Fast Kiwis rue bad luck
The Kiwi pairing of William Exton and Tom Bewley clinched two top-15 results in the ADAC GT4 Germany weekend at the Nürburgring.
After a 13th-place finish in the opening one-hour race of the event, they had been hoping for a top-five spot in the August 18 contest before early contact with another car dropped them down the field.
Exton, who did the first 30 minutes of driving, avoided any first-lap dramas and settled into 10th spot as a pack of vehicles vied for positions from fourth through to 12th.
A safety car after seven minutes meant another busy restart and Exton looked comfortable as he moved up to ninth but with 10 minutes to go in his stint, he was sent into a spin by another car and slipped back to 19th.
He managed to fight his way back up to 13th in the KCMG GR Supra GT4 EVO before his pit stop.
Bewley re-emerged in 17th for his half hour of racing and at the chequered flag claimed 15th spot.
Nicolas Caillol, Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand motorsport manager, says: “Another frustrating day for the drivers given they definitely were able to match the pace of the leaders.
“A top 10 was easily on without the early incident and the various safety car periods.
“While the result doesn’t reflect their speed, the boys can be very satisfied with their performance on debut in one of the most competitive GT4 series in the world. Overall, it’s been a great week.”
Exton and Bewley were also left to rue their luck the day before in the first one-hour battle at the Nürburgring.
The circuit’s unpredictable weather hit the race, which was a new experience for both drivers, but they showed impressive speed in the wet to be near the head of the field.
However, a full course yellow when they were mid-pit stop put paid to any chances of success and they finished in 13th.
Bewley was first behind the wheel and came in for his pit stop in seventh but a lengthy full course yellow meant Exton took the restart in 14th and only had 12 minutes of race time left.
He clocked a series of fast times and managed to gain one extra spot before the end of the race.
Caillol says a top 10 result and even a top five spot had looked achievable before the full course yellow.
Bewley adds it was a disappointing outcome, “but that’s motor racing”.
“We knew what we had to do and we were there on pace, so all we can do is learn from that and look ahead,” he says.
The competition concludes a week-long spell in Germany for Exton and Bewley, which also included a visit to Toyota Gazoo Racing’s facility in Cologne and the chance to try the organisation’s bespoke simulator.
