The organizers decided to carry out the second stage of Porsche Carrera Cup France in Italy for some reason, that pleased Tsunami RT very much: the track in Imola – is one of Oleksandr Gaidai's favorite tracks. Gaidai participates in Division B in the French series of Porsche, "gentleman driver" or "Mr. Driver", as the automated translator respectfully says.
The weekend schedule was rather original: two qualifications on Saturday and two races on Sunday. Oleksandr Gaidai demonstrated the best time among "gentlemen" in both free practices and won the first qualification in his classification.
In fairness it must be said that mostly we were with Gaidai in our thoughts this time: the organizers of Porsche Carrera Cup France decided not to strain oneself and organize not only video broadcasting of the race but also the online results. So, we had to restore the chronology of the competition using the information from the team managers directly from the pit wall.
Oleksandr Gaidai was maintaining the leadership in the "Mr. Driver's" category for the first quarter of an hour. But the tires began to run hot on the hot Italian track and... in one unpleasant moment couldn't hold the car on the track: Gaidai changed the style and began to drive sideling. When the viewers in Imola were enjoying the spectacular show, four cars drove forward and the Tsunami RT pilot found himself in a state of overtaking driver.
Or the pressing one. Maybe, that very car of Gaidai looming behind made Christoph Amon nervous and led to his mistake. Only Laurent Pasquali left ahead...
Unfortunately, the 25 minutes of the race ended before Gaidai and Pasquali managed to decide who was faster. Nevertheless, Oleksandr Gaidai won his first cup in the season, that of particular importance after the offensive penalty in Le Mane.
As for the absolute classification, Come Ledogar started from the pole position and didn't cede his leadership to anybody, even to Maxime Jousse who was trying his hardest but lost a lot of time fighting with Nicolas Marroc.
Porsche Carrera Cup France, Imola
Race 1 (overall)
1. LEDOGAR Come (Team Martinet - Alméras) 14 laps
2. JOUSSE Maxime (Sebastien Loeb Racing) +1.456
3. MARROC Nicolas (@Loeb Racing) +3.140
...15. GAIDAI Oleksander (Tsunami RT) +27.536
...24. COUGNAUD Aexandre (Racing Technology) +4 laps
Race 1 (Division B)
1. PASQUALI Laurent (Imsa Performance Matmut) 14 laps
2. GAIDAI Oleksander (Tsunami RT) +1.046
3. LAPIERRE Christophe (@Loeb Racing) +3.453
...9. CATTANEO Marc (Team Martinet-Almeras) +3 laps
The second race was much more complicated. May, midday, Italy – from these factors we can judge on the temperature in the cabin of the racing Porsche by themselves. Besides, Oleksandr Gaidai started from the fifth position in the "Mr. Driver" category that time due to the too hard braking in the second qualification that damaged both the kit of tires and the end result.
O. Gaidai: "It happened that I stuck in the group of pilots on the positions from 12th to 17th. I had faster pace but it was very difficult to overrun on this track".
Nevertheless, Oleksandr was confidently winning back positions one by one. The result is one more cup in the Tsunami RT collection, bronze this time!
O. Gaidai: "It's not a bad result, not we counted on and not the way I can drive as a matter of principle. If I had had two first places, I would have considered that everything passed as it was supposed to! Maybe, I had very high demands to myself in the second race and it was more efforts than it had to be. But at least these are two podiums in one weekend!"
Porsche Carrera Cup France, Imola
Race 2 (overall)
1. DILLMANN Tom (RMS) 20 laps
2. LEDOGAR Come (Team Martinet - Alméras) +4.052
3. ANTUNES Jimmy (Imsa Performance Matmut) +5.494
...11. GAIDAI Oleksander (Tsunami RT) +35.097
...22. DE NARDA Joffrey (@Loeb Racing) +4 laps
Race 1 (Division B)
1. GLORIEUX Jean (Speed Lover) 20 laps
2. PASQUALI Laurent (Imsa Performance Matmut) +0.434
3. GAIDAI Oleksander (Tsunami RT) +4.306
...8. CATTANEO Marc (Team Martinet-Almeras) +2 laps
So, in "Mr. Driver" overall classification Oleksandr Gaidai moved from the sixth position to the third one. Two weeks left to the next stage of Porsche Carrera Cup. But the race in Ledenon coincides with the stage of Porsche Carrera Cup Italy in Monza! What will Tsunami RT team choose? Follow our news!