Spaniard Tutumlu delivered another strong performance in the Car Collection Motorsport-entered Audi R8 LMS shared with Ali Çapan, Dirg Parhofer and Peter Schmidt. The four drivers brought fourth place home in A6-Am class and ranked 8th overall. Tutumlu drove almost six of the 12 hours of racing.
saac Tutumlu achieved a positive result at Circuito de Navarra’s 12 hours, which was held in Los Arcos and counted towards the 24H GT Series. Tutumlu drove for Car Collection Motorsport once again sharing an Audi R8 LMS with Turkish Ali Çapan and German racers Dirg Parhofer and Peter Schmidt.
Tutumlu was in the top-three both in private testing and free practice and qualified 3rd in A6-Am class with a lap time of 1m39.949s. Besides, Tutumlu lined up seventh overall on the starting grid. The 12-hour race, which was split in two parts – 3 hours on Saturday and 9 hours on Sunday-, saw Parhofer completing the first stint before handing over to Tutumlu. The Barcelona native moved into fourth in class and fifth overall, going a lap down in the overall rankings. The remaining nine hours took place on Sunday and Tutumlu and his teammates finished fourth in class and 8th overall. Tutumlu drove almost six of the 12 hours of racing and showed genuine pace lapping in the 1:41s despite a 60-kilogram handicap heavier than other cars.
“I’m pleased with our result. It was a trouble-free race and our Car Collection Motorsport Audi went like a clockwork. I tried my best to help my Bronze-categorized teammates to achieve a good classification. In this regard I’m extremely happy with Ali, because he is making steady, quick progress in terms of performance. So, my coaching is working perfectly with him”, explains Tutumlu. The Spanish driver adds: “I would like to mention that some BoP changes should be made ahead of Imola, as Mercedes and their cars were too much quicker than us. They were creating a lot of torque, gaining five or seven tenths in comparison with us on the main straight. In fact, their amateur drivers were as fast as professional drivers of Porsche, Ferrari and Audi.”