matt Kingsley (54)
2013 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli - calendar
Rnd#1, 8-10 February - Bathurst 12-Hour, NSW
Rnd#2, 28 Feb - 3 March - Clipsal, Adelaide, SA
Rnd#3, 24-26 May - Phillip Island, Victoria
Rnd#4, 12-14 July - Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW
Rnd#5, 2-4 August - Queensland Raceway, Ipswich, QLD
Rnd#6, 8-10 November - Highland Motorsport Park, NZ
Minda
Motorsport is proudly supported by Equity-One Mortgage Fund.
For more
information, please contact Minda Motorsport on 03 5995 3943.
Photo credit: Melbourne Performance Centre / Minda Motorsport
