Always Evolving Motorsport driver Sean Walkinshaw says he is targeting podium silverware on his first competitive visit to Misano in Italy next weekend, 3rd/4th October, for the penultimate event of the action-packed Blancpain Sprint Series.
Fresh from an extremely strong outing at Germany’s Nurburgring last Sunday during the final race of the Blancpain Endurance Series, where the team only missed out on a podium result when a couple of Safety Car periods worked against the No.173 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3, the 21-year-old is confident of another front-running performance on his debut at the World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.
“We had great pace last weekend and the aim is for more of the same at Misano”, said the Chipping Norton-based driver, “It’s a different style of track, and it’ll be a new challenge for me, but the car is working so well and the team is doing such an incredible job – I’m sure we’ll be competitive again.
“Everyone came away from the Nurburgring feeling very disappointed with the result after leading the race early on and being as quick as any other car out there. Obviously, the Sprint Series requires a bit of a different approach to the Endurance Series but we know we’ve got the tools for the job.”
Teaming, as ever, with fellow Briton Craig Dolby, Sean is relishing his first visit to Misano where the duo will be striving to achieve their second rostrum finish of the Sprint Series campaign and secure a suitably healthy haul of points.
The first podium came during the second event of the season at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit and, despite some misfortune since then, the team-mates have rarely been away from the thick of the action and will go into the penultimate round 13th in the standings – within 10 points of the top 10.
Adding some extra spice to the Misano weekend, in a change to the normal Sprint Series format, the Qualification Race on the Saturday will be contested during the evening with the encounter getting underway at 20.45 (local time), providing another twist to the challenge facing the competitors.
“It’s going to be fun racing at night again, it all adds something a bit different to the weekend and the Qualification Race is always hugely important”, added Sean, “It’s been a strong season for us up to now and even though the results haven’t always been what we wanted, the performance is there and Craig and I are working really well together. Hopefully we can be back on the podium.”
Free practice ahead of the sixth event of the Blancpain Sprint Series season will take place on Friday, 2nd October, with timed qualifying getting underway at 13.00 (UK time) on Saturday, 3rd October, and the Qualification Race set to begin at 19.45 (UK time).
On Sunday, 4th October, the Main Race will start at 13.00 (UK time) and all of the weekend’s action will be streamed live at: http://www.blancpain-gt-series.com/sprint/live
Provisional 2015 Blancpain Sprint Series Driver Standings:
13th Sean Walkinshaw/Craig Dolby, 20pts