A 20-second penalty in the second race cost Aditya Patel and his co-driver Cesar Campanico a good result as they finished in the sixth place after securing eighth position in the opening race of the International GT Open Series, here today.
Campanico Qualified fifth for race one while Patel who is sponsored by JK Tyres, Audi India and Amante had qualified sixth for race two.
Campanico started race one and handed over the the car to the Indian whilst running fifth. However, a decision to change tyres during the pitstop worked against Patel and he lost a further three places on the opening lap, bringing the car home in a fine 8th place.
Race two however was a different story. This time it was the Audi India driver who started the race in 6th place and continued to hold his position till the pitstops. Campanico then took over and moved up to third place and began to fight for the lead.
The team was given a 20 second time penalty as it was found that Campanico left the pitlane ahead of the stipulated time. In the end, they finished a strong 6th place.
"It wasn't an easy weekend for both of us since we haven't done any pre season testing. Anyhow, to be able to fight for a win in race two was pretty incredible. I have to hand it to team Novadriver and Cesar for being able to bring us on pace in such short time.
"It may not have been the best weekend in the end but that's racing. We know we can fight for wins and that will be our aim for the season," said Patel after the second race.
The next race is in Portimao, Portugal on June 8.
