The sixth and final round of the Blancpain GT Series Asia took place last weekend at the brand new Zhejiang Circuit, which lies just outside the city of Shaoxing, in the Zhejiang province of China. Ban Chang based racing driver Sandy Stuvik would have a new German teammate yet again, this time in the form of Christopher Dreyspring who has been contesting the European Super Trofeo Pro/Am Championship with VSR this season.
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As the format was slightly changed for this final weekend of the Blancpain GT Series, Friday would consist of 2 practice sessions and the Qualifying sessions and Stuvik used the practice sessions well to get used to the all new tight and twisty circuit.
In Qualifying 1 Dreypsring took a surprising pole position for the team, meaning they would start Saturday’s race from the front of the grid. Stuvik managed to go faster still, but in the tougher Qualifying 2 session, this meant the squad would start from 10th position on Sunday’s race.
Race 1 on Saturday took place in wet conditions. The rookie Dreyspring got off to a great start and could defend his position in the early stages. As the others began to catch him again, the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 never seemed to develop the pace of the cars around it and Dreyspring handed the car over to Stuvik in 3rd place. However, a problem with the locking mechanism on the door meant that the team lost 12 seconds in the pits, dropping them down to 7th as the Thai driver exited the pit lane.
Once out on the track, Stuvik struggled to find grip in the wet conditions that he is usually famously quick in, and at the end of the race he managed to salvage 1 point for 10th position.
A post-race investigation conducted by the team to find the reason for this lack of pace discovered a crucial piece of information which could give them an edge in Sunday’s wet-forecasted finale.
Come Sunday Race 2, the team had implemented the changes to the set-up and the results were soon to become clear. Stuvik started the race from 10th position and steadily kept the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 in the hunt for a Top-5 place. Visibility was very limited due to the spray being given off by the cars in front, which made the race extra hazardous. Stuvik continued fighting and handed the car over to Dreyspring for the final stint. The young German driver performed well and brought the car home in 5th position.
This would mark the end of Stuvik’s first year in GT racing, with some great performances and a wealth of knowledge acquired. The Thai driver is now more confident to hunt for race wins and the championship in the GT class for the 2018 season.
