Starting as they intend to continue, Eurasia Motorsport today (1 July, 2017) claimed a debut victory in the inaugural FRD LMP3 Series at Zhejiang, China.
Fielding the #3 Ligier for Martin Cao and Garnet Patterson and the #91 for Julio Acosta and Dan Wells, the team had high expectations for the race weekend at this brand-new facility and certainly delivered with Cao and Patterson recording a stunning debut win.
The new series kicked off with an hour Friday practice session, a chance for all four drivers to adapt to the Ligier and the new Chinese venue and to test the new equipment to seek the correct setup.
The first round of qualifying saw Cao record a best lap of 1:28.432, a solid fourth on the grid while Acosta was seventh fastest, setting things up nicely for the first race.
The start saw Cao make a great getaway from the line, immediately gaining two positions to run second behind the #33 S&D. Lap 9 saw Cao take the lead a position he retained until pitting on lap 18. Once the stops had cycle through, Patterson was back at the front of the field, a position he maintained superbly until the red flags flew for rain on lap 23.
The sister #91 entry suffered from radio issues and subsequently pitted out of the pit stop window, meaning that the duo lost a lap and Wells took the chequered flag in 11th position.
“We’re thrilled with this result,” said team principal Mark Goddard. “It’s the perfect start to our campaign in this series and underlines our strength and depth in all forms of racing. Martin made a great start and that was a key to the race. Garnet then took over and controlled the pace at the front of the field. Now we look forward to the second race!”
