BMW Team SRM Australian GT Review – R5

EVENT

Round 5, 2018 CAMS Australian GT Championship, Sydney Motorsport Park, Sydney

SUMMARY

BMW Team SRM had a positive weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park, with another consistent run in qualifying and the races across the two-day event.

Qualifying started Friday on a positive note when Steve Richards went on to set the second fastest time in the opening session before Ricky Capo finished sixth in the second qualifying session aboard the #100 BMW M6 GT3. Richards’ time was good enough to get the pair second spot on the grid for the first race that afternoon.

Richards made a solid start to the opening race on Friday and ran second throughout his opening stint before handing over to Capo at the mid-way point, where a long compulsary pit stop time dropped them down the order before the youngster charged his way back into sixth by race end and eighth after receiving a 10 second post-race penalty. Capo started things off in Race 2 before the compulsory pit stop again dropped them down the order, forcing Richards into an aggressive drive back into the top 10. A late race safety car put pay to any further progress and the pair remained in ninth position. Richards continued his charge in the final race on Saturday afternoon, running as high as sixth during his stint before Capo took charge for the final half and battled hard to grab fifth in the final standings.

The team worked well during the entire weekend and showed genuine speed in the Laser Plumbing & Electrical BMW M6 GT3. Richards now sits third in the championship standings, 37 points behind the leader.

DRIVER QUOTES

Steve Richards:

“That’s the best we’ve ever qualified, so that’s a good sign, and our car was very strong in the first and third sectors all weekend.
“I’m really happy with how the team went though and we all pulled together to overcome the driver seeding and pit stop times as best we could. For the most part the car was competitive and you can see the gains we’ve made this year.
“Hampton Downs is the next round and we’re looking forward to that. We’re improving, we’re still well-placed in the championship and we head to New Zealand with a chance.”

Ricky Capo:

“It’s always hard when you go into a technical track like this and only have 10 or 15 minutes to practice, so I think we can be happy with our race and qualifying pace.
“We made some gains in terms of speed which is positive, and by the end of the weekend I was really starting to feel comfortable in the car.
“I’ve enjoyed my time with the team, it’s been great. I hope I can get back for more rounds next year.”

NEXT EVENT

CAMS Australian GT Championship, Round 6 at Hampton Downs on October 13-14.