Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport took their #12 BMW M4 to third at the iconic Belgian racing circuit.
Following a difficult weekend at Paul Ricard, the team at Borusan Otomotiv were hoping for better results at Spa.
In qualifying, Tom brought the car home in P36 which would be the starting position for race 1. Berkay qualified in P3 which would be the starting position for race 2. The team had their work cut out for them in race 1 but had a great opportunity awaiting them in race 2.
Race 1
Out first, Tom knew he had to make a strong start to give him a chance of moving up the grid. He delivered on this, gaining a huge five positions on the first lap. Maintaining pace, Tom continued to climb the grid on the second lap, getting up to P29 when an early safety car came out.
With two cars needing collecting and cement dust going down to soak up spills, there wouldn’t be a chance to overtake for over 10 minutes until the safety car finally came in.
Over the next few laps Tom would pick off his targets, making his way up to P26, where he would stay until the pit window opened. Coming in about half way through the pit window, the team hoped that a fast pit stop earlier than the cars further up the field would give them a chance to keep moving forward.
The strategy worked, with all cars back on track Berkay was in P22, four positions up from when the pit window opened. Now he could push even further up the grid. After only two laps he was already in P17 and still advancing until another incident brought out full course yellow flags and another safety car, again eating into racing time.
With only 8 minutes of racing remaining, getting a good restart was vital to make up any more positions. Getting up to P12 on the first lap post safety car, the top ten were in sight. A fantastic effort in the closing stage of the race saw Berkay move even further up the order, finishing the race in P6 overall, P5 in class.
Race 2
Conditions changed overnight as rain and fog set in, creating a much cooler track and a race starting with everyone on wet tyres behind the safety car.
Lining up in P3 to start, Berkay made an early overtake on the first lap, putting space behind him and keeping pace with P1. With conditions proving difficult, a safety car was soon called out so that cars could be safely collected.
The subsequent bunching up of the grid gave the Mercedes-AMG in P3 the chance to catch up. Undeterred, Berkay pushed on, keeping pace with P1 as further safety cars delayed the pit window. As racing restarted once again, he took the lead of the race at Pouhon and would keep the lead into the pit window.
A late pit stop put Tom in the car with only 20 minutes to go, exiting the pit lane in the lead. Now learning how to drive Spa in the wet for the first time, he would see his lead reduced over the first half of his stint.
Finding a line with better traction, the Toyota Supra of Potty was able to pull ahead leaving Tom to battle the Audi of Lariche. Defending hard, he used the slippery curbs to put a stop to Lariche’s advances for another lap before eventually conceding the position.
Following as closely as he could, the opportunity to retake the position wouldn’t present itself and Tom crossed the line in P3.
Tom:
I’m happy with our weekend at Spa, it’s great to be back on the podium. The start of the weekend didn’t go to plan, in qualifying I lacked pace and just couldn’t quite piece a lap together. Thankfully come race 1 I was much quicker and we made up a combined 30 places.
Having to learn Spa in the wet from the start of my stint and in the lead of the race in race 2 was tough, one of my most stressful moments in a race car. Being in the lead for so long and then letting people pass me is always a bit disappointing, especially given Berkay’s efforts to put us in the lead, but I can take that away and learn from it. That said, I am happy with my performance and we still managed to get on the podium which always feels amazing, especially at a track like Spa.
Everyone at Borusan Otomotiv was fantastic once again and I look forward to joining them all in Misano next week.
