PORTIMAO - It has not been an easy weekend for Mad Croc Racing in the Portuguese Algarve during the 7th round of the FIA GT1 World Championship. The #11 Mad Croc Racing Corvette C6.R of Xavier Maassen and French newcomer Julien Jousse was quick throughout the whole weekend, but two difficult pit stops made a good result impossible. A seventh and fourteenth place did not reflect what the drivers were capable of. Pertti Kuismanen and Laurent Cazenave, finished in 17th and 16th after a trouble free weekend.

Qualifying

With an 11th and 15th spot on the starting grid of the qualifying race, feelings were mixed in the Mad Croc Racing team. Xavier Maassen (11th): “In order to avoid possible starting incidents, it’s always better to be more at front, but our position is our position, so we have to deal with it. We will try to make the best out of it and a top‐6 is the aim.”

Laurent Cazenave (15th): “I’m new to this championship, so I’m happy with my performance, I survived the first session of qualifying and that’s ok to me.”

Race 1

After the magnificent win of the Dutch Mad Crocs Xavier Maassen and Jos Menten in Spa, the Dutch pairing showed up at the German Nürburgring for the sixth round of the FIA GT1 World Championship with high hopes, just as the Finish paring Mika Salo and Pertti Kuismanen.

But sport is not only about success, but also about fighting back after a defeat. “And that’s what we will have to do in Portugal for the next round of the FIA GT1 World Championship”, explains Patrick Selleslagh, team manager of the #12 Mad Croc Corvette C6.R of Mika Salo and Pertti Kuismanen. “We can not be satisfied with a 15th and 23rd position in the races, that’s for sure. “So can’t we, with two 18th places”, tells a very honest Xavier Maassen in the black and red box of the Mad Croc Racing Team after the German weekend.

QUALIFYING

Spa-Francorchamps. The Dutch pairing Jos Menten and Xavier Maassen in corvette #11 scored a first pole and a maiden victory for Mad Croc Racing in the FIA GT1 World Championship on the legendary Belgian track Spa-Francorchamps.

On Friday morning the #11 Corvette was fastest in qualifying, so the Mad Croc Corvette started on pole for the first race of the weekend. Jos Menten: “It’s nice to be back again, and nice to see that the other car I drove is also so good. It was a late call, and to go with someone who lives 30 km from me is also nice, we can speak the same dialect. To be on pole and to come here is always nice. Normally I don’t get a hotel here because I live an hour from the track, but yesterday it finished at 1 am, and this morning, back at 7, so it was a bit tiring. But being on pole, I don’t feel so tired anymore.” The #12 sister car of Oliver Gavin and Pertti Kuismanen finished in 16th position.

PAUL RICARD – FRANCE. The fourth round of the FIA GT1 World Championship took place this weekend at the beautiful and modern site of Paul Ricard in the very hot south of France. Xavier Maassen and Mike Hezemans (#11 Mad‐Croc Corvette C6.R) finished as high as fourth in the first FIA GT1 World Championship race of the weekend and the Dutch driver pairing scored good points with a sixth spot in the Championship Race on Sunday in front of a delighted crowd. Pertti Kuismanen and Oliver Gavin (#12 Mad‐Croc Corvette C6.R) ended up in 19th position, just like in the Saturday’s race. In FIA GT3, the Mad‐Croc Racing Ford GT3 of Christoffer Nygaard and Mikko Eskelinen came home in a fine 11th on Sunday, after a good race.

Belgian Selleslagh Racing Team finished as high as 2^nd in LM GT1 in the 78^th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend. The Belgian team, managed by Patrick Selleslagh, entered its Corvette C6.R in the Luc Alphand Aventures colours for Dutchman David Hart and French drivers Stephan Grégoire and Jerôme Pollicand. Hart and Grégoire started for the fourth time in Le Mans, while Jerôme Pollicand entered for the 13^th time in the great classic at la Sarthe.

“It was a difficult race, a race we could have won, but second on our debut is of course a great result”, explains Patrick Selleslagh some minutes past 15h00. The white Corvette took the chequered flag only few minutes earlier and thus the first Le Mans of SRT has come to an end.