Walter Grubmuller endured a frustrating second weekend in the British F3 International Series at
Donington Park after a strong qualifying performance was followed by race day disappointment.
The Hitech Racing rookie produced a solid performance during the two qualifying sessions, with the Austrian snaring ninth on the grid for the opening race and seventh for race two as team-mate Marko Asmer took pole for both races.
"The first session was quite busy and I had to find a place in the traffic to get a good lap, he reflected after qualifying. I maybe could have gone another tenth of a second faster, which would have moved me up a place for race one. The second session was really good. I'm pleased with my position and if we stay where we are or move up then we will score some good points."
When the first race got underway, Grubmuller endured a frustrating start, losing two places off the line before being forced wide at McLeans. It meant the rookie dropped down to 25th place, before launching a recovery drive back through the field to take the flag in 14th place.
The second race started well for the young Austrian as he moved up to sixth place on the opening lap. However, he was caught out by Jelley on lap four when the Double R man tried to go round the outside as the pair went through the Craner Curves. The contact saw Grubmuller spin onto the wet grass on the outside of the circuit and straight into the tyre wall, causing a large amount of damage to the car and ending his weekend prematurely.
It's been a frustrating weekend for me, he said. I had two good qualifying positions and to come away from both races without any solid results is disappointing.
In the second race it was really slippery after the rain had finished and Stephen Jelley tried to pass me on the outside at the Craner Curves and tagged me, putting me onto the grass and into a spin into the barriers. I'm going to take the experience of the weekend away with me to the next round at Bucharest and will see what I can achieve there.
