Tom began his GT4 European Championship campaign over the weekend, achieving a 2nd and a 3rd place in the opening two races.
The opening round of the GT4 European Championship took place over the weekend at Monza, the so-called ‘Temple of Speed’.
Following some fast times in testing, Tom and teammate Berkay Besler struggled in qualifying, starting the first race in 19th.
Out first, Berkay had the task of pushing forward and staying out of trouble, not an easy task when you are in the middle of a 50 car grid hurtling towards the chicane at turn 1.
Over the course of his stint, Berkay delivered, picking off his targets one by one. A red flag half way into his stint provided an opportunity to move further up the field. Keeping up with those in front, Berkay would bring the car in to the pits in 5th.
Now in the car, as the pit window closed, Tom was 7th. Charging forward, he was 5th after only a couple of laps, with podium positions well within sight. A safety car would provide him the opportunity, bunching up the grid and closing the gap in front of him.
As the race restarted, Tom followed the BMW of Piana past the Aston Martin of Carton, now only one place away from podium. The following lap would see him pull off a daring double-overtake on the pit straight, on the inside line 3-wide at the entrance to the chicane.
Now second, Tom could focus on chasing down the Audi of Consani. Putting in consistently fast lap times (regularly entering the 1:56 bracket), he was able to open a gap behind him as he closed in on first place. With under 5 minutes to go, an opportunity arose that saw Tom attempt a move into the chicane, only to be squeezed wide at the runoff, gave the position back, temporarily slipping back to third for a corner, before finding himself back in front of the BMW of Piana.
Unfortunately time ran out before an opportunity to take 1st arose, but only 1 second covered the top three and Tom could take his place on the 2nd step of the podium.
Race 2
Out first and starting 13th, Tom was eager to replicate his success from the previous day.
A strong start brought 8th place by the end of the first lap, then next few laps consisted of a battle with the McLaren Artura of Emson, before the Audi of Consani rejoined the race following a tyre change a lap down right infront of Tom.
Making the move to overtake, Tom managed to pull ahead of the Artura, which would take longer to get past the lapped Audi and spin on the following lap, giving some breathing room.
Still with a gap in front of him, it was important to keep putting in consistent lap times in order to catch up. A few laps later and that’s exactly what he had done, now on the back of a train that went from second to seventh. Down the main straight Tom made a move on an Alpine, taking him to 6th with a chance to keep moving up the field.
Maintaining position, an opportunity came a few laps later at Parabolica, where he started a move that couldn’t quite be cemented in time. Back in position, Tom was hot on the heels of the Porsche of Lefterov, trying to force a mistake with 15 minutes of the 1-hour race ran.
Both missing the chicane at turn one, they went through the runoff together, Tom in front but giving the position back in an echo of the events a day prior. The move came at the end of that lap as Tom went around the outside at Parabolica.
The straight line speed of the Audi R8 was no match for the new BMW M4, with another position gained to 4th where he would remain until he handed to car back to Berkay.
As the pit window closed, the team had maintained their position and it wasn’t long before a move was made up to 3rd on the straight.
Chasing down 2nd, Berkay wasn’t quite able to catch up in time and crossed the line in 3rd.
A second podium put Tom and Berkay 2nd in the championship after the first weekend, making a strong statement at the beginning of the championship.
Tom:
I’m very pleased with my weekend at Monza. To come away with a 2nd and a 3rd is a very strong start to our season.
We’re second in the championship, hopefully we will be able to build on this momentum and carry it through the rest of the year. Racing in this series is a huge milestone in my career and if I can keep this up it will be even more important.
The BMW that Borusan provided was very fast, I cannot thank them enough for their efforts across the weekend. I think I performed very well throughout the weekend, especially cutting through the traffic, and I’m very proud of my results.
