Faster Than Speed endured a troublesome season finale at Interlagos, as Patrick De Wit picked up another retirement after losing control and hitting the barriers while fighting for 5th.
Giuseppe Marconi had issues after a great opening stint and ended the Brazilian GP with fire coming out of his engine in the final metres, but was able to crawl to the checkered flag.
In the World Championship division, Patrick De Wit was just able to get into the top-ten Pole shootout after setting the 10th fastest time in the Q1 session. Team-mate Giuseppe Marconi qualified 20th. In Q2, Patrick was 8th quickest despite his conservative tyre choice.
Patrick made yet another good start, pulling off good moves on Room and Hirrle during the first lap to move up to 6th. Giuseppe also moved up two places, with a nice overtaking move on Disley on the opening lap. Patrick soon started to challenge Gosbee for 5th, with Hirrle also pressuring Patrick from behind. Patrick made a few moves on Gosbee but was unable to complete them successfully. After some tough defending from Gosbee, he ended up being passed by Hirrle, and lost control of his FTS-P11 inmediately afterwards, ending his 2011 season in the Senna S barriers.
Giuseppe had a better first half of the race, showing good rhythm and an excellent move on Kostadinov into Turns 7 and 8 after joining the big battle for P10. He ran as high as 10th before pitting, but two off-track excursions after having to avoid another driver while on worn tyres, with his engine cutting out, dropped him to 14th. He eventually saw the checkered flag in 13th place, but not without further drama, as an engine failure left his powerplant on fire metres before the finish line. He was able to slowly cross the line to end the team's season.
FTS finished the season in 9th place with 31 points. Faster Than Speed closes an up-and-down season, with some golden opportunities missed after showing very strong pace in several races. Patrick De Wit's Monaco podium and his Pole Positions at Monaco and Hungary were the team's highlights this year.
Giuseppe Marconi (13th): "Had a good first half of the race with some fun battles with Disley and Kostadinov even if they ended with incidents. In the lap of the pitstop with a damaged suspension and the tyres finished I had two spins which stalled my engine. Fortunately Interlagos with its climbs helped me to start it again. Second half of the race I drove easily to the finish, saving engine, even if I lost it right before the flag, and I was able to cross the finish line in neutral. Waiting for rFactor 2! I want thank Christian for his work and effort during the season, Patrick for his unlucky season and I would like to wish everyone a good winter pause."
Patrick De Wit (DNF): "I had fun this race, but we were just short in pace. Great that this year I had two Pole Positions and a podium at Monaco. Performance wise, those and Spain were the highlights. In this race, just managed top 10 in Q1 then 8th in Q2, not bad. Then a great start, from 8th to 6th on lap 1. Had great fights with Gosbee and my former team-mate Hirrle. Then after Hirrle passed me, I ran too wide and crashed, and that was it. Have a great winter all!"
In the World Series, Giuseppe Marconi unfortunately had a very short race after setting the 7th fastest time in the Q2 session. In the race start, he had to take avoiding action not to run into the car of De Matos, who lost a tyre in an incident ahead, but ended hitting the barriers as a consequence.
With the season now over, we would like to congratulate the 2011 champions: Bono Huis, Jeffrey Rietveld and Eduard Mallorqui, and the winning teams, Precision Motorsports and GT Omega Racing.
Please stay tuned for news on our 2012 FSR campaign and the FTS-P12 challenger! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and announcements! Also, you can now circle us on Google+! Have a nice break and... bring on 2012!
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Faster Than Speed
Press Release
http://www.fts-racing.net
