Martin Kodric takes thrilling first victory in Blancpain GT Series Asia at Suzuka to extend lead at the top

Tuesday
03
July 2018
at
Suzuka
with
Croatian racer Martin Kodric took his first win in the Blancpain GT Series Asia at Suzuka to extend his overall and Silver Cup championship leads this weekend (30 June-1 July).

The FFF Racing Team by ACM driver finished on the podium for the third time this season after a brilliant first race with teammate Dennis Lind.But they finally got the win their consistently high performances deserved in the second 60-minute race.

The pacey pair bought the #19 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 home to take victory by 2s and now lead both the overall Championship and Silver Cup by 19 points at the half way stage.

The ADD Management driver, 21, said: “It was a great weekend. It was our first time on the track, so we knew it would be tough. “But we were feeling confident after our earlier podiums and would have won the first race if it wasn’t for the success penalty from finishing second in Thailand.“So we felt the win in the second race was what we deserved.“I made a really good start and made sure I maintained our pace before Dennis brought it home. 

“The team did a great job and we are now in a really good position in the Championship at the half way point.”

After podiums on the first two weekends, the FFF Racing team were in a confident mood coming into rounds five and six.They were fast in the free practice sessions before qualifying in second and fifth.Lind was first out in Race One, setting off from second place and taking the lead from the start.While he extended the lead before pitting, finishing second in Thailand meant the team were given a 10-second success penalty, with Martin therefore exiting in third.Despite a great race and his best attempts to push on, he settled for finishing in the same position and the podium, just 3.4 seconds behind the winner – a brilliant effort considering the success penalty. 

Martin Kodric: "It was great to get the win we all felt had been coming, especially after getting so near before."

Martin lined up in fifth in the second race and made a great start, getting alongside his Lamborghini Huracan teammate Mapelli.But rather than make any rash moves he opted to maintain his pace and place until a crash ahead saw a long safety car period.Lind took over and was soon into second, before another safety car period - which led to the leader following the safety car into the pits by mistake, leaving Lind to take the victory.It now leaves the team 19 points clear in both the overall Championship and Silver Cup, with Japan’s Fuji Speedway circuit next up on 21-22 July.Martin added: “Dennis was catching the leader anyway, but it was great to get the win we all felt had been coming, especially after getting so near before.“It’s nice to extend our lead at the top now. We feel really positive for the rest of the season. We just have to keep this form going and hopefully stay where we are!”